Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M Aggies Set To Clash With LSU Tigers, Who Wins and Why?

The Texas A&M Aggies and LSU Tigers will hold the stage in tonight's Cotton Bowl. Both schools had good seasons finishing in the Top 25 with LSU at No. 11 and Texas A&M at No. 17. Rankings won't matter in this one as both schools will look to go out on a winning note in prime time.

Neither team possesses a dynamic offense so don't expect a high-flying, up and down offensive game. In fact, the Aggies only give up 20.3 points per game while the Tigers give up even less at 17.8. 

Let's break down tonight's game and forecast who will emerge with the W.

Offensive edge goes to ...

The Aggies are a much better passing team than the Tigers are, and both teams have effective running games. The only difference is that LSU needs to run the ball to have a chance to win, whereas A&M can fall back on quarterback Ryan Tannehill to move the chains.

LSU did escape a scare after star running back Stevan Ridley was ruled academically ineligible, but is now being allowed to play in the game. Having Ridley will be huge for the Tigers, as he is their most consistent back. 

So who does the edge go to? The Aggies, because of their superior passing attack. Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee haven't proven to be consistent passers at the college level, which will be a huge factor in this game.

Defensive advantage goes to ...

You can't go against LSU in this case. The Tigers gave up less points per game in a tougher conference, which features the likes of Cam Newton, Mark Ingram and Ryan Mallett. LSU is deeper, has more overall talent and is battle tested against tough offenses.

It's not as if the Aggies are slouches on defense, they just don't stand up when compared to the Tigers.

Who has the coaching advantage?

It's former Green Bay Packer head coach Mike Sherman up against Les Miles. Sherman's in his third year with the Aggies and has turned the program around. Any game Miles coaches becomes must-see TV because you never know what can happen.

You'll either see a time management gaffe that hurts LSU's chances of winning or a brilliant fourth-down play call that puts the Tigers over the top. Anything can happen with Miles on the sideline.

Sherman is a quiet coach who generally keeps to himself, whereas Miles is more charismatic and always has something interesting to say. When it comes to the better coach, you have to go with Miles because of his track record. He's churned out four double-digit win seasons in six years with the Tigers, including a national championship.

No disrespect to Sherman, but the edge goes to Miles.

Which team wins and why?

Everyone is on LSU to win this game mostly because it's a big-time program. But when looking at how these two teams finished the year, it's hard to ignore what the Aggies have done. A&M won its last six games, which included wins over Nebraska and Oklahoma. 

As for the Tigers, they lost their last game to Arkansas by a score of 31-23. LSU played a number of close games and had a lot of luck late in games that helped produce victories. Against the Aggies, it will be hard for the Tigers to move the football on a consistent basis.

You can expect the Aggies to load the box and do all they can to stop the run. Jefferson will need to make plays through the air if the Tigers have a chance to win, and he hasn't proven that he can. Meanwhile, the Aggies are going to ride Cyrus Gray's legs and use Tannehill off of play-action passes.

This game will come down to which QB can make more plays. Tannehill is the safer bet to do so.