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Nick's Pick for the 2006 Poinsettia Bowl

TCU (10-2) vs. Northern Illinois (7-5)

Tuesday, December 19 @ 8 p.m. kickoff (EST)

Notes:

• The game kicks off the 2006-07 bowl schedule and will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
• The 25th-ranked Horned Frogs look to continue their defensive dominance and close with an eighth straight win when they oppose Northern Illinois at the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego on Dec. 19 to open college football's postseason - TCU gave up an average of 67.6 rushing yards this season to rank fourth in the country, but did so while facing only one running back -- New Mexico's Rodney Ferguson -- who ran for at least 1,000 yards. The Horned Frogs had the nation's ninth-ranked defense, allowing 249.5 total yards per game.
• NIU’s Garrett Wolfe, the leading rusher in Division I-A, totaled 1,900 yards and 18 touchdowns on 289 carries this season - Wolfe has rushed for 367 yards and four touchdowns in his last two games - easy wins over Central and Eastern Michigan - after failing to run for 100 yards in four straight games; the Huskies went 1-3 in that stretch, the longest he's gone without a 100-yard game.
• TCU has won six games in a row to tie for the nation’s 8th-longest current win streak - Dating back to the 2005 season, the Horned Frogs have wins in 20 of their last 23 contests and this year’s TCU squad features a defense that’s ranked in the top-10 nationally in run defense, scoring defense and total defense.
• The Frogs are also among the Mountain West Conference leaders in several offensive categories.
• The Horned Frogs appearance in the Poinsettia Bowl marks their 23rd bowl game and eighth in the last nine seasons.
• Northern Illinois finished their season 7-5, 5-3 in the Mid-American Conference.
• Northern Illinois is coming off its top two performances of the season, including a 31-10 victory over Mid-American Conference West Division Champion Central Michigan on Nov. 17.
• The Huskies feature the NCAA’s leading rusher, Garrett Wolfe, who ranks 11 th all-time on the NCAA career rushing list; The Mid-American Conference offensive player of the year has run for a school-record 5,136 yards and 52 touchdowns in his three-season career.
• TCU is the alma mater of San Diego Charger RB star LaDanian Tomlinson while his backup Charger RB is for Huskie Michael Turner
• NIU has posted seven straight winning seasons and will be playing in their second bowl game in the last three years - Each of NIU’s last two bowl appearances have come in California.
• Wolfe looks to help Northern Illinois (7-5) improve upon its 4-24 record against ranked teams. The Huskies have not faced an AP Top 25 opponent since a 35-12 loss at No. 1 Ohio State to open the season.
• TCU looks for another strong finish to the season after closing last year with a 10-game win streak, including a 27-24 win over Iowa State in the Houston Bowl; in the Horned Frogs' current seven-game run, they have outscored opponents 244-79 while allowing an average of 203.0 yards.
• The Horned Frogs are 8-12-1 in bowl games and a win would give the program its second straight 11-victory season and fifth in school history.
• Jeff Ballard looks to close his career with a 20-2 record as the Horned Frogs starting quarterback. He was outstanding as the regular season wound down, completing 57 of 73 passes for 746 yards with seven touchdowns and no interceptions in the final three games. Ballard completed less than 55 percent of his throws with five TDs and five interceptions through the team's first nine games.
• Ballard directs a TCU offense that ranks 17th in the nation with 404.5 yards per game, including 600-plus yards in back-to-back games before having 377 in a 38-14 win over Air Force in the regular-season finale.
• Sophomore running back Aaron Brown has been the other key player to TCU's offense. Besides rushing for team highs of 749 yards and nine touchdowns, Brown is the team's second-leading receiver with 33 receptions for 447 yards.
• The Horned Frogs are looking to win consecutive bowl appearances for the first time this decade. They beat Iowa State 27-24 in last year's Houston Bowl as Ballard went 21-of-33 for 275 yards and a touchdown.
• Like TCU, Northern Illinois has a 3-4 bowl record. The Huskies did not make a bowl last year after losing 31-30 to Akron in the Mid-American Conference title game despite Wolfe's 270 rushing yards - Their most recent bowl appearance also came in California, beating Troy 34-21 at the 2004 Silicon Valley Bowl in San Jose.
• The Huskies put together their seventh straight winning season thanks greatly to an offense which ranks 24th in the nation with 388.5 yards per game; while Wolfe does most of the damage, Northern Illinois often used two quarterbacks this season, but the team is down to one for this game. Senior Phil Horvath received significantly more playing time this year, but suffered a season-ending knee injury in a 31-10 win over Central Michigan on Nov. 17; that leaves sophomore Dan Nicholson to make his second straight start, having thrown for 261 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions in a 27-0 victory over Eastern Michigan to close the regular season.

> Find a nice selection of NIU apparel & merchandise as well as Northern Illinois hats online through VanDelay Sports & DFN Sports sites.

Nick’s Pick: TCU 28 – NIU 23

Line: TCU by 12

Comment: On paper TCU should win this game by a comfortable margin and they may well do so but Garrett Wolfe is looking to go out on a high note and this talented senior can single handily keep the Huskies in the game. Wolfe is a home-run RB and can score on any play. Still, the 25 th ranked Horned Frogs have more overall talent and their two losses are to BYU and to Utah. Their non-conference schedule was weaker than NIU’s ( Baylor, Cal-Davis, Texas Tech and Army vs. Ohio State, Iowa, ISU and Temple ). Look for TCU to hold on and win and avoid a late NIU rally.