This evening will mark the 39th Annual Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. We're down to the last 4 college bowl games of the year and the Fiesta Bowl seems to have always had a lot of fireworks. Up until a few years ago, the Fiesta Bowl had originally been held at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, AZ but since has moved to University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ. In 1998, the Fiesta Bowl became part of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). Before 2007, every four years (most recently in 2003), was the designee for the National Championship.
This evening's game will be between The Boise State Broncos and The TCU Horned Frogs. One of the most memorable moments in Fiesta Bowl History was when senior Ian Johnson scored the game winning touchdown on a Statue of Liberty play against the heavily favored Oklahoma Sooners and then proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend on the sidelines. TCU since 1956 has not been ranked higher than they are currently ranked at # 4 in the Nation. This is considered to be the best team they have had since even before Ladanian Tomlinson's reign at TCU. TCU and Boise State have met two other times in previous bowl games; One was last year in the San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl which the Horned Frogs won 17-16, and the other was in '03 in TCU's backyard in The Plains Capital Fort Worth Bowl which The Broncos stole 34-31.
Below the jump, we will take a look at some of the key players, their stats throughout the season, and other information regarding tonight's game.
# 6 BOISE STATE BRONCOS VS. # 4 TCU HORNED FROGS
KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR THE HORNED FROGS:
[# 14] Andy Dalton QB
Comp Rate 62.4%, 2484 Yards, 8.9 Yds/Att, 22 TD's -- 107 Rush Attempts, 522 Yards, 3 TD's
[# 24] Joseph Turner RB
140 Attempts, 732 Yards, 5.2 Avg, 11 TD's
[# 29] Matthew Tucker RB
104 Attempts, 667 Yards, 6.4 Avg, 8 TD's
[# 34] Edward Wesley RB
99 Attempts, 630 Yards, 6.4 Avg, 4 TD's
[# 85] Jeremy Kerley WR
38 Catches, 467 Yards, 12.3 Avg, 2 TD's
[# 98] Jerry Hughes DE/ OLB
54 Tackles, 11 Sacks
Career Totals: 138 Tackles,1 Fumble Forced, 28 Sacks, 3 INT's
[# 41] Daryl Washington LB
99 Tackles, 2 Sacks, 3 INT's, 48 Yards, 1 TD
Career Totals: 209 Tackles, 1 Fumble Forced, 4 INT's 45 Yards, 1 TD
[# 3] Tejay Johnson S
51 Tackles, 1 Fumble Forced, 3 INT's, 22 Yards.
Led by Coach: Gary Patterson (8th year, 72 - 27)
TCU's '09 Record and Standings: 1st place in the MWC, (12-0, 8-0)
KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR THE BRONCOS:
[# 11] Kellen Moore QB
Comp Rate 64.8%, 3325 Yards, 8.5 Yds/Att, 39 TD's
[# 27] Jeremy Avery RB
197 Attempts, 1131 Yards, 5.7 Avg, 6 TD's
[# 22] Doug Martin RB
113 Attempts, 723 Yards, 6.4 Avg, 14 TD's
[# 4] Titus Young WR
71 Catches, 969 Yards, 13.6 Avg, 10 TD's
[# 2] Austin Pettis WR
62 Catches, 850 Yards, 13.7 Avg, 14 TD's
[# 36] Aaron Tevis LB
47 Tackles, 1 Sack, 3 INT's, 12 Yards
[# 23] Jeron Johnson S
88 Tackles, 1 Fumble Forced, 4 INT's, 30 Yards
Career Stats: 240 Tackles, 2 Fumbles Forced, 1 Sack, 7 INT's, 30 Yards
[# 1] Kyle Wilson CB
39 Tackles, 3 INT's, 98 Yards
Career Totals: 156 Tackles, 1 Fumble Forced, 1 Sack, 11 INT's, 139 Yards, 2 TD's
[# 13] Brandyn Thompson CB
4 INT's, 16 Yards
Led by Coach: Chris Petersen (4th year, 48 - 4)
Boise State's '09 Record and Standings: 1st place in the WAC, (13-0, 8-0)
WHEN: 8:00 PM ET, 5:00 PM PST
WHERE: UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX STADIUM, GLENDALE, AZ
TV: FOX
SATELITE: SIRIUS, XM