Ole Miss stops OSU 21-7 in Cotton Bowl

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 as the Rebels beat No. 21 Oklahoma State 21-7 in the Cotton Bowl on Saturday.

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 Cowboys (9-4) missed a chance for their first 10-win season since 1988.

Liberty Bowl

Arkansas 20, East Carolina 17, OT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Alex Tejada kicked a 37-yard field goal in overtime 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, 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.

Papajohns.com Bowl

Connecticut 20, South Carolina 7

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Andre Dixon rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown and resilient Connecticut ended a trying season with a victory.

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.

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.

International Bowl

South Florida 27, Northern 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.

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.

-- The Associated Press