It’s the Cotton Bowl, and although the name of this BCS bowl game sounds softer than your manhood, we promise the actual game won’t be.

The Mississippi Rebels and the Texas Tech Red Raiders will meet in the 2009 AT&T Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. Both football programs are looking to end their respective campaigns on a high note and winning the Cotton Bowl should be able to let them do just that.

The No.8 Texas Tech Red Raiders (11-1) ended the regular season in a three-way tie for the Big 12 South title with Oklahoma and Texas. The Sooners advanced to the Big 12 championship game on a tiebreaker and will be playing for the BCS national championship against Florida.

However, coming into this BCS bowl game against the Mississippi Rebels, the Red Raiders are dealing with some uncertainty regarding the future of head coach Mike Leach. Leach was interviewed by the University of Washington to be the school’s new football head coach before withdrawing his name from consideration.

Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers, who spoke to reporters in a conference call to announce the Cotton Bowl teams, said Leach has been offered a five-year contract extension with a ‘’substantial pay raise” to keep him in Texas.

Of course, only time will tell if Leach does stay there.

Texas Tech was in the running for the 2009 BCS national championship game until losing 65-21 to Oklahoma on Nov.22. Texas, which will be playing Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, is the other Big 12 team in a BCS game.

No.20 Ole Miss, on the other hand, stumbled to a 3-4 start this season. The turning point for the Rebels came in Houston Nutt’s return to Arkansas, a game that Ole Miss won 23-21 and started its current five-game winning streak.

The two teams last met in the 2003 regular season when Texas Tech’s B.J. Symons threw for 661 yards in a 49-45 Red Raiders victory. Texas Tech still has that prolific passing game with quarterback Graham Harrell and receiver Michael Crabtree.

And since Crabtee is from Dallas, let’s hope the guy puts up a show at the Cotton Bowl.

Can the Texas Tech Red Raiders beat the Mississippi Rebels to win the 2009 Cotton Bowl? SportsBetting.com has the odds.

Texas Tech Red Raiders -5

Mississippi Rebels +5

Want more odds? Visit SportsBetting.com for more BCS bowl game betting odds. Want to watch college football live? Get college football tickets online now.

Texas Tech Red Raiders Mississippi Rebels