I’ll admit, this is pretty damn cool. Free food, free parking, and an envelope full of souvenirs. I was extremely surprised by the coin toss. Instead of local stars LaDainian Tomlinson (TCU alum) or Michael Turner (Northern Illinois alum), the ceremonial coin toss was performed by a small Make a Wish kid. Either way, TCU is kicking off to the Huskies…and owning returner Britt Davis before they get to the 10 yard line.

With TCU kicking off, both teams took the time to wave their random giveaways. Northern Illinois fans are rocking some silver thundersticks. At kickoff, it’s safe to say It’s safe to say TCU came out a bit angry that they’re even playing in this bowl game. This is a team that felt it had a chance to run the Mountain West Conference and crash the BCS, ala Urban Meyer’s Utah team a couple years back.

A quick NIU 3-and-out was highlighted by the stuffing of star running back Garrett Wolfe, one of the only players in this game I’m familiar with. Early readers of Sportable will remember my blatant sackriding of Wolfe and my Heisman endorsement for him. A good punt return by Brian Bonner put the TCU offense in great field position. Three plays later, Lonta Hobbs was in the endzone for a Horned Frogs touchdown. I remember Hobbs as damn near unstoppable on NCAA Football 2007. Northern Illinois likely feels the same way after Hobbs’ first two runs. In a hilarious ending to the drive, Chris Manfredini’s PAT was blocked. As I stated “That’s two points”, Manfredini showed his wheels and ran down Northern Illinois at around midfield.

As usual, special teams are an adventure in college football. We’ve had a blocked PAT and now, a blocked punt. It’s safe to say Northern Illinois’ special teams are godlike, it’s their 3rd blocked punt of the season. On a previous drive, it’s been announced that Larry English has set the NIU record with his 12th sack of the season. I’ve done the research and Larry is not related to Johnny, which is a damn shame.

As the teams have traded punts and unsuccessful offense, I’m wondering what the hell TCU’s band does while playing. During their drum beats, they’re moving them arms in a pretty weird fashion. If I had to compare it to something, I’d say it resembles the Bushwhackers, the old wrestling tag team.

Lonta Hobbs is doing his best LaDainian Tomlinson impersonation, torching the Huskies through the air. A 32 yard catch has put the Horned Frogs deep in NIU territory. Since TCU’s consecutive losses to BYU and Utah, they’ve rattled off 7 wins in a row. The way things are going, it’s looking like they’ll hit 8. They look more physical and a hell of a lot faster than NIU does. Through a quarter, TCU leads 6-0.