COTTON BOWL

UCLA (9-2) vs. Texas A&M; (9-3)

Jan. 1, 10 a.m., at Dallas (TV: Ch. 2)

* Coach: R.C. Slocum (9th season, 83-24-2, 9-3 this season).

* How they got there: The 14th-ranked Aggies won their last four games of the regular season to win the Big 12 South Division, but were hammered by Nebraska, 54-15, in the Big 12 championship game Saturday to finish second in the conference and receive a Cotton Bowl berth.

* Bowl history: Texas A&M; will play in its 23rd bowl, its 10th Cotton Bowl, and has a record of 12-10 in bowl games. The Aggies lost the last three times they played in the Cotton Bowl: 10-2 to Florida State in 1992, 28-3 to Notre Dame in 1993 and 24-21 to the Irish in 1994.

* Offensive keys: UCLA will test the Aggie secondary with quarterback Cade McNown, the NCAA passing efficiency leader, who has completed 173 of his 283 passes for 2,877 yards and 22 touchdowns with five interceptions. Skip Hicks leads the Bruins’ running game with 1,142 yards in 227 rushes and 22 touchdowns, and he scored three touchdowns on pass receptions. Texas A&M; counters with a run-oriented offense in which three backs--Dante Hall, Tiki Hardeman and Sirr Parker (from Locke High)--averaged a total of 204.1 yards a game. Quarterback Branndon Stewart has completed 93 of 158 passes for 1,202 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions. He transferred from Tennessee, where he played against UCLA in the Rose Bowl three years ago as a freshman before being supplanted by another freshman, Peyton Manning, and leaving for College Station.

* Defensive keys: The Aggies are led by linebacker Dat Nguyen, who has averaged 10.4 tackles per game over a 34-game career, and Rich Coady, who had 80 tackles. Shane Lechler averages 46.9 per punt. His UCLA counterpart, Chris Sailer, was a Lou Groza Award finalist after averaging 41.6 yards per punt, kicking 19 field goals and putting 47 of his kickoffs into the end zone for a touchback. The defense is led by linebackers Danjuan Magee (46 tackles) and Brian Willmer (59), free safety Shaun Williams (58) and strong safety Larry Atkins, who had five interceptions, three fumble recoveries and 39 tackles.