Cotton Bowl 2011: Everything You Need To Know About LSU Vs. Texas A&M

Cotton Bowl 2011 will be played Friday night Arlington, Texas between the No. 11 LSU Tigers and 17th-ranked Texas A&M. The two national powerhouses will battle in the 75^th edition of the Cotton Bowl in the brand new state-of-the-art Cowboys Stadium, home of the Super Bowl. The Tigers came out of the SEC West, which also housed the 13-0 Auburn Tigers, who’ll play Monday for the National Championship. Texas A&M finished in a first-place tie in the Big 12 South, missing out on a BCS bowl. 

Coaching Matchup: LSU’s Les Miles leads the 10-2 Tigers while Mike Sherman will be on the sidelines for the 9-3 Aggies. 

Players to Watch -

LSU: QB Jordan Jefferson (1,253 yards, 4 TD); RB Stevan Ridley (1,042 yards, 14 TD); WR Ruben Randle (525 yards, 3 TD) 

Texas A&M: QB Jerrod Johnson (1,947 yards, 14 TD); RB Cyrus Gray (1,033 yards, 12 TD); WR Jeff Fuller (983 yards, 12 TD) 

Offensive Matchup: LSU ranks 51^st in the nation averaging 28.8 points per game while Texas A&M averages 31.8 points per game, good enough for the nation’s No. 34 ranking. 

Defensive Matchup: The Aggies are No. 25 in points against, allowing just 20.3 points per game. LSU allows just 17.8 points per game on average, which is the 17^th best mark in the nation. 

Strength of Schedule: Playing out of the SEC and the same division as top-ranked Auburn, LSU holds the slight advantage when looking at strength of schedule. The Tigers have four wins against ranked opponents, including Alabama, Florida and West Virginia. Texas A&M has two wins against ranked opponents, defeating then No. 8 Oklahoma and Nebraska, when the Huskers were also No. 8. 

Bowl Game History: LSU is 21-18-1 in bowl games and will make its fifth Cotton Bowl appearance. The Tigers have reached 11 straight bowl games and lost to Penn State in the 2009 Capital One Bowl. Texas A&M is 13-18 in bowl games and will make its 12^th Cotton Bowl visit. 

Venue: The Cotton Bowl will be held at the brand new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The venue has an 80,000 seat capacity and can host up to 110,000, including standing room.