Every day this week I will preview a different aspect of both teams and then give my prediction on who has the edge. Today I will be looking at the wide receivers and tight ends for both squads.I am going to go ahead and issue a disclaimer on this head to head matchup because the offensive line is the most thankless position on the football field and outside of sacks allowed and overall offense, it’s really pretty hard to measure them. In fact, I can’t find individual linemen stats on either team, so this is going to have to be a group effort. Obviously you can recognize a standout lineman from an average one, but it’s not quite like looking at quarterbacks. That being said, I will give it my best shot, albeit a short one.
Also, looking back I’ve realized two things: I forgot to include FBs in my RBs preview, so sorry Justin and Lukeon that one. I will include these stats briefly below. Also, I had forgotten to mention players with all conference accolades and will start doing this today, as well as mention those I looked over.
FBs
TCU – Justin Watts (rush – 31-105-2. Rec – 10-70-2) & Luke Shivers (Rush – 2-6-2, Rec – 1-5-0)
Boise – Richie Brockel (rush – 3-6-2. Rec – 9-91-2)
Non-OL Offensive All Conference
TCU – PR/KR Jeremy Kerley (1st Team), QB Andy Dalton (Honorable Mention), WR Jimmy Young (HM), RB Aaron Brown (HM)
Boise State – QB Kellen Moore (Freshman of the year, 2nd Team All Conference), WR Jeremy Childs (1st Team All Conference), WR Austin Pettis (2nd Team All Conference), RB Ian Johnson (2nd Team All Conference). No Honorable Mention Info.
Now, on with the preview…
TCU – Marshall Newhouse, Preston Phillips/Kyle Dooley, Blake Schlueter, Giles Montgomery, Nic Richmond/Marcus Cannon.
Newhouse – Jr. – 6’3”, 317. (2nd Team All Conference)
Phillips – Sr. – 6’6”, 293
Dooley - FR. - 6'3", 310
Schlueter – Sr. – 6’3”, 284. (1st Team All Conference)
Giles Montgomery – Sr. – 6’5”, 295.
Richmond – Jr. – 6’8”, 322
Cannon – SO. – 6’5”, 350. (HM All Conference)
A group that Gary Patterson said had the potential to be the best offensive line he’s coached in years more than lived up to the hype. They’re big, experienced, and they paved the way for TCUs record setting offense this season. They not only helped TCU have the 13th best rushing attack in the NCAA at 216 yards per game, but they only allowed 18 sacks. To think, Jerry Hughes almost had that amount by himself. Schlueter was a serious prospect for the Rimington Award this year which goes to the best center in college football. Newhouse will be a shoo in first teamer next year, along with Cannon. Richmond is a beast of a man who, despite his size, split a lot of snaps with Marcus Cannon and Cannon actually started more games. Despite his reputation as a defensive coach, the offensive line has always been an area where Patterson’s teams have been strong, and this is due in large part to defensive line coach of the year Dick Bumpas.
The bottom line is, these guys were very good for the Frogs this year. In most cases your offense can only be as good as your offensive line and judging by our school record 54 TDs and 420 points, we should all be able to concur with Patterson about this being one of the best he has ever coached. TCU also led the country in time of possession, another aspect that can be credited in part to a strong offensive line. TCU was 28th in the country is offensive yards per game.
Just to be a little more balanced, I, and anyone who watched the Frogs, will admit that this group was a little undisciplined, especially given their experience, and were prone to false starts and holding penalties. Towards the end of the year, however, they really started to get into a good groove and stopped giving the other team free yardage. I don’t look for this to pose a major problem.
Boise State – Andrew Woodruff, Jon Gott, Thomas Byrd, Kevin Sapien, Nate Potter. 
Woodruff – Sr. – 6’3”, 320 (All WAC first team)
Gott – Sr. 6’3”, 286
Byrd – Fr. – 5’11”, 275
Sapien – SO. - 6’4”, 274
Potter – Fr. – 6’6”, 272
Looking at this line strictly at face value, it screams unbalanced. The left side is experienced with great size; The right side in young and undersized. Looking at the numbers, though, these guys definitely overachieved. They only allowed 11 sacks on the year (7 fewer than TCU) and helped the Boise offense put up the 13th most yards total in the nation. The rushing numbers weren’t overly impressive, but the fact that Kellen Moore was able to do the things that he did for that offense despite being a freshman shows a strong line that knew how to pass protect. Woodruff and Gott are big boys with experience in a major bowl game, so look for that confidence to trickle down to the younger guys. That stuff is contagious, you know.
Overall – So, you’ve got a big, experienced O Line vs. a small, inexperienced O Line. This is going to make you think I’m automatically pick TCU, but don’t be so quick to assume. Boise is 3rd in pts allowed this season and 14th in rushing yards. They also piled up 34 sacks, so it’s not like our O line is going to walk all over them. They also only allowed 7 ground TDs this year, which further shows that, even with their backs up against the wall, this defensive line didn’t get dominated by any offensive line all season. A lot of the press I've read about them mentioned that they were "inconsistent," but, from the naked eye, it's hard to see that side of it.
Ok, ok, who am I kidding? A freshman and a sophomore, neither weighing more than 275, thinking they can contain the right side of the line where Jerry Hughes lives? I mean… I don’t want to say I’m giddy but… well, I’m giddy. The fact is, TCU has a bigger, more experienced offensive line. Even if you were to call it a draw between the two lines, which you could at least make an argument based on the stats, I said way back at the beginning that I was looking at the matchups for THIS GAME, not as a direct comparison between the two. The TCU defense, which is ranked first in rushing yards allowed and 2nd in points scored, is as good as it gets in the country in terms of its front seven. I’m not going to go crazy and say anything like Jerry Hughes is going to have eleventy billion sacks and hurries this game, or that Robert Henson is going to have a soul devouring party on the 50 at halftime, because a team that has a coach a good as Chris Petersen surely has a game plan for that. However, I do think this offensive line is going to have a very difficult time maintaining our attack. They may be able to contain Vess and Panfil on the left side due to their size and talent there, but it’s only a matter of time before Moore and Hughes wear down those youngsters and start teeing off on Kellen Moore. Not wanting to risk taking away all of my selling points for tomorrow’s D Line preview, I’m going to cut this short and make the call.
Edge – Frogs.
NFL record-setter and former TCU star Sam Baugh, 94, dies
