Boise State goes “Bowlin” in Fort Worth

The Boise State football team hopes to take it WAC trophy, its

national ranking, and the hopes of Bronco faithful to Dallas on

Dec. 23, to go head to head with TCU in the inaugural Forth Worth

Bowl. The Broncos accepted a conditional invitation from the Fort Worth bowl and will play TCU if the Big 12 Conference places all bowl-eligible teams in other bowls.

Boise State represents the best the WAC has to offer, TCU is the

cream of the crop in Conference USA. Both schools have 11-1

records. Both schools are ranked in the top-25. The Broncos occupy

the 17th spot in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ poll, while the

Horned Frogs follow closely behind in the 19th position. Both

schools are coming off 2002 bowl victories. Bronco head-man Dan

Hawkins’ team beat Iowa State 34-16 last year in the

Humanitarian Bowl, while TCU’s Greg Patterson led the Horned

Frogs to a 17-3 win over Colorado State one year ago.

Although initially the similarities between the two programs are

what grab your attention, there is one distinct difference –

Boise State has never played in a bowl game other than the

Humanitarian Bowl.

So is this enough for Boise State? Are they satisfied now that

they’ve finally broken through the barrier, and made the

progressive leap to a big game outside of Bronco Stadium? Not by a

long shot. Senior running back David Mikell said he’s excited

to make the trip. But rest assured Boise State fans, the Broncos

are going down to Texas with one thing in mind – winning.

“We’re going down there to win. But it’s not

just about leaving Boise, it’s about the competition. We

wanted to play the best team possible. If we stayed home we would

have been playing a Georgia Tech team that’s 6-6. Now, we’re

getting to play a team that was in the top-10 most of the year. It

gives us credibility,” Mikell said.

The Broncos will be facing a formidable opponent in TCU, who

actually turned down an invitation from the GMAC Bowl on Monday,

because it conflicts with the school’s final exam schedule.

Conference USA’s no. 1 ranked team opted instead to stay home

and play right in their own backyard, at Amon G. Carter Stadium, in

Fort Worth’s first bowl game since 1921.

TCU’s sport’s information director Steve Fink said

the Horned Frogs look forward to the opportunity to host a school

of Boise States’ caliber.

“Boise State has a very good team. We’ve had the

chance to see them on television a couple times this year, and

they’ve had a great season. There’s a lot of early

excitement surrounding the game. We’ve got two teams, both

ranked in the top-20. It should be a great game,” Fink

said.

While TCU fans are eager to keep their team at home for the

holidays, Broncos fans are dealing with the initially disappointed

that they won’t get to see the boys in blue battle it out one

more time in the Humanitarian Bowl.

But the bigger picture is clear – Boise State is finally

being recognized as one of the nation’s elite programs. This

is the opportunity that members of the 2003 Bronco program, and

those who have come before, have been working toward. This is the

big time, and there’s no turning back.

The Broncos are ready to go bowlin’. But is the nation

ready for the Broncos?

Andrea Trujillo
News Writer

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