DALLAS -- The way Chris Simms' college career has gone, the Cotton Bowl will only be considered a big game if Texas loses.

That's been the curse for the blonde kid with the famous dad and the cannon arm.

If the Longhorns (10-2) beat teams like LSU (8-4), it's just another win. Lose, and it's yet another example of why he couldn't live up to the hype that preceded his arrival in Austin.

"That used to bother me more than anything," he said. "I found myself getting caught up in it, thinking about it more than I needed to. I learned from my dad not to pay attention to what other people think."

The son of former Super Bowl MVP Phil Simms has gone 25-6 as a starter, never losing at home and beating rival Texas A&M three straight times. He's the most accurate quarterback in school history, completing 58.9 percent, and his QB rating of 138 makes him the most efficient, too.

But he's not the most beloved. He had the misfortune of overlapping his college career with that person, Major Applewhite, and it's probably part of the reason some Texas fans have never warmed to him.

None of that matters now. With only four quarters left as a Longhorn, he wants to make the most of them. Yet Simms admits it would be sweet if he went out with a big game at the stadium where he's had some of his worst performances.

"I'm a football fan, so I realize what other people are thinking," said Simms, who has been part of five straight losses in the Dallas area, four at the Cotton Bowl. "I want to leave a lasting impression on people's minds."

Linebacker Bradie James and the Tigers defense, known as the "James Gang," would love to leave a lasting impression on Simms.

Their tough, physical style produced the fifth-stingiest defense in the country, allowing only 278.8 yards per game. They gave up only 143 yards passing per game, second-lowest in the country.

"We're getting back into our groove," said linebacker Jeremy Lawrence. "We came here to prove a point."

After winning the SEC championship last season, LSU started 6-1, then stumbled to a 2-3 finish. Those final two wins were by a combined four points, and one came on the last-second, 75-yard touchdown pass against Kentucky that's been dubbed "The Bluegrass Miracle."

A win in this game could boost recruiting in Texas, something coach Nick Saban has been working toward, and it would extend a five-game bowl winning streak that's tied for the longest active streak.

"We want to be a team that can play for 60 minutes, punch somebody in the nose and keep punching them to finish the task," Saban said. "It's something I thought we had accomplished and for some reason maybe didn't finish the season that way. So that's something that we want to get re-established."

The Longhorns are preparing to bid farewell to Simms, defensive end Cory Redding and a senior class that was hailed as saviors when they arrived as freshmen.

Although they never played for the national championship and didn't win a conference title, they've gone 39-12 and made Texas a consistent power once again. The group is headed to a fourth straight bowl and a fourth straight Top 25 finish.

"The one thing we always had in mind was to take Texas back to the national picture," Simms said.

Their biggest stumbling block was Oklahoma, which has beaten the Longhorns three straight years. They recovered last year and reached the Big 12 title game, but an awful first half by Simms led to a Colorado victory.

"It's not like I went in thinking, 'Oh, it's a big game' and got nervous," Simms said. "It was just being young and making stupid mistakes."

Critics who point to the big-game flops often overlook the victories needed to get there, such as beating Colorado earlier last season, winning at Nebraska this season when that was still a big deal, and beating Kansas State, now ranked ahead of the Longhorns.

One thing missing from his résumé is a bowl win. He's hoping it'll happen Wednesday because running back Cedric Benson is healthy and so is the receiving corps of Roy Williams, B.J. Johnson and Sloan Thomas.

"Our joke around the team the last few weeks is, 'Let's see how good we could've been,'" Simms said. "This is the first time since the second game all our skill players are healthy."

Although Texas and Louisiana share a border, the flagship schools haven't met since 1966, when the Tigers beat the Longhorns 13-0 in the Cotton Bowl. UT leads the all-time series 8-7-1.

The game is sponsored by SBC.