[Tommy]

College Football - Cotton Bowl

Friday, January 7, 2011

(11) LSU Tigers vs. (18) Texas A&M Aggies 8:00 ET

Cowboys Stadium - Arlington, TX

Current Odds at 5Dimes: LSU -2½ | Texas A&M +2½ | Total 49

LSU got good news when RB Ridley (grades) was cleared to play; they are 4-1 in last five bowls (were dog in two of the four wins), scoring 38+ points in all four wins, losing to Penn State 19-17 on a muddy track (the field was replaced by Field Turf after) LY. Tigers have QB issues, there's a chance coach Miles could go to Michigan (he played his college football there), so they have distraction issues. LSU is young, as QB Jefferson is junior- they have only one senior starter on OL.

Texas A&M got hot when they changed QBs, winning last six games, the last five all against bowl teams. QB Taneyhill was actually A&M's #1 WR in 2008, now he is the QB. Big 12 teams covered twice in last nine appearances in Cotton Bowls; Aggies played in this terrific stadium last two years, losing to Arkansas both times. A&M lost its last four bowls by average score of 38-14; their last bowl win was 2001.

Big 12 teams lost six of last seven Cotton Bowls, losing last three, all by 13+ points; losing side scored 14 or less points in five of last six Cotton Bowls. Game is now indoors, after being in actual Cotton Bowl where weather was sometimes a factor. Favorites covered three of last four.

[Tommy]

Texas A&M is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games.

LSU is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games.

Aggies are 0-7 ATS last 7 neutral site games.

Under is 4-1 last 5 bowl games.

Tigers are 4-1 ATS last 5 bowl games.

Under is 13-3 last 16 games following an ATS loss.

Aggies are 0-5-1 ATS in their last six vs. SEC.

Aggies are 0-5 ATS in their last five bowl games as an underdog.

Tigers are 4-1 ATS in their last five bowl games.

Tigers are 1-4 ATS in their last five non-conference games.

Under is 4-0 in Aggies' last four games vs. SEC.

Under is 5-2 in Tigers' last seven non-conference games.

[Tommy]

Texas A&M vs. LSU

The Aggies look to take advantage of an LSU team that is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 nonconference games. Texas A&M is the pick (+1) according to Dunkel, which has the Aggies favored by 1.

Dunkel Pick: Texas A&M (+1).

[Tommy]

(11) L-S-U (10-2) vs. (18) Texas A&M (9-3)

GAME NOTES: Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas is the site of the 2011 Cotton Bowl Classic, and the LSU Tigers of the SEC are slated to do battle with the Texas A&M Aggies of the Big 12 Conference in that showdown.

Give the edge to Texas A&M in this game, as it played tremendous ball down the stretch and will be motivated to finish strong. LSU may be a bit sluggish, as coach Miles has built a BCS-or-bust quality program.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Texas A&M 27, LSU 20

[Tommy]

Timothy Black

Texas A&M vs. LSU

Two great defenses will control the tempo of the Cotton Bowl Friday night. LSU gives up 17.8 ppg (11th in the nation) and A&M gives up 20.3 ppg (25th in the nation). This will be a low scoring game that's decided down the stretch by one of the offenses finally making a big play.

Pick: Under 49 (-110) at Sports Interaction.

[Tommy]

Joseph D'Amico

Texas A&M vs. LSU

In this game, we see two teams with a lot of media surrounding them. After much anticipation, LSU RB Steven Ridley has been cleared to play. The Tiger offense is mediocre, ranking 91st.

Now a lot can be said for the Tigers. They play against some of the best teams in college football. Their only losses TY have come to Auburn and Arkansas, both top teams. LSU posts just 28.8 PPG.

Despite scoring almost 29 PPG, the offense only earned 7 TD passes but has 10 INTs. QB Jordan Jefferson has 4 TDs with 9 INTs but is the schools 2nd leading rusher with 383 YR and 6 TDs.

Although the Tigers stop unit has yielded 67 combined points in their L2 outings, overall the LSU “D” is ranked 8th in the nation allowing a mere 301 YPG and holding foes to a laughable 17.8 PPG. Their defense houses Sheppard, Nerus, and Peterson.

These are three players with NFL potential. LSU’s offense is stagnant. They face an A&M “D” that has allowed just 3.3 YPC and ranks 23rd in pass efficiency. Michael Hodges and Von Miller are the workhorses behind the stop unit that hasn’t allowed more than 30 points in their L8 games. The Aggies won and covered their L6 games.

The fact is that LSU isn’t a scoring machine that doesn’t light up the scoreboard and A&M only posted 33 points combined in their L2. Also, A&M’s offense will look like they have a stutter vs. the very smart Tigers “D” that beat ‘Bama, Florida, Tennessee, and Mississippi State.

The UNDER is 4-0 in the Aggies L4 vs. the SEC, 4-1 in the Aggies L5 Bowl games, 5-1 ATS in the Tigers L6 games vs. teams with a winning record, and 8-3 ATS in the Tigers L11 overall.

Take the UNDER