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 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 36 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 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 goal attempts.
McCluster was the obvious standout, with his 32 carries and five catches for 45 yards. He leaves Ole Miss with 3,921 career all-purpose yards, second in school history behind Deuce McAllister's 4,889.
After becoming only Ole Miss' fourth 1,000-yard rusher on his third carry of the game, McCluster surpassed 500 yards receiving on the final play of the first quarter. Yet, his best was still to come.
McCluster's 86-yard TD run in the second quarter came on a handoff from freshman quarterback Nathan Stanley. McCluster went to the right and through a gap, running untouched for the second-longest run in the 74-year history of the Cotton Bowl.
That was Ole Miss' first offensive play after Jevan Snead threw an interception and was hit so hard on a blindside block while pursuing the defender with the ball that his helmet got knocked off.
Snead, a junior who has not declared if he will return for his senior season or go to the NFL early, finished 13 of 23 for 168 yards with three interceptions, pushing his season total to 20.
Robinson was 13 of 27 for 118 yards with two interceptions.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
