TCU and Northern Illinois didn't think they would be here either. Both had higher aspirations as the season took off.

TCU was tabbed as the BCS buster this year. They were expected to go undefeated and represent the Mountain West conference in the BCS bowls. Two straight losses to BYU and Utah early in the season didn't allow that to happen. They didn't even get to win the conference, and so are headed to San Diego.

Northern Illinois faced a similar path. On the legs of Garrett Wolfe, they were expected to run through the MAC, but three losses in conference kept them from the MAC title game. The Huskies were also unable to pull off upsets against Ohio State or Iowa, which left them short of the high expectations. Wolfe, who did manage to lead the country in total rushing yardage, also fell short as the year went on, having four games in a row where he failed to reach even 70 yards on the ground after his explosive start.

And Wolfe will be the key in this game against the Horned Frogs. TCU only surrendered 68 yards a game on the ground this season. Even in their two losses, the Horned Frogs held the opposing team to less than 100. Therefore, it will be important for Wolfe to get off to a good start if they hope to have his quarterback, Dan Nicholson, off to a good game. Nicholson was forced into action when Phil Horvath went down with a season ending knee injury. He threw for 377 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions over the final two games of the year. Therefore, with a backup in the game, they will need Wolfe.

TCU is a little more lucky. They will have the ability to open up their entire offense against Northern Illinois, including quarterback Jeff Ballard, who was named TCU's MVP for the second time in his career. Ballard is 18-2 as a starter for the Horned Frogs. He has thrown for over 2000 yards this season with only 5 interceptions to 12 touchdowns. On the running side, TCU has Aaron Brown and Lonta Hobbs to split carries.

In the spirit of equal time, on the defense, look for two people. First, watch Larry English as the end on the Huskie line. He was the team leader in sacks with 11 and was a first team All-MAC selection. With Ballard likely throwing the ball often (as did the teams which beat the Huskies this year), English will have a chance to add to that mark, or at least will be a factor in what happens to the TCU passing game. On the TCU side, watch senior safety Marvin White. With Northern Illinois likely having to go to a passing based offense against the very good Horned Frog defense, White will have a chance to add to his 4 interceptions this year. He was a first team All-Mountain West selection.

TCU is the more talented team here, even adding in Garrett Wolfe. This one should definitely be going their way.

MRI Predicts: TCU Confidence Factor: 65.36%, 24 out of 32

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com