San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, December 21, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
What it is: A chance to introduce you to Snapdragon.
The Sponsor: The credit union for people who live in San Diego County. Not all of these require rocket science degrees to figure out.
The Teams: TCU and Louisiana Tech
How TCU got here: BCS skullduggery. TCU should have been in the Sugar Bowl instead of a Virginia Tech team that doesn't even begin to warrant consideration, but the wonkiness of the BCS rankings kept the Horned Frogs a couple of spots short of where they needed to be to lock up an at-large berth. So they end up here, which is really quite lovely if you have some affection for snapdragons. One of the things that hurt TCU was an early-season loss to Baylor that dropped them from the national consciousness for a while, and an overtime defeat against SMU that certainly doesn't look good on the resume. But the Frogs snapped back to win seven in a row, including the one-point win at Boise State that was the first time the Broncos had lost a home game since the sack of Rome.
How Louisiana Tech got here: An abrupt reversal of fortune. The Bulldogs needed overtime to defeat Central Arkansas, their first victory in the first five games of the season. But they never lost after Oct. 1, reeling off seven straight victories, winning the first Boise-less season in the WAC. They won five of those games behind quarterback Colby Cameron, who took over late in the season and went 97-of-172 for for 1,403 yards, 11 touchdowns and two picks. If Cameron were eligible for the passing efficiency rankings this year, he would have been 33rd on the list. The Bulldogs eclipsed 400 yards just twice before Cameron took over; they have yet to fall short of that mark in the five games that Cameron started.
College football fans care because: At least TCU is in some bowl game that you can watch.
SEC fans care because: While our old pal Lennon Creer will not be suiting up for the Bulldogs, you never know when Louisiana Tech is going to become of great interest to you. Ask Tennessee fans.
Watch this game if...: You don't mind high-scoring blowouts.
The result: TCU 57, Louisiana Tech 23