Bowl Preview: AT&T Cotton Bowl

(11) Louisiana State (10-2) vs. (17) Texas A&M (9-3) (+1)

I don’t think Michigan and people who are speculating really know what the Wolverines would be getting if they hired Les Miles, making the Cotton Bowl his last game with LSU. Has Miles been a man who has been able to recruit in two different VERY fertile areas (for Oklahoma State and LSU), or is he that good a coach?

One thing is for certain: Miles isn’t maximizing the talent he has at LSU. Why would things be different at Michigan?

Anyway, though LSU is totally underwhelming, there’s no reason to trust Texas A&M against them. The Tigers should have no problem stopping the Aggies’ offense. You can also expect the same smoke-and-mirrors approach from the LSU offense that got the job done sixty percent of the time, every time during the 2010 season.

Despite Gary Crowton’s track record of diminishing returns with his offenses, I can’t call for his head wholeheartedly because I get the feeling that Les Miles is monkeying with the offense during gameplanning and during the games. I just can’t believe that a head coach would let a unit flounder like that without stepping in, except that Miles isn’t really equipped to deal with the schematic issues. Even when Jimbo Fisher ran the offense, they were still just as conservative as they are now. Maybe even more so. That has to be Miles’ influence.

I guess I’m going to watch this game, but really these are two teams that embodied good football fail all year long but still managed good records. The funniest part is these teams get to play in the nicest stadium of any bowl. Take THAT, BCS.

Pick: LSU