TCU vs. Louisiana Tech: What You Need to Know About the 2011 Poinsettia Bowl

The San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl earns the award for longest bowl game name of the season and tomorrow night, we'll have to see if the tilt between TCU and Louisiana Tech can actually live up to such a mouthful of a name. 

After putting together their sixth double-digit win season in the last seven years, the Horned Frogs will go into the game as the clear-cut favorite, but don't count out Louisiana Tech. 

After a disastrous 1-4 start, the Bulldogs rallied to win their last seven games and win the WAC championship this year. 

Sonny Dykes' squad is no joke and the Bulldogs should be fired up after hearing about how they have no shot for the past few weeks.

This game has the chance to be very entertaining and it's definitely one that's worth tuning in for.

Here's a look at what you need to know about the two teams competing in the 2011 Poinsettia Bowl.

The Basic Details

Date: Dec. 21, 2011

Time: 8:00 pm ET

Channel: ESPN

The Spread: TCU (-9.5)

Sponsor: San Diego County Credit Union 

Conferences Represented: TCU—Mountain West, Louisiana Tech—WAC

Stadium: Qualcomm Stadium

City: San Diego, California

Last Year's Result: San Diego State 35, Navy 14

TCU's 2011 Resume

Overall Record: 10-2

Conference Record: 7-0

Sagarin Schedule Rank: 93

Who They Beat: Air Force (35-19), Louisiana-Monroe (38-17), Portland State (55-13), San Diego State (27-14), New Mexico (69-0), BYU (38-28), Wyoming (31-20), Boise State (36-35), Colorado State (34-10), UNLV (56-9)

Who Beat Them: Baylor (50-48), SMU (40-33)

Louisiana Tech's 2011 Resume

Overall Record: 8-4

Conference Record: 6-1 

Sagarin Schedule Rank: 83

Who They Beat: Central Arkansas (48-42), Idaho (24-11), Utah State (24-17), San Jose State (38-28), Fresno State (41-21), Ole Miss (27-7), Nevada (24-20), New Mexico State (44-0)

Who Beat Them: Southern Miss (19-17), Houston (35-34), Mississippi State (26-20), Hawaii (44-26) 

TCU by the Numbers

Offense

Points Per Game: 41.7

Yards Per Game: 443

Passing Yards Per Game: 233

Rushing Yards Per Game: 210

Yards Per Play: 6.6

Defense

Points Per Game: 21.3

Yards Per Game: 346

Passing Yards Per Game: 220

Rushing Yards Per Game: 126

Yards Per Play: 5.2

Special Teams

Field Goal Percentage: 81 %

Yards Per Punt: 39.2

Yards Per Kick Return: 28.5

Yards Per Punt Return: 39.2

Key Numbers

Turnovers (Gained vs. Lost): 21-19

Third-Down Conversions:  54 %

Red-Zone Percentage: 86 %

Louisiana Tech by the Numbers

Offense

Points Per Game: 30.6

Yards Per Game: 397

Passing Yards Per Game: 245

Rushing Yards Per Game: 152

Yards Per Play: 5.2

Defense

Points Per Game: 22.5

Yards Per Game: 374

Passing Yards Per Game: 252

Rushing Yards Per Game: 122

Yards Per Play: 4.9

Special Teams

Field Goal Percentage: 73 %

Yards Per Punt: 45.5

Yards Per Kick Return: 22.1

Yards Per Punt Return: 11.4

Key Numbers

Turnovers (Gained vs. Lost): 29-18

Third-Down Conversions: 37 %

Red-Zone Percentage: 85 %

TCU's Key Player: QB Casey Pachall

Many wondered how TCU QB Casey Pachall would fare in his first year as a starter as he tried to replace Andy Dalton, one of the most successful quarterbacks in college football history. Although Pachall got off to a shaky start in Week 1 when the Horned Frogs were knocked off by Baylor, he managed to show everyone that he was a more than capable successor to Dalton as he reeled off 10 wins in the team's final 11 games, including a huge victory on the road over Boise State.

This year, the big 6-foot-5, 215-pound quarterback completed 67 percent of his passes, threw for 2,715 yards and 24 touchdown strikes compared to just six interceptions.

Pachall may only be a redshirt sophomore, but he looks like he's got all the tools to be a star in 2012 and it will be interesting to see how he fares against Big 12 competition next year.

A big performance against Louisiana Tech on a national stage may even be enough to vault him into the early Heisman conversation heading into the offseason.

Louisiana Tech's Key Player: RB Lennon Creer

Lennon Creer's time at Tennessee may not have worked out, but he's managed to salvage his collegiate career down at Louisiana Tech. 

Creer has made a name for himself in the WAC this year, as he's rushed for 838 yards and scored 10 touchdowns. 

The strong 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior is the type of runner who can really hammer away at a defense and you can bet that he will be the main focus of Gary Patterson and the TCU defense.

Breakdown/Prediction

It's a shame that TCU wasn't shown any love from the BCS this year, but even though the Poinsettia Bowl obviously wasn't where the Horned Frogs wanted to ultimately end up, you can bet that Gary Patterson will have his team prepared and ready to go tomorrow night.

TCU is the second biggest favorite of this year's bowl season and no one is giving Louisiana Tech much of a shot in this one, but the Horned Frogs won't be able to just go out there and muscle their way to a victory without exerting much effort.

The Bulldogs may not be as talented overall as TCU, but they've got guys like RB Lennon Creer and DE Matt Broha who will draw interest from the NFL scouts.

They've also got the benefit of having a seven-game winning streak going into this game.

Louisiana Tech is certainly hot right now, but TCU is the kind of team that can cool you down in a hurry.

Gary Patterson doesn't get the credit he deserves for the type of winning system he's put in place in Fort Worth and the type of talent that he's started to bring to the program

If you made a list of the ten best athletes on the field tomorrow night, eight or nine of them would be TCU players.

Quarterback Casey Pachall, running backs Matthew Tucker and Ed Wesley, wide receivers Josh Boyce and Brandon Carter, defensive end Stansly Maponga and linebackers Tank Carder and Kenny Cain are just a few of the big TCU names that will end up in the NFL some day.

It's that type of talent advantage that makes TCU so hard to contend with.

Louisiana Tech may be able to hang around for a little while, but in the end, TCU will be just too fast and too physical to stick with.

Prediction: TCU 41, Louisiana Tech 27