Venue:

73rd AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic: Ole Miss (8-4, 5-3 SEC) vs. Texas Tech (11-1, 7-1

Big 12), January 2, 2009, 1 p.m. CT, Cotton Bowl (88,175); Dallas, Texas

The Matchup:  This game will be the

fifth meeting between Texas Tech and Ole Miss. The series is tied at 2-2. This

is the third bowl meeting between Ole Miss and Texas Tech. The teams' other two

postseason battles occurred at the Independence Bowl with Ole Miss winning both

times, 20-17 in 1986 and 35-18 in 1998. In the regular season, Texas Tech won

both games of a home-and-home series in 2002 (42-28) and 2003 (49-45).

Houston Nutt has a chance to improve on his post season record, which stands at

2-5 headed into Friday's game.  It was a sore point with some Arkansas fans

and while the Rebels are playing a top ten team and not expected to win, a

victory over the Red Raiders positions Ole Miss to be nationally ranked headed

into next season, a contender for the SEC West, and an upset also builds

momentum for some high profile recruits who are considering the Rebels.

Keys to the Game:

1) Control the ball on offense.  Ole Miss needs to avoid

a shootout with Texas Tech and the best way to do that is to

control the ball on offense.  2) Pressure on the

quarterback.  In many respects, how the Ole Miss

defensive line has played this season is a reflection on how

the team has played.  In the Florida upset, the line got

constant pressure on Tim Tebow and the Rebels won.  A

week later, the line didn't have one of its best games against

South Carolina and the team lost.  Against Mississippi

State, the defense had 11 sacks led by the defensive line, and

the Rebels won 45-0. 3) No turnovers.  Nutt likes to say

the team gifted some games early in the season and that's

exactly what happened because of poor ball security. 

When the Rebels started limiting turnovers, they began winning

consistently.  With Tech's high powered offense, the

Rebels do not have the luxury of giving the Red Raiders any

help.

Tech ground defense:  Ole Miss comes into the game

ranked No. 31 among the 119 Division I teams in rushing

offense at 183 yards a game.  One thing is certain - when

the final whistle blows for the final Cotton Bowl at its

current location - Ole Miss will have had some degree of

running success.  Texas Tech is ranked No. 45 in rush

defense giving up 133 yards a game.  Ole Miss ran for 158

yards against a highly acclaimed Alabama defense, 102 yards

against an LSU team set on stopping the run (the Rebels passed

for 307 yards in a 31-13 win), and 140 yards against Florida. 

If running between the tackles doesn't work, the Rebels will

hit the edge with Dexter McCluster or Brandon Bolden - and if

that doesn't work - they'll move into the Wild Rebel. 

Should Tech put eight or nine on the line of scrimmage, Ole

Miss will take the pass, but throw in a few draw plays to pick

up yardage.  Ole Miss' running success is not a slap at

Texas Tech's defense, rather a reflection of Nutt's offensive

mindset.  He'll be as intent on running the football as

Mike Leach will be to pass it. 

Texas Tech comes it with a very

respectable run defense and is ranked No. 45 in rush defense

giving up 133 yards a game. Ole Miss will start with junior

Cordera Eason, the team's leading rusher at tailback and swap

him out with Bolden and McCluster. The trio has combined for

over 1,500 rushing yards on the season.

Ole Miss passing versus the Texas Tech secondary:  Ole Miss won't

field a premier passing attack against Texas Tech, but it will field a very

competent one with a better than average quarterback in Jevan Snead and a bevy

of capable wide receivers.  Ole Miss is ranked No. 58 in passing offense

with 215 yards a game and will face a Texas Tech defense that is No. 91 in pass

defense, giving up 238 yards a game. Whereas with Texas Tech a defense knows

it's going to see the pass, with Ole Miss, it will be pretty much a balanced

attack - one that slightly favors the run unless a team loads the line of

scrimmage - then the Rebels will take what the defense gives through the air. 

