By Nancy Kercheval Jan. 3 (Bloomberg) — Dexter McCluster ran for 185 yards and two touchdowns as the University of Mississippi beat 19th- ranked Oklahoma State University 21-7 in the Cotton Bowl. McCluster ran for 86 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter and two yards in the fourth to put Mississippi (9-4) ahead 14-7 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. A total of 12 turnovers were recorded during the game with Mississippi charged with five and Oklahoma State (9-4) committing seven. In the Alamo Bowl, Taylor Potts passed for 384 yards and two touchdowns, while Baron Batch ran for two more scores to give Texas Tech University a 41-31 victory over Michigan State University. Texas Tech (9-4) was playing without coach Mike Leach , who was fired after the regular season for allegedly mistreating a player. Defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill stepped in to direct the team at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Steven Sheffield, who replaced Potts, completed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Detron Lewis with 5:08 left in the game to take a 34-31 lead. Three minutes later, Batch sealed the victory with a 13-yard run. Kirk Cousins passed for 220 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions for Michigan State (6-7). Arkansas Win In the Liberty Bowl, Alex Tejada kicked a 37-yard field goal in overtime to give the University of Arkansas a 20-17 victory over East Carolina University. Jarius Wright caught a 41-yard pass from Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett with 5:16 left in the game to tie the score at 17-17 and force the overtime. Mallett completed 15 of 36 passing attempts for 202 yards and one touchdown for the Razorbacks (8-5). East Carolina’s Ben Hartman missed two field goal attempts in the last minute of regular play and also sent the ball veering wide left in overtime at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. Patrick Pinkney passéd for 212 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions for East Carolina, which had a 10-0 halftime advantage. In the International Bowl, Mike Ford rushed for 207 yards and one touchdown to lead the University of South Florida to a 27-3 win over the Northern Illinois University. South Florida Win B.J. Daniels threw two touchdown passes to A.J. Love as South Florida outscored Northern Illinois 24-0 in the second Half at Rogers Centre in Toronto. Daniels passed for 217 yards and Carlton Mitchell had six receptions for 94 yards for the Bulls (8-5). Mike Salerno kicked a 21-yard field goal in the second quarter for the Northern Illinois (7-6) points. In the Papajohns.com Bowl, Andre Dixon rushed for 126 yards and one touchdown and Dave Teggart added two field goals for the University of Connecticut’s 20-7 win over the University of South Carolina. Zach Frazer completed nine of 21 passing attempts for 107 yards and one touchdown for Connecticut (8-5). Stephen Garcia passed for 129 yards and one interception for South Carolina (7-6). Brian Maddox scored the Gamecocks’ only touchdown on a two-yard run with 3:24 left in the game at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. To contact the reporter on this story: Nancy Kercheval in Washington at nkercheval@bloomberg.net .
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Mississippi Beats No. 19 Oklahoma State in Cotton Bowl; Texas Tech Wins
