College Football Insider: Cotton Bowl Preview—LSU vs. Texas A&M

The Cotton Bowl is just around the corner and it looks like it will be a good one with the LSU Tigers taking on the Texas A&M Aggies in Friday’s Cotton Bowl.  The Cotton Bowl will be played in Dallas, Texas and will be one of the most watched Cotton Bowls in the game’s history.

At the time of this writing, the Tigers are favored to beat the Aggies but not by much (some lines have them by one over A&M) but the Aggies do have an excellent chance of winning this game.

So what can each team do to win this game? Let’s find out in this extended preview of the Cotton Bowl coming up this Friday, Jan. 7.

When the Tigers Have the Ball

The LSU Tiger’s offense is led by quarterback Jordan Jefferson.  Jefferson has attempted 190 passes completing 108 of those passes for 1,253 yards, four touchdowns and nine interceptions.  The Tigers passing attack hasn’t been that strong this season and may struggle against the Aggies in this game.

Texas A&M is allowing opponents an average of 240 yards through the air per game while LSU’s offense is gaining just 155 yards per game.  The Tigers have a chance to throw against the Aggies pass defense and should take advantage of that if they can but LSU’s problems on that side of the ball may not allow that.

When it comes to rushing the football, the Tigers do have some luck there.  They are led in that department by running back Stevan Ridley.  Ridley has 225 rushing attempts for 1,042 yards and an average of 4.6 yards per attempt with 14 touchdowns.  There is also Jordan Jefferson who has 111 rushes for 383 yards and six touchdowns.  

So LSU does have some potency in the rushing game and could control the ball and the clock in this game but can they run it against the Aggies defense.

LSU is averaging 177 yards on the ground per game while Texas A&M’s defense is allowing teams to rush for just 117 yards per game.  It would appear as if it’s going to be tough going for the Tigers rushing attack in this game.

The Tigers wide receiving corps is pretty even as they like to spread the ball around to their top guys not focusing in just one receiver.  They are led (in yards) by Ruben Randle who has 31 catches for 525 yards and three touchdowns averaging 16 yards per catch. 

Their leader in catches is Terrence Toliver and he has 36 catches for 467 yards with two touchdowns and an average of 13 yards per catch.  There is also Russell Shepard who has 33 catches for 254 yards, one touchdown and an average of seven yards per catch.

Having this ability with multiple receivers will give the Aggies some problems in coverage so getting a good pass rush will be important.  They need to force Jefferson to make mistakes and take advantage those mistakes.

When the Aggies Have the Ball

Texas A&M has had a pretty nice season on offense this year both passing and running the football.  After benching quarterback Jerrod Johnson, head coach Mike Sherman turned to backup quarterback and wide receiver Ryan Tannehill and he has done well since taking over.

Since becoming the starting quarterback, Tannehill has attempted 199 passes completing 130 of them for 1,434, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions.  Tannehill and the Aggies offense are averaging 281 yards per game through the air while the Tigers defense is allowing teams to pass for an average of 165 yards per game.  

It will be interesting to see if the Aggies will be able to put up the kind of passing yards that they are used to putting up.  But, if Texas A&M can’t do it through the air perhaps they can do it on the ground.

The leading rusher for the Aggies is Cyrus Gray.  Gray, who took over the starting job in October after starter Christine Michael went out with a broken leg, has rushed 180 times for 1033 yards, 12 touchdowns and an average of 5.7 yards per rush.

Overall, the Aggies rushing attack is averaging 165 yards per game while the Tigers defense is allowing opponents to rush for 135 yards per game.  The Aggies should have some success running the football but can they run it enough to control the clock and win this game.

There are some pretty decent receivers on the Aggies and they like to spread the ball around much like the Tigers like to do.  Their leading receiver, in yards, is Jeff Fuller.  Fuller has 65 catches for 983 yards with 12 touchdowns and an average of 15 yards per catch.  Their leader in catches is Ryan Swope and he’s caught 67 passes for 780 yards and four touchdowns with an average of 11 yards per catch.

Analysis

Coming into this game, the Tigers have a record of 10-2 while the Aggies have a record of 9-3.  Both of these teams look pretty similar on paper but both are very different on the field and judging by the way that they have played this season and this should make for an interesting game.

The Tiger have had an opportunistic defense this season and this has kept them in games (and helped them win them) the entire season.  Their defense plays opponents very tough especially when they are defending against the pass. 

The Aggies have had success both passing and running the ball so if LSU shuts down one dimension of the Texas A&M’s offense they can lean on the other and still have success.

LSU’s offense isn’t as explosive as it has been in the past and the Aggies should have some success containing them and making it tough for them to get any consistency on offense.  If the Tigers can get some big plays against the Aggies defense, which is possible and they can build a lead and win the game.

The team that starts this game out quickly and builds the bigger lead at the outset will win this game.  With a lead, both teams could get their running games going and could control the ball and the clock leaving the other team with fewer opportunities.

Prediction

The Aggies look like the better team heading into this game and as long as the Tigers defense doesn’t cause them too many problems, they should win this game.  They have the better balance on offense and as long as they don’t let the Tigers beat them up on defense they should be able to come out with a win.

Texas A&M 28, LSU 21