BOISE - The No. 9 Boise State Broncos are now officially the remainder of the Bowl Championship equation. The No. 10 Ohio State Buckeyes jumped BSU and will play Texas in the Fiesta Bowl. That leaves the Broncos (12-0) with an accepted invitation to play Texas Christian University in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl Dec. 23 at Qualcom Stadium in San Diego.

"Our prediction came true," BSU head coach Chris Petersen said. "We kept telling our team all year long that if we took care of business we'd be playing somewhere good, and playing a great opponent and those two things have definitely come forth."

No. 11 TCU (10-2) played in the Poinsettia bowl two years ago, beating Northern Illinois 37-7. The Broncos won the only meeting with the Horned Frogs, 34-31 in the 2003 Forth Worth Bowl. In last year's Poinsettia Bowl, Utah beat Navy 35-32.

Utah's win in that game helped the Utes begin the season ranked higher than BSU. The Utes are now playing Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

For the Broncos, it may not have been what they dreamed, but it is what they got.

"We wanted to go to the BCS, but I believe this is the best bowl game there is outside the BCS," Vinny Perretta, a San Diego native, said. "It's before the holidays. We get to play one of the best teams in the nation. When you look at this game, it is a BCS game, really. It's our style of a BCS game."

The matchup certainly looks better than at least one of the other BCS games. The Poinsettia Bowl pits the No. 9 and No. 11 teams in the nation. The Orange Bowl plops No. 12 Cincinatti against No. 19 Virginia Tech.

"They're definitely a BCS team," Petersen said. "I think all the coaches around the country know that. We remember playing them the last time in a tremendously tight ball game. We thought we played really, really well to get out of there with a 'W' the last time we played them. I know they're better this time around."

The Horned Frogs boast one of the best defenses in the nation, a multi-faceted offense and perhaps an edge in the underdog role, although that is a role the Broncos always consider theirs.

"When the lights come on we'll all rise up together, and do this together, as a team," Kyle Wilson said. "They play multiple styles and formations. We'll be prepared. We've seen a lot this season. We'll be prepared for it."

There didn't seem to be much disappointment on the Broncos' part. They won all their games. That's all they could do.

"Two years ago we were right where we needed to be," Petersen said. "Three years ago nobody was saying we were ever going to go to a BCS game. We went there and we were able to do well there. This thing will continue to change. As long as we keep progressing, building this program, taking care of our business, things will change and who knows how that is going to work out."