2011 Cotton Bowl Classic

The2011 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classicwas the 75th edition of the annual post-seasoncollege footballbowl gamethat was part of the2010–11 bowl seasonof the2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season.The game featured theLSU Tigersof theSoutheastern Conferencewho defeated theTexas A&M Aggiesof theBig 12 Conferenceby a score of 41–24. The game was scheduled for January 7, 2011 at 7:27 p.m.CSTand was held atCowboys StadiuminArlington,Texas.This was the second time it was held in Cowboys Stadium after leaving itsnamesake venue.The game was broadcast by Fox.

2011AT&TCotton Bowl Classic
75th Cotton Bowl Classic
LSU Tigers Texas A&M Aggies (10–2) (9–3) SEC Big 12 41 24 Head coach: Les Miles Head coach: Mike Sherman AP Coaches BCS 11 12 11 AP Coaches BCS 18 17 17
1 2 3 4 Total LSU 7 21 7 6 41 Texas A&M 10 7 0 7 24
Date	January 7, 2011
Season	2010
Stadium	Cowboys Stadium
Location	Arlington, Texas
MVP	DBTyrann Mathieu(LSU) WRTerrence Toliver(LSU)
Favorite	LSU by 1, Over/Under: 49
Referee	Randy Smith (C-USA)
Attendance	83,514
Payout	US$7.15 million total ($3.75 million to A&M; $3.4 million to LSU)
United States TV coverage
Network	Fox
Announcers	Kenny AlbertandDaryl Johnston

Teams

The meeting between the Tigers and the Aggies was the 50th all-time between the teams, but the first since the 1995 season. It was the second time LSU and Texas A&M squared off in a bowl game, the first being the1944 Orange Bowl.

LSU

See also:2010 LSU Tigers football team

It was the fifth Cotton Bowl Classic appearance for the Tigers and the first since the 2002 season. The Tigers are the conference statistics leader on pass defense (165.83 ypg). They are rated second in pass efficiency defense (112.94 rating), kickoff returns (25.79 avg.), punt returns (13.50 avg.), scoring defense (17.75 ppg), and total defense (301.67 ypg). Senior Josh Jasper has kicked 31 of 32 point-after-touchdowns, and 26 of 31 field goals for a total of 109 points.

Texas A&M

See also:2010 Texas A&M Aggies football team

Texas A&M finished the 2010 season 9–3 after starting the season 3–3 and winning their final 6 games. Led by 3rd year head coachMike Shermanand 1st year defensive coordinator/assistant head coachTim DeRuyter,the team finished the season by beating 2 top 10 teams,OklahomaandNebraska,as well as in state rivalsBaylorandTexas.The Aggies finished their conference schedule in a 3-way tie with Oklahoma andOklahoma State.Oklahoma won the tiebreaker by having a higherBCS Rankingand eventually beat Nebraska in theBig 12 Championship.

It was Texas A&M's twelfth Cotton Bowl Classic appearance, tied for the second-most visits among any team. The Aggies' last trip to the Classic was in 2005 when they were defeated byTennessee,38–7. Overall Texas A&M holds a 5–8 record in the Cotton Bowl Classic, with their last win being a 41–13 victory overOklahomain 2013.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Scoring play	Score
1st quarter
A&M –Uzoma Nwachukwu6-yard pass fromRyan Tannehill(Randy Bullockkick), 13:01	A&M 7–0
A&M – Bullock 39-yard field goal, 5:03	A&M 10–0
LSU – Terrance Toliver 42-yard pass fromJordan Jefferson(Josh Jasper kick), 1:48	A&M 10–7
2nd quarter
LSU – Jefferson 1-yard run (Jasper kick), 10:13	LSU 14–10
A&M – Nwachukwu 14-yard pass fromCyrus Gray(Bullock kick), 7:44	A&M 17–14
LSU –Stevan Ridley17-yard run (Jasper kick), 4:43	LSU 21–17
LSU – Toliver 2-yard pass from Jefferson (Jasper kick), 1:27	LSU 28–17
3rd quarter
LSU – Toliver 41-yard pass from Jefferson (Jasper kick), 12:06	LSU 35–17
4th quarter
A&M – Kenric McNeal 4-yard pass from Ryan Tannehill (Randy Bullock kick), 10:04	LSU 35–24
LSU – Jasper 50-yard field goal, 6:12	LSU 38–24
LSU – Jasper 26-yard field goal, 3:04	LSU 41–24

Statistics

Statistics	LSU	Texas A&M
First Downs	24	23
Total offense, plays – yards	74–446	65–373
Rushes-yards (net)	55–288	29–155
Passing yards (net)	158	218
Passes, Comp-Att-Int	10–19–1	23–36–3
Time of Possession	37:26	22:34

See also

• LSU–Texas A&M football rivalry