Cotton Bowl: Ole Miss (8-4) vs. Texas Tech (11-1)
No one said the BCS was fair, and that’s certainly the case for No. 8 Texas Tech, which has just as much as an argument as Oklahoma or Texas to be in a major bowl but is instead relegated to the Jan. 2 Cotton Bowl because, well, the Red Raiders don’t travel well or draw those huge TV ratings.
No. 20 Mississippi is more than happy to be playing in Dallas, as the Rebels had a solid season in Houston Nutt’s first-year on the sideline.
Texas Tech is a 4-point favorite on WagerWeb.com.
If the Red Raiders overlook the Rebels, they will be upset. After all, Ole Miss has beaten the past two national champions this year in Florida and LSU. Both of those wins were on the road, and the Rebs also gave Alabama fits in Tuscaloosa this year. They finished the season on a five-game winning streak by a combined score of 76-13. All four of their losses have been by seven points or fewer.
The main reason for Mississippi’s late surge was defense. The Rebels finished the season 11th in the SEC in pass defense, allowing 209.8 yards per game. But in their last three wins, the Rebels allowed just 59 yards passing to Louisiana-Monroe, 178 to LSU and 88 to Mississippi State. Obviously none of those teams comes anywhere close to the aerial circus that Texas Tech will bring.
TTU leads the nation in passing with 417 yards per game, and ranks fourth in scoring at 44.6 points. Graham Harrell, fourth in the Heisman voting, threw for 4,747 yards and 41 touchdowns, and he has the best receiver in the country in Michael Crabtree, who caught 93 passes for 1,135 yards and 18 touchdowns.. The Red Raiders were held under 35 points just once, in the loss to the Sooners, and they amassed 400 or more yards in every game but the regular-season finale against Baylor. Ole Miss hasn’t allowed more than 31 points this year.
“We have to try to cause havoc,” Ole Miss defensive end Kentrell Lockett said. “We need hurries and pressure. We just have to get (Harrell) out of the norm.”
The Rebels do have a good defensive line led by Greg Hardy. They finished the regular season with 36 sacks and a whopping 106 tackles for loss. Ole Miss also was sixth in the nation against the run.
On offense, Ole Miss QB Jevan Snead had a solid year after transferring from Texas. Snead leads a balanced offense that averaged nearly 31 points per game and ranked third in the SEC in rushing and fourth in passing. Snead passed for 2,470 yards and 23 touchdowns against 12 interceptions.
TTU’s defense allows 26.2 ppg and 371.6 total ypg this season, although those numbers are a tad inflated in the pass-happy Big 12.
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