Christensen: Purple Pride
FacebookBy Todd Christensen
January 3, 2011
With apologies to the University of Utah football team of 2008, TCU's 21-19 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers in the 2011 Rose Bowl is the single biggest victory in the history of the Mountain West Conference.
While both teams were 13-0 and victorious in BCS games, there is something to be said for a triumph in the "granddaddy of them all," that being Pasadena and the single most important venue in college football.
The NCAA could go to 50 bowls in the post season and no one would ever consider the Rose Bowl just another bowl game. It’s the oldest and most prestigious of the sport.
The way TCU was able to procure the victory reveals how resilient this team with 27 senior truly is. The modus operandi of the Horned Frogs had been throughout the season to outrush their opponents, take away the other teams ground game and dominate the time of possession.
In this game, however, they were outrushed nearly 3-to-1 and had thirteen fewer minutes of possession time than did the Badgers. A cursory look at such statistics would lead you to believe that Wisconsin was the victor. But timely tackles-for-loss by the front seven, particularly Tank Carder, and the accurate passing of Andy Dalton at quarterback were enough preserve the win for the Fort Worth faithful.
It was another banner post season for the MWC. BYU whipped UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl, SDSU was outstanding against the Naval Academy in the Poinsettia Bowl and Air Force "out-optioned" Georgia Tech in the Independence Bowl.
Only Utah fell short.
But in reality, with the arrival of Boise State, their conqueror in the Las Vegas Bowl, to the Mountain West scene in eight months, that made it easier to take.
Regardless, the Mountain West has proven yet again their ability to compete with all comers and emerge successful.
ALL TIMES MOUNTAIN
