For years, the Cotton Bowl was one of the ‘Big Boys’, right up there with the Rose, Sugar, and orange. Then the Southwest Conference disbanded, then the BCS came to be, and the Cotton Bowl has sort of blended into the white noise that is all the bowls that aren’t the BCS.
↵And that’s a shame, because tonight we get to see two quality football teams in Texas A and M and LSU.
↵For Texas A and M, their road to redemption under head coach Mike Sherman continues. They started out at 3-3, but peeled off six wins in a row, including wins over Nebraska, Okalhoma, and Texas. Ryan Tannehill leads a decent passing attack, but they also have a potent running game.
↵Part of me wants to call LSU one of the most fradulent 10 win teams of all time, as they had one crazy last minute win after another this season. But sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, and LSU does have both. Their offense has been much maligned, but they have one of the best defenses in college football, and A and M will have a tough time putting a lot of points on the board.
↵For all of LSU’s offensive woes, they got their passing game straightened out at the end of the season, and it helped propel them to wins over Alabama and Florida. The Tigers are also dealing with a distraction that will only grow now that Jim Harbaugh will be going to San Francisco.
↵The rumor mill is starting to churn that head coach Les Miles, a Michigan alum, will be targeted by the Wolverines, and he has already been asked about it repeatedly at multiple press conferences. They went through this a couple of seasons ago, but it’s still a distraction.
↵This is going to be a good game, and one I’m looking forward to seeing. I think A nd M has that ‘want to be here’ feeling a little bit more, and with the big homefield advantage, I’m taking Texas A and M in a close one.
↵But it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see LSU win on some last minute ridiculousness.
↵SBN MN Prediction: Texas A and M 23, LSU 21
↵SBN MN Bowl Record to date: 17-10 (Really, I did pick Miami (OH) last night. I’ll let you check my ESPN bowl pick ‘em account if you don’t believe me. Really.