The 2011 AT&T Cotton Bowl is scheduled to get underway at 8:00pm ET tonight at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The legendary bowl will feature the SEC's LSU Tigers and the Big 12's Texas A&M Aggies. The latest 2011 Cotton Bowl Odds are favoring Les Miles' Tigers -2 against the spread; the Over/Under is set at 49.
Most college football fans anticipated an 
Aggies turnaround this season with the team bringing back 16 starters, including quarterback Jerrod Johnson, who threw for 3579 yards and 30 touchdowns last year. Well, Texas A&M did, indeed, post just its second eight or more win season in the last 10 years, but the season certainly did not go according to plan.
The Aggies were 3-3 at the halfway point after Johnson had tossed nine interceptions (one more than he threw all of last season) and completed just 54.9 percent of his passes. Head Coach Mike Sherman elected to bench Johnson during a 45-10 week eight win at Kansas, inserting former receiver Ryan Tannehill into the the lineup.
Sherman's move paid huge dividends as Tannehill guided the Aggies to six consecutive wins, including victories over division champions Oklahoma and Nebraska. The junior signal caller threw for 1409 yards, 11 touchdowns, and just three interceptions in A&M's closing run, helping the team finish with a 9-3 overall record and 6-2 conference mark.
LSU found its way back to double digit wins this season, posting a 10-2 record in Miles sixth year running the program. The Tigers began the year 7-0 after recording wins over conference foes Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Tennessee, and Florida.
LSU played well down the stretch too, but a closing slate that included meetings with Auburn, Alabama, and Arkansas saw the Tigers go 3-2 in their final five games. Miles' troops fell to division rivals Auburn 24-17 and Arkansas 31-23, which led to a third place finish in the West despite a 6-2 league record.
The Tigers have been tremendous under Miles in bowl play, with their only loss coming in last year's Capital One Bowl (17-19 Penn State). Prior to that setback, LSU won four bowls in a row with Miles on the sidelines, beating Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State (BCS National Championship), and Georgia Tech by an average of 28.3 points per game.
College Football Picks Betting Trend: The Tigers are 3-7 against the spread in their last 10 games as a favorite.
2011 Cotton Bowl LSU vs Texas A&M Odds:
LSU Tigers -2 (-110), Over 49 (-110)
Texas A&M Aggies +2 (-110), Under 49 (-110)
