Several students left Daniel-Meyer Coliseum with mixed emotions Sunday night. As proud as these Frog Fans were of their football team to be picked to play in a BCS bowl game, they were less enthusiastic about the matchup.

“Regardless of who we are playing, that’s a great accomplishment for the Horned Frogs,” said Jimmy Hopper, a senior history major and 2009 Mr. TCU. “It is already generating a lot of national publicity, as the country wants to see the two non-BCS powers go head-to-head.”

Some students felt frustration about the BCS.

“(A friend) said, ‘I feel like we got invited to the party, but had to sit at the children’s table,’ and I’m ready to prove the BCS wrong,” said Peter Welch, a senior marketing major who will attend the game.

Audrey Spalding, a senior advertising/public relations major, said non-automatic qualifying teams deserve to be given more consideration.

“The BCS isn’t fair, but there’s nothing we can do about it,” Spalding said.

Some students felt cheated out of having a more challenging matchup.

“By playing a non-BCS team it defeats the purpose of being in a bowl in the first place,” said Anne Pennebaker, a senior biology major. “It may be a bigger stadium than last year, but we’re still just playing the same team.”

When it comes to playing Boise State for a second time, some students said the Frogs will prove themselves to the BCS.

“We are both different teams than we were last year,” Welch said. “We are a better team, and they aren’t going to be able to score on our defense.”

Others said they believe that the game will be an opportunity for the Frogs to prove their abilities and earn more respect.

“With a big TCU victory in the bowl game, we will be able to demonstrate what we are capable of and that we belong at the top,” said Thomas Duggins, a senior political science major. “This game and this season will prove what a strong team TCU has.”

However, enthusiasm for the football team is spreading fast.

“It’s an honor to be invited to a BCS bowl, period, and I am excited to establish our dominance in the BCS,” said Cameron Giammalva, a senior supply chain management major. “I hope that the surges in the recent years from non-automatic qualifiers will help change the rules of the bowl games.”

Students went online early Monday morning to buy their football and plane tickets.

“I’m going – already have my plane ticket and hotel room, and we will destroy Boise State,” Spalding said.