Snead, a redshirt sophomore, is behind only Tim Tebow or Matthew Stafford for

the lead in most categories in the SEC.  After starting the season as a

rookie quarterback, he has developed and matured during the season and his

confidence has grown.  That's a plus for the Rebels, who already had an

experienced group of wide receivers, led by senior Mike Wallace and supplemented

by Shay Hodge and McCluster.  The trio has combined for 115 receptions and

all three are capable of the big play.

versus the Ole Miss ground defense:  Nutt has

cautioned against taking Texas Tech's running game for granted; however, the

statistics do not show the Red Raiders as a major running threat. Texas Tech is

ranked 96 in rushing offense at 118 yards a game. Meanwhile, Ole Miss' defense

is ranked No. 6 in the country in rushing defense giving up just 83 yards a

game. What is dangerous about Tech's running game is that the offense throws the

ball so much, the running game becomes neglected which leaves any defense

susceptible to draw play or quick hitter that goes for long yardage. 

Sophomore running back Baron Batch leads the Red

Raider rushing attack with 61.8 yards per game while averaging 6.7

yards per carry.  This is an area where Ole Miss should dominate with a

defensive line that has developed an NFL-look this season and is led by senior

tackle Peria Jerry, and All-American and defensive end Greg Hardy, an

All-American as a sophomore last year who has had the injury bug for portions of

the season but should be healthy for this game.  Nose tackle Lawon Scott

drew honorable mention all-SEC honors while defensive end Kentrell Lockett has

come into his own this season.  But it doesn't stop there - backups like

Chris Bowers, Marcus Tillman, former top recruit of the year Jerrell Powe offer

talent and experience to the point of it being little drop off when they hit the

field.

Texas Tech passing versus the Ole Miss secondary:  If there's an area that looks scary for Ole Miss

against Texas Tech, this is it. The last time the two teams met, which was in

2003, the Rebels gave up 713 yards on defense and 661 of that came through the

air in a 49-45 loss.  Little has changed at Texas Tech.  The Red

Raiders are number one in passing offense at 417 yards a game. While Ole

Miss is not overly impressive on pass defense, the team has shown improvement

throughout the season and is now ranked

No. 60 in pass defense giving up 209 yards a game.  Throughout the season,

there have been some warning signs - 265 yards in the opener against Memphis,

who was starting a JUCO transfer in his first game, 327 yards against South

Carolina, and making Auburn quarterback Kodi Burns look like an All-American

while throwing for 319 yards.  In the Rebels' defense, some of that has

been "junk" yards, but the key team concern headed into the season was at

cornerback and that has improved over the season, but hasn't been fixed. The Red Raiders rank second in the Big 12 and

fourth in the nation in both total offense (536.2 per game) and

scoring (44.6 per game). Senior quarterback Graham Harrell is

first in the conference and second in the nation and accounts for

390.8 yards of total offense. He enters the Cotton Bowl having

completed 406-of-568 passes for 4,747 yards and 41 touchdowns.

Sophomore wide receiver Michael Crabtree has hauled in 93 receptions this

season and has compiled 1,135 yards and 18 touchdowns. He ranks third

in the conference and 13th in the nation with 94.6 receiving

yards per game. If Ole Miss can limit Texas Tech to at or

below its season totals, the Rebels have a real chance to win the game.  If

they allow anything like the team did in 2003, they likely won't survive a

shootout.

Special Teams: Another of Ole

Miss' most substantial improvements from the 2007 season has

been in special teams play. Special teams coordinator James

Shibest picked up much deserved special teams coordinator of

the year honors.  The Rebels have solid place kicking in

junior Josh Shene and the Rebels' punting has been consistent

if not exceptional.  Coverage teams have been solid with

a handful of exceptions where their appeared to be a let down. 

Players to watch on coverage include Bowers and Patrick

Trahan, who has delivered some powerful licks.

Times of sun and clouds. Highs in the upper 60s and lows in

the mid 50s.

TV: FOX Sports (Pat Summerall, play-by-play; Brian Baldinger,

analyst; Jeanne Zelasko, host/reporter; Krista Voda, field

reporter).  RADIO: Ole Miss Radio Network (David Kellum,

play-by-play; Harry Harrison, color analyst; Stan Sandroni,

sideline reporter). Westwood One (Brad Sham, play-by-play;

Terry Bowden, color analyst).

WEB: OleMissSports.com will provide links for live stats and

an in-game blog. The official Rebel athletics website will

also provide a full game recap and photo gallery.

RebelSports.net has three reporters on the ground and will

provide post game coverage including commentary, analysis and

photo galleries.