Poinsettia Bowl

So much for being undefeated. FIU, you let me down.

Review: MARSHALL 20 FIU 10 X
One QB seemed to be the shining star in this game, and he was a native of Miami, Fla., the town where FIU is located, but Rakeem Cato wasn't playing with a Golden Panther's jersey on his back. He did however carry his team on his back as he led Marshall to a 20-10 victory as he threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns on the night. T.Y. Hilton, the FIU all-purpose player, scored the school's only touchdown on the night, giving him seven on the season and 24 in his career. Marshall finished the season with a winning record at 7-6 while FIU was denied what would've been their first ever nine-win season, as they fell to 8-5.

Moving along to the preview of tonight's game, which is the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (See why I shortened it in the title?).

Preview: TCU v. Louisiana Tech
An 18th ranked 10-2 team against an 8-4 squad that appears to have not played a ranked team all year. TCU's two losses on the season came in their first and fifth games which they lost by a combined nine points. When you're playing Superman though, it's hard to win (the Horned Frogs lost to eventual Heisman trophy winner Robert Griffin III and his Baylor squad in their first game of the season 50-48). That was the first time TCU lost their season opener since they suffered a loss to Cincinnatti in 2002 to start the year. The Horned Frog's biggest win was arguably against then 5th ranked Boise State, where they won by a single point 36-35, keeping the Bronco's out of the BCS and costing them the chance to play after Christmas. Enough about TCU though, moving to La Tech, after starting the season 1-4, they reeled off seven straight victories including wins against teams like Utah State and Nevada, both teams that have or will take part in a bowl game. 2008 was the last year this school was in a bowl game where they finished the season off against Northern Illinois with a win to end the year at 8-5. They'll be looking to get to nine wins on the season this time around, something they haven't accomplished this decade. Again, I'm going with the favorite though I hope they do better than FIU did last night. I've got TCU moving to 11-2 on the season.

I actually had time to do my homework this time around. Here's hoping tonight's a better night for my picks than last night, and yours too!