SAN DIEGO COUNTY CREDIT UNION POINSETTIA BOWL PREVIEW – TCU v. Louisiana Tech | NFL and College Football | NFL and College Football Previews, Predictions, and Recaps

Dec 19, 2011

Even after losing Andy Dalton, Daryl Washington and other starting members of two straight BCS bowl teams, TCU anticipated returning to a big bowl for the third straight year. Their hopes were dashed almost immediately when Heisman Trophy Winner Robert Griffin III lead Baylor on a heroic late game comeback to knock off a ranked TCU team and begin his quest for the Heisman Trophy. Hopes for another banner year were further dampened when TCU lost to a injury rattled SMU team at home in October.

Casey Pachall resurrected TCU’s season in a thrilling way, knocking off then #5 Boise State and capturing the Mountain West Title for a third consecutive year. TCU finds itself in a familiar place again. The Poinsettia Bowl is often a site for non – AQ malcontents. This brings to mind a 2008 TCU – Boise matchup. While Gary Patterson will not likely let his team come in underwhelmed by the selection, he also must be careful for the WAC champion Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.

Louisiana Tech also comes in hot; winners of the past seven as well. Louisiana Tech has shown no wear for the worse since the departure of Derek Dooley two seasons ago. Sonny Dykes has guided his team to its first WAC championship in a decade by averaging over 30 points a game. His team comes into the game with replacement QB Colby Cameron, whose been undefeated in his five starts.

Cameron’s main target will be thousand yard receiver Quinton Patton. While TCU is normally known for its stout defense and once again features Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year Tank Carder, their secondary has looked vulnerable this year. TCU was assaulted in the air during its two losses to Baylor and SMU.

However, TCU is able to make up for this with their potent pass offense lead by Sophmore Casey Pachall. Pachall stepped right into Andy Dalton’s shoes this season with 24 TDs and only 6 interceptions. Pachall is also aided by a productive backfield lead by Ed Wesley and exceptional special teams play with punt returner Greg McCoy.

Louisiana Tech hopes to stall TCU’s balanced offense with its aggressive defense that yielded 20 interceptions on the year and limited opponents to one of the lowest rushing totals in FBS this season. Louisiana Tech will come into this game motivated after accepting this bowl bid in November and waiting several weeks to learn its opponent.

TCU comes in a major favorite in this game after narrowly missing a BCS bid. Bowl season does not look kindly on teams who begrudgingly accept unwanted bids. Don’t expect Gary Patterson to let his team lose any momentum coming into this game. Louisiana Tech can make itself a perennial contender in the WAC with the departure of Boise for the Mountain West and now the Big East. However, they will not have the luxury of a bowl victory as a foundation for next season. TCU has too many weapons for the Louisiana Tech defense to contend with.