2011 Cotton Bowl: Louisiana State 41, Texas A&M 24

LSU drops Texas A&M in Cotton Bowl

Associated Press

Jan. 7, 2011, 11:11PM

Nick de la Torre Chronicle

Texas A&M defensive end Von Miller watches LSU players celebrate a touchdown.

ARLINGTON — With rumors swirling about LSU coach Les Miles’ future, Jordan Jefferson threw three touchdown passes toTerrence Toliver and ran for a score to help the 11th-ranked Tigers rally for a 41-24 victory over No. 18 Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night.

Miles is likely a leading candidate for the coaching vacancy at Michigan, where he played and was an assistant coach.

In the days leading up to the Cotton Bowl, Miles said his focus was on his Tigers and that he enjoyed where he was.

But LSU (11-2) has now completed its fourth season with at least 11 wins in Miles’ six years. The Tigers had only two 11-win seasons in their history before that.

Texas A&M (9-4) led 10-0 in the first quarter, including a field goal after Jefferson threw an interception, but had its six-game winning streak snapped.

It was the 50th game between the border-state schools, but the first since the 1995 opener. Texas A&M had won the last five games in a series that likely will not be renewed in the regular season any time soon.

Jefferson was 10 of 19 for 158 yards with scoring passes of 42, 2 and 41 yards to Toliver, who had only two TD catches in the regular season.

LSU went ahead for good when Stevan Ridley had a a 17-yard TD run, jumping over a defender near the line and then sweeping right untouched into the end zone for a 21-17 lead with 4:43 left in the first half.

Ryan Tannehill, who had been 5-0 since taking over as the Aggies starting quarterback, then threw two interceptions in a span of three throws — after 127 consecutive attempts without a pick. The second interception was by Eric Reid, who returned it 34 yards to the 2 to set up Jefferson’s short TD pass to Toliver for a 28-17 halftime lead.

Miles was considered a top candidate for the Michigan job three years ago, during LSU’s national championship season.

In an unusual pregame news conference before the 2007 Southeastern Conference championship game, Miles expressed his intention to stay at LSU and later signed a contract extension through 2012. Michigan eventually hired Rich Rodriguez, who was 15-22 when he was fired this week.

There was no pregame talk from Miles before the Cotton Bowl on Friday, after Stanford coach and former Michigan quarterback Jim Harbaugh agreed to a five-year deal to go to the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers.

Before that, Harbaugh had appeared to be at the top of a short list with Miles and San Diego State coach Brady Hoke, also a former Wolverines assistant, as candidates to return to Ann Arbor and replace Rodriguez.

Regardless of what Miles does, LSU will be back in Cowboys Stadium for its 2011 season opener — against Oregon, which plays Auburn for the BCS national championship on Monday night.

2011 NCAA Division I Football Championship: Eastern Washington 20, Delaware 19

Down by 19 in 3rd quarter, E Wash wins FCS crown

Down by 19 points in the middle of the third quarter, getting shut out by the toughest defense to score against among all FCS teams, Eastern Washington finally had something to cheer about. A touchdown pass meant they wouldn't get shut out.

By JAIME ARON

AP Sports Writer

FRISCO, Texas —

Then Bo Levi Mitchell threw another touchdown pass.

And, with 2:47 left, he did it again. When the Eastern Washington defense polished off one last stand, the guys best known for playing their home games on a flaming-red turf had a new claim to fame as national champions, pulling off a stunning 20-19 victory over Delaware on Friday night.

"This game was typical of our season," coach Beau Baldwin said. "We had so many games like this. These guys never give up."

Mitchell grew up outside Houston and began his college career at nearby SMU. Folks in Cheney, Wash., will always consider him one of their own after this performance; he even wore flaming-red cleats to remind him of his new home.

After gaining only 92 yards midway through the third quarter, Mitchell led TD drives that covered 80, 89 and 69 yards and capped them all with passes. Brandon Kaufman got it started with a 22-yarder, then Nicholas Edwards caught a 9-yarder. Kaufman had the title-winner, an 11-yarder in the back of the end zone.

Mitchell was 29 of 43 for 302 yards, and truly led the way as Eastern Washington (13-2) ran only seven times in the second half. He converted a fourth-and-8 on the second TD march and one of those rare runs came on a fourth-and-1 a few plays before the winning touchdown. It was so important officials reviewed it twice, once to adjust the spot, then again to make sure they'd properly reset the chains before that remeasurement.

Edwards had nine catches for 120 yards. Edwards had six catches for 74 yards.

Delaware (12-3) - with Vice President Joe Biden, an alum, watching five rows behind the team's bench - looked like it was going to run away with its second title in eight year.

Pat Devlin led the Blue Hens to a touchdown on their first drive, then field goals on their next two series. Mixing runs and passes, they had 230 yards by halftime. When they stretched the lead to 19-0, they seemed ready to avenge their 2007 title-game loss with Ravens star Joe Flacco as their quarterback.

Instead, they'll go down as the team that blew it.

Delaware stopped being able to run and got out of synch passing, with Eagles defenders Renard Williams and David Gaylord harassing Devlin.

The final play summed up the meltdown. The Blue Hens gained 9 yards on a fourth-and-10, turning the ball over on downs with 47 seconds left.

Devlin finished 22 of 34 for 220 yards. He also threw just his third interception of the season. It didn't hurt, though, as Mitchell threw his only interception a few snaps later.

Andrew Pierce ran 28 times for 142 yards and a touchdown. David Hayes ran for Delaware's other touchdown.

The Football Championship Subdivision is the highest level of college football with a playoff. Eastern Washington finished the regular season at No. 1 and Delaware was No. 5; however, the Blue Hens had been No. 1 before losing their final game of the regular season.

The game drew 13,027 fans to this suburb north of Dallas. This is the first of a three-year commitment to Frisco after 13 straight years in Chattanooga, Tenn.

NCAA President Mark Emmert attended the game. A former chancellor at LSU, he said before the game that he would resist any urge of heading to Cowboys Stadium to watch the Tigers play Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl.