BCS Bowl Series: 2009 Cotton Bowl Preview -- Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Ole Miss Rebels

The 2009 Cotton Bowl pits the Graham Harrell led #7 Texas Tech Red Raiders (11-1) against the #20 Ole Miss Rebels (8-4) on Friday, January 2^nd in Dallas Texas at the Cotton Bowl Stadium. If Harrell can lead the Red Raiders to victory, it will be the most wins in school history. Ole Miss comes into the game trying to win their first game since Eli Manning led the team over Oklahoma State in the 2004 Cotton Bowl. Texas Tech enters the game as the favorite over Ole Miss.

Texas Tech Red Raider Trends

Graham Harrell enters the Cotton Bowl with a fair bit of bowl experience. The last two years Harrell has put up impressive numbers in both 2007 when Tech defeated Virginia in the Gator bowl (3 TD Passes) and in 2006 when he led the Red Raiders to a 31 point come-from-behind victory over Minnesota. Harrell enters the Cotton Bowl with 4,747 yards passing and 41 TDs on the season needing two more to become the NCAA's all-time leader in TD passes. He will be joined by Mike Crabtree (93 receptions for 1,135 yards and 18 TD's) who won the Biletnikoff Award for the second straight year. Tech enters the game coming off of a season finishing victory over Baylor, 35-28.

Ole Miss Rebels Trends

Although the Rebels failed to win an SEC game in 2007, they overcame all expectations in the 2008 season finishing 8-4. The rebels pulled upsets over Florida (31 - 30) and LSU (31-13) in Coach Nutt's first season at Ole Miss. Ole Miss's 4 losses this season have been by a cumulative 19 points. Ole Miss will be looking for quarterback Jevan Snead to lead the offense against the Red Raiders. The Rebels bring a balanced offensive attack to the Cotton Bowl with being third in the SEC in the rushing game and fourth in passing. Their fate against the Red Raiders will rest heavy with the Rebels defensive performance.

Cotton Bowl Predictions

Texas Tech is favored to win the 2009 Cotton Bowl by 5 points. The determining factor in the contest will be how much the Rebels defense can pressure Harrell and contain the Red Raiders offense. Our prediction is that the Rebels will send Tech to their second defeat of the season in the Cotton Bowl.

Final score prediction: Mississippi 28, Texas Tech 24.