The holiday football festival known as college bowl season tends to start slow, with the first few days featuring games only hardcore fans can get fired up about.
This year, however, one of the best bowls will be played before Santa Claus comes to town.
The Poinsettia Bowl, in only its fourth year, has scored a marquee matchup: No. 9 and unbeaten Boise State vs. No. 11 TCU.
The Broncos (12-0), champions of the Western Athletic Conference, made a run at busting into the BCS for the second time in three seasons. They came up short, boxed out by Mountain West Conference champion Utah.
The Utes went undefeated and earned a Sugar Bowl bid. Their closest call along the way was against TCU last month. The Utes needed a late touchdown drive and some good fortune in the form of two missed field goals by TCU in the fourth quarter to win 13-10.
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TCU (10-2) brings in the best run defense in the country (48 yards allowed per game) and the No. 2 total and scoring defense behind Southern California. Defensive end Jerry Hughes, a second-team All-American, leads a stellar line.
The Broncos play good defense, too, allowing 12 point per game, but it’s their offense that usually draws headlines.
Kellen Moore had a sensational redshirt freshman season for Boise State, throwing for 3,264 yards and 25 touchdowns while completing 70 percent of his passes.
Among the other intriguing games in the first half of the bowl season:
-Notre Dame tries to break its nine-game bowl losing streak against Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl.
-Northwestern returns to the postseason for the first time since coach Randy Walker died. The Wildcats face a tough test against Chase Daniel and Missouri in the Alamo Bowl.
-The Holiday Bowl should be another high-scoring affair. Oklahoma State and Oregon combine to average about 84 points per game, behind two of the strongest running games in the country. Kendall Hunter of the Cowboys led the Big 12 in rushing and the Ducks’ LeGarrette Blount and Jeremiah Johnson combined to average 167 yards per game.
The picks:
Saturday
EagleBank Bowl
Navy (plus 3) vs. Wake Forest
n by Navy … WAKE FOREST 27-21.
New Mexico Bowl
Colorado State (plus 2 1/2) vs. Fresno State
Banged-up Bulldogs struggled to finish, but tough when healthy … FRESNO STATE 34-24.
St. Petersburg (Fla.) Bowl
South Florida (minus 12 1/2) vs. Memphis
If Bulls are motivated, this should be easy … SOUTH FLORIDA 45-14.
Las Vegas Bowl
BYU (plus 3) vs. Arizona
Fourth straight Las Vegas Bowl for Cougars … ARIZONA 30-21
Sunday
New Orleans Bowl
Troy (minus 4 1/2) vs. Southern Mississippi
Trojans of Sun Belt would do fine playing in Conference USA … TROY 44-24.
Tuesday
Poinsettia Bowl
Boise State (plus 2 1/2) vs. TCU
Tricky Broncos no match for speedy Frogs … TCU 24-20.
Wednesday
Hawaii Bowl
Hawaii (plus 1) vs. Notre Dame
Worth the trip, Irish? … NOTRE DAME 37-27.
Friday
Motor City Bowl
Florida Atlantic (plus 7) vs. Central Michigan
Well, at least it’s better than watching Lions play … CENTRAL MICHIGAN 52-21.
Saturday, Dec. 27
Meineke Bowl
North Carolina (pick’em) vs. West Virginia
Tar Heels faded down stretch … WEST VIRGINIA 27-20.
Champs Sports Bowl
5) vs. Wisconsin
Badgers usually hang tough against speedy teams from South … WISCONSIN 28-24.
Emerald Bowl
California (minus 7 1/2) vs. Miami
Young ‘Canes could make statement heading toward next season … CALIFORNIA 27-21.
Sunday, Dec. 28
Independence Bowl
Louisiana Tech (plus 1 1/2) vs. Northern Illinois
Is this bracket buster or bowl game? … LOUISIANA TECH 28-24.
Monday, Dec. 29
PapaJohns.com Bowl
Rutgers (minus 8) vs. North Carolina State
Both teams closed strong … RUTGERS 33-23.
Alamo Bowl
Northwestern (plus 12 1/2) vs. Missouri
It’s been a disappointing season for the Tigers … NORTHWESTERN 37-31.
Tuesday
Humanitarian Bowl
Nevada (minus 1) vs. Maryland
Unpredictable Terps have epitomized hard-to-figure ACC … MARYLAND 38-17.
Holiday Bowl
Oklahoma State (minus 3) vs. Oregon
Cowboys losses: at Texas, at Texas Tech, vs. Oklahoma … OKLAHOMA STATE 41-31.
Texas Bowl
Rice (minus 3) vs. Western Michigan
Owls’ last bowl win was at 1954 Cotton Bowl … RICE 35-23.
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Last week of regular season: 6-3 (straight); 3-6 (vs. points).
Season: 200-60 (straight); 126-117-1 (vs. points).
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