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(25) Northern Illinois Huskies (7-5)

The TCU Horned Frogs, ranked as high as 15th at one point, finished their regular season with seven straight wins, gaining their fifth postseason appearance since head coach Garry Patterson took over the program in 2001. Standing in the way of back-to-back 11-win seasons will be a sturdy MAC opponent, the Northern Illinois Huskies.

The Huskies boast the nation’s leading rusher, Garrett Wolfe. Don’t let his small frame fool you (5-7, 177 pounds), Wolfe is as explosive as they come and plays much bigger than his size indicates. His 1900 rushing yards led the league and are 167 yards better than West Virginia’s Steve Slaton, who has the next closest total.

Wolfe and the Huskies started the season on fire. With 1343 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns in the first six weeks, NIU started 4-2. Wolfe even challenged the Division I rushing record during the hot streak, with 353 yards against Ball State. As Wolfe endured some bumps and bruises, however, so did the Huskies and they went 3-3 in their final six games.

You can bet that TCU’s defensive game plan will take note of Wolfe’s 1900 rushing yards and tailor a strategy to curtail his effectiveness. They have the personnel to do it, too, as they entail the nation’s fourth-ranked rush defense.

Wolfe averages just over 158 yards per game; TCU’s rush defense permits 67.6 yards on the ground per game. The winner of this battle will likely also win this war.

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Vegas Dave is a writer for FOX and his writing can be seen at Askmen.com and in the FOXSports.com Funhouse. To contact Dave, e-mail to vegasdavevd@gmail.com.