COTTON BOWL
15) Tennessee vs. 20) Texas A&M
Jan-1 11AM/FOX
The SBC Cotton Bowl is probably the most prestigious non-BCS bowl game in existence. The 69th edition will kick off at 11AM EST, and will pit the 15th ranked, SEC East champion Tennessee Volunteers versus the 22nd ranked Texas A&M Aggies. This will be only the second meeting between these two storied programs, the first in 1957 in the Gator Bowl, which Tennessee won 3-0.
Tennessee is coming off a turbulent yet successful season. Phil Fulmer made waves by no-showing the annual SEC Media Day after it leaked that Fulmer had met with NCAA investigators in connection with allegations about Alabama’s program that eventually led to sanctions against the Crimson Tide. They also had to overcome injuries on the field, ending the season with third-string quarterback Rick Clausen after freshmen QBs Erik Ainge and Brent Schaeffer, splitting time as starters, both went down with injury. Despite these obstacles, Fulmer guided Tennessee to a 9-3 record and the SEC East title. They would lose to Auburn in the SEC Championship game 38-28. Look for the Vols to depend heavily on RB’s Cedric Houston and Gerald Riggs to help ease the pressure off of Clausen.
A&M is coming off a surprisingly strong 7-4 season. In fact, Utah owes its BCS life to A&M. After losing to the Utes in Week 1 41-21, the Aggies reeled off 6 games in a row, which helped Utah to make the case that they had beaten a quality opponent in A&M. The Aggies stumbled down the stretch with losses to Baylor, Oklahoma in a thriller, and Texas. But the way the season ended should take nothing away from the job Dennis Franchione did in College Station. He did what he always does, taking a team on a severe downslide and making them into winning programs. The success A&M had can be traced directly to the development of QB Reggie McNeal. Considered a bust last year, McNeal rebounded to have a starmaking season, throwing for over 2,500 yards and 13 touchdowns with only 3 interceptions, and running for another 700 yards and 8 touchdowns.
Tennessee is a 3-point favorite in this game, which means that bettors think the two teams are pretty evenly matched. Look for a close game with a lot of great action. My prediction: the Vols win 31-27.
