TCU nips Boise state in Poinsettia Bowl

The Boise State Broncos are known for their high scoring offense as much as they are for the blue “Smurf turf” that covers their home field.  On Tuesday night, however, they came out on the wrong end of a low scoring defensive battle against TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl.  The Horned Frogs scored 17 unanswered points to overcome a 13-0 first half deficit and went on to beat Boise 17-16 in a game played at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium.

TCU dominated the statistical battle, but the one on the big scoreboard was much closer.  The Broncos used a Kyle Brotzman FG and an Ian Johnson TD run from 20 yards out to go up 10-0 at the end of the first quarter.  Brotzman would kick another FG midway through the second period to put his team up 13-0.  The Horned Frogs began their comeback with under a minute to play in the half when Aaron Brown’s 16 yard rushing TD cut the TCU deficit to 13-7 heading into the break. Ross Evans would add a FG with seconds to play in the third quarter to trim the Boise lead to 13-10.  In the final period, Joseph Turner ran in a TD from 17 yards out to give TCU their first lead of the game at 17-13.  Brotzman added his third FG of the contest to draw the Broncos to within a single point but they were unable to get any closer.

Though the game itself was a nip and tuck affair, TCU posted a blowout on the stat sheet.  TCU gained 472 yards of total offense to Boise’s 250.  The Broncos did enjoy a 226-197 edge in passing yardage, but this was more than offset by the lopsided TCU advantage on the ground where they gained 278 yards rushing to only 29 for Boise.  TCU also held a 28-15 advantage in first downs and a one sided 35:44 to 24:10 time of possession edge. 

Boise State running back Ian Johnson was effusive in his praise for TCU:

"They had better athletes than we've ever seen. They played with so much heart. You didn't look over there one time and say, 'We broke them.' They knew they were going to come back and they believed in themselves the whole time."

His TCU counterpart, Aaron Brown concluded:

"Two top defenses, two top offenses in the nation, we just wanted it more”