Eli Manning threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score, leading No. 16 Mississippi to a 31-28 victory over No. 21 Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl on Friday.
Ole Miss had since played in January only twice, both in the Gator Bowl, losing to Auburn in Archie Manning's final game in 1971 and to Michigan in 1991.
Manning's 1-yard keeper in the fourth quarter capped a 97-yard drive, and ended a streak of 24 straight points by Ole Miss (10-3), which finished with its first 10-win season since 1971.
Rashaun Woods set Cotton Bowl records with 11 catches for 223 yards for the Cowboys (9-4), including a 17-yard touchdown.
Oklahoma State's Josh Fields set a Cotton Bowl record with 307 yards on 21-of-33 passing. The junior's touchdown gave him 55 in his career, breaking the school record set by offensive coordinator Mike Gundy (1986-89).
Peach Bowl
Clemson 27, No. 6 Tennessee 14
In Atlanta, Chad Jasmin ran for a career-high 130 yards and a touchdown, helping Clemson upset Tennessee.
Kyle Browning and Duane Coleman added touchdown runs, leading the Tigers (9-4) to their fourth straight victory.
The Volunteers (10-3) lost the Peach Bowl for the second straight season, although the score was a bit closer than the 30-3 rout by Maryland a year ago. In this one, they committed 10 penalties, including two for pass interference, two for unsportsmanlike conduct and two for roughing quarterback Charlie Whitehurst.
Aaron Hunt kicked two field goals for Clemson, which gave the Atlantic Coast Conference its third straight Peach Bowl victory.
Casey Clausen, a four-year starter playing in his final game for the Volunteers, threw for 384 yards and two touchdowns. But Tennessee got little from its running game, finishing with 38 yards on 26 carries.
Fiesta Bowl
No. 7 Ohio State 35,
No. 8 Kansas State 28
In Tempe, Arizona, Craig Krenzel left college football with another Fiesta Bowl triumph and another Most Valuable Player award as No. 7 Ohio State held off No. 8 Kansas State.
Ell Roberson's comeback, meanwhile, fell one touchdown short in a game many thought he would not play.
Krenzel, who finished his Ohio State career 24-3 as a starter, matched his career high with four touchdown passes -- two each to Michael Jenkins and Santonio Holmes.
Roberson got the start despite a sexual-assault accusation by a woman early Wednesday, an incident that tarnished Kansas State's first Bowl Championship Series trip. He brought the Wildcats back from deficits of 21-0 and 35-14.
After a 3-for-13 start, Roberson completed 20 of 52 passes for 294 yards and one interception. He ran for 32 yards.
Sugar bowl
Oklahoma vs. Louisiana State
In the fairy-tale world of college football, in which apples and oranges are compared, voters who watched Southern California abuse Michigan on Thursday in the Rose Bowl have concluded that the Trojans are Kings of the Hill.
Before Oklahoma and Louisiana State even play a down in the Sugar Bowl here Sunday night, the University of Southern California is being hailed as the People's Champion.
I inadvertently fed into this feeling a couple of weeks ago, when the computers cheated USC out of its rightful place in Bowl Championship Series title game. But my criticism of the BCS was hardly intended to make USC the People's Champion.
First of all, there is no way a private college in Southern California can be the People's Champion. This defies logic, but so does the broken BCS system.
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