2011 Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M vs. LSU Picks & Predictions
By Anthony Rome
Arlington, Texas (The Spread) - In one of the final college football bowl games before the BCS title match, Texas A&M will take on LSU in the 2011 Cotton Bowl on Friday night. Continue reading for picks, odds and trends on this college football bowl matchup.
View Current College Football Odds
According to oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com, LSU is a 2.5-point favorite over Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl. The over/under total for this game is currently 49 points.
The Aggies finished the regular season with a stellar 9-3 record and went 8-4 against the spread according to latest college football trends. The over and under hit equally in their 12 games, with the total falling under in six of their games and over in the other six.
The Tigers finished the regular season 10-2 straight up, with their only losses coming to Auburn and Arkansas (two BCS bowl teams this year). They failed to cover the spread in seven of their 12 games, however, while the total went under in eight of their 12 contests.
2011 Cotton Bowl Free Pick:
The Aggies’ balance certainly presents a problem for LSU. Ryan Tannehill really stepped up for the struggling Jerrod Johnson earlier in the year and loves target Jeff Fuller. This team also kept afloat after Christine Michael went down with a broke leg at midseason, thanks to the running of Cyrus Gray. But LSU boasts the eighth ranked defense in the nation and Les Miles can be awfully creative when he wants to be. There’s no doubt that the Tigers will be unable to win in a shootout thanks to the inconsistent quarterback tandem of Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson. But their defense is usually up for the challenge and can win games virtually on its own. Assuming the Tigers are motivated (which is always tricky when it comes to any team playing in any bowl game outside of the five BCS matchups), then this is a game LSU could dominate and frustrate. We think Miles will have his team ready to play and assuming he doesn’t do something stupid at the end of the game to cost his team (you know what we’re talking about), we like the Tigers. Our pick is LSU –2.5.
2011 COTTON BOWL FREE PICK: LSU TIGERS –2.5