Filed under: LSU, Texas A&M, Big 12, SEC, Bowl Games
ARLINGTON, Texas -- The emotions seemed to be overflowing as LSU coach Les Miles hugged his players and enthusiastically joined them in singing the Tigers' fight song after their win over Texas A&M during Friday night's 75th AT&T Cotton Bowl.Maybe this was Miles' final game leading the Tigers. Maybe it wasn't as rumors swirled the sixth-year LSU coach may soon bolt for his alma mater, Michigan.
Whatever the case, Miles and the 11th-ranked Tigers made it a memorable one Friday in overcoming a sluggish start to roll to a 41-24 win over the 18th-ranked Aggies behind an impressive night from junior quarterback Jordan Jefferson in front of 83,514 at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.
"This is a wonderful place," Miles said. "I honestly love it here."
But the question seems to be: will that love be enough to convince Miles to stay as it did three years ago, when Michigan came calling after the Tigers (11-2) had just won a national championship? Many believe Miles has since grown weary of a fan base in Baton Rouge that will never be satisfied with anything less than a national title.
Miles, however, preferred to keep the focus Friday night on his current school and players. It was a point hard to argue following an all-around stellar performance against an A&M squad (9-4) that had been on a six-game winning streak.
Jefferson seemed spectacular as he made big plays with both his arm and legs to help erase a one-time 10-0, first-quarter deficit against the Aggies. Jefferson, who had thrown just four touchdowns all season long, nearly matched that number in one night with three touchdown passes to Terrence Toliver.
He pulled himself together after throwing a costly interception on the Tigers' opening drive of the game. Jefferson didn't seem to make another mistake the rest of the night.
"I really couldn't let that turnover really define us as a team," said Jefferson, who bounced back from the interception with a 42-yard touchdown pass to Toliver on the next possession to pull his team within 10-7. "That turnover would mess up everything for us. I had to overlook that, come out the next drive, make sure we put points on the board. That's what I did throughout the continuation of the game."
Jefferson, however, was far from alone as the offensive line opened up huge running lanes for big gains not only for the quarterback but also running backs Stevan Ridley and Spencer Ware. Ridley and Ware both went over 100 yards rushing, while Jefferson added 67 and a touchdown on the ground.
Ridley, whose playing status wasn't decided until earlier in the week, finished with a team-high 105 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, while Ware came off the bench to add 102 rushing yards on just 10 carries.
"We got great effort out of our offensive line tonight," said Ware, who averaged 10.2 yards per carry. "I got the creases I needed to get through, and the fullback did a great job of clearing the way."
The Tigers finished the night with 288 of their 446 total yards coming on rushes, which allowed them to dominate the time of possession 37:26 to 22:34.
"I think our offensive line really said this is a challenge they wanted," Miles said. "I think they played to that challenge."
The same went for the defensive side of the football where the Tigers maintained gap control and pressured Aggies junior quarterback Ryan Tannehill into an uncharacteristic three interceptions. The Tigers blitzed Tannehill from all directions to pummel the one-time receiver into his first loss as a starting quarterback in six tries.
Following a brief back-and-forth in the first half, the LSU defense kept the Aggies in control, while the offense scored 21 unanswered points between the second quarter and early third to open a commanding 35-17 lead.
"We had some adversity at the beginning, but we stayed together as a unit. We picked up our focus and improved our technique," said LSU defensive tackle Drake Nevis. "They came out very fast and that was new to us. (Defensive line coach Brick Haley) made the right corrections after we came out a little sluggish."
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Source: http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2011/01/08/lsu-locks-in-stomps-texas-aandm-in-cotton-bowl/
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