bowl roundup \ Saturday’s games

January 3, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Mississippi 21, No. 21 Oklahoma State 7

ARLINGTON, Texas — Dexter McCluster gave Mississippi fans a finale to remember, rushing for 182 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead 2-yard run on a direct snap with 4:03 left to lift the Rebels in the Cotton Bowl. McCluster also had an 86-yard TD run in the second quarter after the senior had already become the first Southeastern Conference player with 1,000 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving in the same season. Ole Miss (9-4) had five turnovers in the game, but Oklahoma State had six in the fourth quarter, and seven overall. The Rebels failed to capitalize on Kendrick Lewis’ two interceptions, but McCluster scored after a fumble to break a 7-7 tie. Patrick Trahan picked up another fumble and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown less than a minute later, then intercepted a deflected fourth-down pass by Oklahoma State’s Zac Robinson on the next drive. The Cowboys (9-4) missed a chance for their first 10-win season since 1988 when coach Mike Gundy was their starting quarterback. Ole Miss coach and former Oklahoma State quarterback Houston Nutt was one of their coaches then. Nutt has led to Rebels to consecutive 9-4 seasons, both capped by Cotton Bowl victories. Ole Miss had lost all eight of its SEC games in 2007 before Nutt replaced the fired Ed Orgeron. Ole Miss and Oklahoma State, also 9-4 a year ago, came into this season with unprecedented expectations. Both were in the AP preseason Top 10 before early losses. Each entered the Cotton Bowl, the first in Cowboys Stadium instead of the game’s namesake stadium, coming off decisive losses against their instate conference rivals in their regular-season finales. They finished with a mistake-filled game in which both teams had missed opportunities — each was stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 1, and Ole Miss missed two field goals.

Arkansas 20, East Carolina 17, OT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Alex Tejada kicked a 37-yard field goal in overtime to give Arkansas a win in the Liberty Bowl after East Carolina’s Ben Hartman missed two field goal attempts late in regulation and another in the extra session. Hartman missed from 39 yards with 1:03 remaining and from the same distance on the final play of the fourth quarter, then missed from 35 in overtime. Tejada, who has struggled with kicks in pressure situations himself, made his attempt to end the game. Arkansas won despite going 0 of 13 on third down. It was the second straight overtime game for the Razorbacks (8-5), who fell 33-30 to LSU in the regular-season finale. Tejada missed a kick to end that game and also missed from 43 yards in the fourth quarter Saturday. That was nothing compared to what Hartman went through. He missed four attempts in all, each at the same end of the field. He was short from 45 yards in the first quarter, then hit the left upright with just over a minute left. He was wide right on the second potential game-winner, then wide left in overtime. East Carolina (9-5) lost in the Liberty Bowl for the second straight season. Last time it was a late fumble return by Kentucky that did in the Pirates. Arkansas had won only two of its previous 14 bowls, and the Razorbacks insisted they were unusually focused on this one. It didn’t show. Arkansas’ vaunted offense had the ball for only 22:05. Ryan Mallett was named most valuable player, but he went only 15 of 36 for 202 yards and a touchdown. Dominique Lindsay rushed for 151 yards on 33 carries for East Carolina. His 3-yard touchdown run opened the scoring in the second quarter, ending a 99-yard drive by the Pirates. It was 10-0 at halftime, the first time the Razorbacks had been shut out in the first half since September against Alabama. Arkansas had been averaging 37 points per game. The Razorbacks tied it in the third quarter with a defensive touchdown when Tramain Thomas intercepted a pass and ran 37 yards to the end zone.

S. Florida 27, N. Illinois 3

TORONTO — Mike Ford ran for a career-high 207 yards and scored one touchdown and B.J. Daniels threw two scoring passes to A.J. Love, and South Florida won the International Bowl. Carlton Mitchell caught six passes for 94 yards for the Bulls, who won back-to-back bowls for the first time. South Florida beat Memphis 41-14 in last year’s St. Petersburg Bowl, part of a streak of five straight bowl appearances. South Florida scored 24 unanswered points in the second half after the teams traded field goals in a dreary first half. Ford had just one carry in the first half, an 18-yard gain in the second quarter. He broke out in the third, rushing 12 times for 106 yards, then capped his day with a 24-yard scoring run in the final quarter.

UConn 20, South Carolina 7

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Andre Dixon rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown and resilient Connecticut ended a trying season in the Papajohns.com Bowl. The Huskies (8-5) are 3-1 in bowl games since moving up to Division I-A (now FBS) in 2002. They won their final three regular-season games and overcame the October stabbing death of cornerback Jasper Howard to reach a bowl. UConn made the most of the trip. The nation’s 95th-rated pass defense throttled South Carolina (7-6) and quarterback Stephen Garcia while relying on Dixon’s 33 carries to control the ball. Dixon was the Most Valuable Player and joined teammate Jordan Todman as 1,000-yard rushers, the first time two UConn backs have surpassed that mark in a season. Garcia completed just 16 of 38 passes for 129 yards while gaining 56 yards on 15 carries.

LATE FRIDAY

No. 5 Florida 51, No. 4 Cincinnati 24

NEW ORLEANS — Tim Tebow walked toward the sideline, raised his arms above his head and shared a long embrace with Florida coach Urban Meyer. It wasn’t quite how either of them expected this season to end. It came in the Sugar Bowl instead of the national championship game. It came against Cincinnati instead of Texas. It was about redemption instead of perfection. Nonetheless, it was hard to top for both of them because of Meyer’s uncertain future, Tebow’s triumphant finale and a victory over Cincinnati that may have been as important as any of the others the two have shared during the last four seasons. “This last week was tough, just dealing with everything and just worried about others around you and stuff,” Tebow said. “But, you know, it still was special. To finish it off like this was special.” Tebow threw for a career-high 482 yards and three touchdowns, ran for 51 yards and another score and capped a storied college career with his finest performance. It was the best in BCS history, too. “It was incredible,” Tebow said. “Just a great game. It was exactly how you want to go out with these seniors and these coaches in your last game and your last time together. It just really doesn’t get any better than this.” Well, another national title was Tebow’s plan all season. But after a 32-13 loss to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference championship game last month, Tebow had to settle for the Sugar Bowl. And anyone who thought the fifth-ranked Gators (13-1) wouldn’t be ready against the Bearcats (12-1) doesn’t know their emotional leader. The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner completed his first 12 passes, led the Gators to scores on their first five possessions and finished with 533 total yards — more than anyone in Bowl Championship Series history. He topped former Texas star Vince Young’s record of 467 yards set against Southern California in the 2005 Rose Bowl. “They couldn’t stop Superman,” said Gators guard Carl Johnson. “They needed some kryptonite.”