TCU could return home for bowl

The Frogs return home Saturday to face struggling San Diego State, which earned its second conference win over the weekend against UNLV. Winners of four in a row, TCU still could win 10 regular season games. The postseason picture is beginning to clear up, but it is not promising for fans who want to see TCU play outside Texas.

With two other attractive bowl-eligible teams in the Mountain West (BYU and Utah), TCU is probably headed to the Armed Forces Bowl, played in the familiar surroundings of Amon G. Carter Stadium. New Mexico is 5-5 and will stay home for the New Mexico Bowl if it records a sixth win. The Lobos will probably have to wait for another week to find out if they will extend their season because they face BYU on Saturday. Utah looks like a prime candidate for the Poinsettia Bowl.

BYU is the class of the conference and also enjoys the distinction of being the most popular team in the league. Wherever it plays, loyal fans follow. This does not matter in 2006, though. As the league winner, BYU will appear in the Las Vegas Bowl.

With the trend of putting bowls in just about every seemingly viable location, more teams have gained access to the post season, which is good for lower-profile universities. Unfortunately, this has exacerbated the problem of regionalization, whereby teams are almost locked in to staying close to home unless they are members of the big conferences. Last year's Houston Bowl is a good example, as TCU (minor conference) rode the bus to the Bayou City, while Iowa State (major conference) took a real road trip.

MWC bowls

Las Vegas

Armed Forces

New Mexico

Poinsettia