The beauty of the Western Athletic Conference is not lost on Boise State. The Broncos reached the WAC title with a perfect 8-0 record and then went on to have a perfect 12-0 regular season, posting win after win against weak, sometimes pathetic opponents.

The Broncos played only two noteworthy teams all season: Oregon (whom they narrowly beat 37-32) and the underdog Fresno State Bulldogs (whom they slaughtered 61-10 in their regular-season finale, proving that the Bulldogs they were more barkers than biters). ).

Boise State entered the Poinsettia Bowl (12-23-08) ranked No. 9 in the AP Top 25 to take on the No. 11-ranked Texas Christian University Horned Frogs, yes, those Horned Frogs. The result was predictable, if not laughable. TCU won 17-16, ruining Boise State’s perfect season.

TCU trailed 13-10 midway through the 4th quarter when Joseph Turner scored on a 17-yard run to put TCU up 17-13. Boise State then had to settle for a field goal and lost 17-16. End of story. TCU’s comeback victory was not as close as the scoreboard would indicate.

TCU outscored Boise State in nearly every critical category: first downs (28-15), third-down efficiency (9-for-18 to 3-for-11), rushing yards (275-28) and total yards (472-250). Boise State outpassed TCU by just 25 yards (222-197). In the end, TCU’s defense held up and Boise State’s didn’t.

“They had better athletes than ever,” Boise State running back Ian Johnson said. “They played with so much heart. You didn’t look there once and say, ‘We broke them.’ They knew they were going to come back and they believed in themselves the whole time.”

So what happened to make Boise State’s dream of a second 13-0 season in three years vanish?

Just this: Boise State played a tough opponent, Oregon, to go 12-0. TCU played two even tougher opponents, Oklahoma and Utah, losing to both to go 10-2 in the regular season.

Horned Frog’s quick and aggressive defense closed the door on the Broncos. Boise State entered the Poinsettia Bowl averaging 39 points and 456 yards per game, mostly against weak opponents, and walked away scoring 16 points and gaining 250 yards.

Boise State finished their season 12-1 while TCU went 11-2.

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley