The Skinny: Louisiana State (10-2) and its two-quarterback offensive attack did not look anything like the Tigers teams that won a pair of National Championships in the last decade but that didn't stop them from coming darn close again in 2010. With its usually strong defense and coach Les Miles' bag of tricks, LSU was in contention for a BCS berth until the final weekend of the regular season when it fell to Arkansas and dropped out of the BCS top 5.

Texas A&M (9-3) had a shot at a BCS bowl until the last weekend as well, missing out on the Big 12 Championship game due to a tiebreaker. The Aggies finished with six straight wins in the Big 12,  knocking off division winners Nebraska and Oklahoma. The turning point came when Ryan Tannehill stepped in at quarterback against Kansas. The team hasn't lost since.

LSU's Edge: Creativity. Few are better than Miles at keeping opposing defenses on their toes. The quarterback rotation is just part of the fun for the Tigers, who will use any number of trick plays at the end of games to get that one last score. Of course, ranking eighth in the nation in defense doesn't hurt, either. It's that unit that keeps them in games long enough for Miles to play the gambler.

Texas A&M's Edge: Balance. The Aggies can beat you through the air with the combination of Tannehill to Jeff Fuller and pound away on the ground as well. Losing top running back Christine Michael to a broken leg midseason did not faze Texas A&M at all, as Cyrus Gray stepped up and finished the season with six straight 100-yard games, averaging 6.3 yards per carry.

The Aggies are equally adept at stopping the run, ranking 15th in the nation and first in the Big 12 in rushing defense.

The Quarterbacks: LSU's tandem of Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson has struggled mightily at times, combining for six touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Jefferson accounts for 10 of those picks as the primary signal caller.

Tannehill has made only five starts after coming on in relief on Oct. 23 against Kansas, but has piled up 1,434 yards and 11 touchdowns against three interceptions. The 6-foot-4 junior is completing 65.3 percent of his pas

NFL Prospects: LSU - CB Patrick Peterson, WR Terrence Toliver, OLB Kelvin Sheppard, DT Drake Nevis, OT Joe Barksdale, RB Stevan Ridley.
Texas A&M - OLB Von Miller, WR Jeff Fuller

Bowl history: LSU is 21-17-1 all-time in bowl games and has won four of five under Miles, including the 2007 National Championship game over Ohio State. Miles' lone loss came in the Capital One Bowl last year, when the Tigers fell to Penn State, 19-17.

Texas A&M is 13-18 all-time in bowl games and has lost 13 of its last 15. Five of those losses came in the Cotton Bowl, most recently in 2004 against Tennessee. The Aggies were invited to the Independence Bowl last season, dropping a 44-20 decision to Georgia.

Point Spread: LSU -1. Over/Under - 48.5   The line has move to -2.5 LSU and the total is at 49.5 as of this posting.

Lay the small chalk in my humble opinion, LSU is the better team.  I like the Under (49.5) both teams play great defense most of the time .......   

Good Luck guys, probably should fade me I've been cold lately !!