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2B Daily News ��� Wednesday, January 2, 2013 OUTBACK BOWL HEART OF DALLAS BOWL Oklahoma State thumps Purdue 58-14 MCT photo Michigan's Devin Gardner loses his helmet at the end of a run against South Carolina in the Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on Tuesday. Thompson���s late TD pass clinches South Carolina win TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ��� Connor Shaw led No. 11 South Carolina to the brink of victory and Dylan Thompson carried the Gamecocks over the hump in the Outback Bowl. Thompson came off the bench to throw a 32-yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds remaining Tuesday, enabling South Carolina to match a school record for victories in a season with a 33-28 win over No. 19 Michigan. Thompson replaced Shaw during the winning drive, covering the final 43 yards after Shaw begin the march from his own 30. Devin Gardner���s third TD pass of the game had given Michigan a 28-27 lead. Shaw threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns after missing South Carolina���s regular season finale with a left foot sprain. Thompson led the Gamecocks (11-2) to a victory over their archrival, and threw for 117 yards and two TDs a backup Tuesday. Gardner threw for 214 yards in his fifth start for Michigan (8-5) since Denard Robinson injured his right elbow late in the season. Robinson took some snaps at quarterback and even attempted his first passes in a game since Oct. 27, but lined up mostly at running back and rushed for 100 yards on 23 carries. Ace Sanders caught TD passes of 4 yards from Thompson and 31 yards ROSE (Continued from page 1B) years. The Cardinal ousted topranked Oregon on the way to the biggest season yet in the improbable surge of success started by Jim Harbaugh and Andrew Luck. Many Pac-12 observers expected a sharp decline at Stanford this season ��� but Shaw and Hogan, who took over as the starting quarterback in November, have accomplished something even Harbaugh and Luck couldn���t manage. When Bret Bielema abruptly left Wisconsin for Arkansas after winning the Big Ten title game, Alvarez agreed to coach his fourth Rose Bowl before handing off his program to new coach Gary Andersen, who met from Shaw, who completed 18 of 26 passes before limping off on the final drive. The speedy receiver had nine catches for 92 yards and also scored on a 63-yard punt return ��� one of four plays over 50 yards that Michigan yielded. Gardner was 18 of 36, including TD passes of 5 yards to Drew Dileo and 10 and 17 yards to Jeremy Gallon, who gave Michigan its late lead and finished with career bests of nine receptions and 145 yards. Robinson set the NCAA record for career yards rushing by a quarterback, hiking his four-year total to 4,495. South Carolina standout defensive end was quiet for much of the day, but shifted momentum in the fourth quarter with a big hit on Michigan���s Vincent Smith that sent the running back���s helmet rolling several yards backward and caused a fumble that the SEC defensive player of the year recovered to set up Shaw���s TD pass to Sanders for a 2722 lead. Robinson was injured during the first half of Michigan���s two-touchdown loss to Nebraska on Oct. 27. He missed the rest of that game, as well the next two against Minnesota and Northwestern before returning the final two weeks of the regular season to contribute in ways that didn���t require him to throw the ball. The six-foot, 197-pound senior with Alvarez on the field before the game. But the Badgers��� third straight Rose Bowl appearance ended in much the same way as the last two: With the offense failing to get the late score the Badgers desperately needed. ������This stings just as much, because we fell extremely short when we had the opportunity to win,������ Ball said. ������We had numerous opportunities to capitalize on big plays, and we fell short. ... This is not the way we want to be remembered. Speaking for the entire senior group, this is not the way we wanted to go out.������ Curt Phillips went 10 for 16 for 83 yards passing and that crucial interception for Wisconsin, doing more with 64 yards on the ground. Jordan Fredrick caught a short TD pass right before half- from Deerfield Beach, Fla., lined up at running back and also took take snaps without attempting a pass against Iowa and Ohio State while rushing for 220 yards on 23 carries and catching two passes for 24 yards. Robinson entered the game during Michigan���s second possession and ran for 15 yards on his first play. Gardner threw 26 yards to Gallon, moving the Wolverines into position for Brendan Gibbons to kick a 39-yard field goal. Down 14-3 after Sanders��� punt return, Michigan marched 75 yards in 11 plays to trim South Carolina���s lead to four, with Robinson carrying four times for 20 yards along the way. Gardner finished the drive by flipping his 5yard touchdown to Dileo early in the second quarter. Michigan began the day ranked second in the nation in pass defense, allowing 155 yards per game. South Carolina matched that in the opening half alone, with most of the yardage coming on Shaw���s long TD throw to Byrd and Thompson���s 70-yard completion to Jones that led to Sanders��� second TD for a 21-10 lead. The Wolverines turned South Carolina���s only turnover into Gibbons��� 40yard, second-quarter field goal and Matt Wile���s Outback Bowl-record 52yard field goal trimmed Michigan���s deficit to 21-16 with just under seven minutes remaining in the third quarter. time, but no Badgers receiver had more than Jared Abbrederis��� three catches. And though Ball became the first player to score touchdowns in three Rose Bowls, the powerful back fell short of Ron Dayne���s career Rose Bowl rushing record, swarmed under by waves of tacklers from one of the toughest defenses in the nation ��� a defense that shut down the top-ranked Ducks in mid-November to pave Stanford���s path to Pasadena. Wisconsin returned to Pasadena in a much more roundabout way as the first five-loss team to make it, losing three overtime games and making the Big Ten title game only because Ohio State and Penn State were ineligible. The Badgers then steamrolled Nebraska to become the first Big Ten team in three straight Rose Bowls since Michigan in the late 1970s. With the Rose Bowl filled with fans wearing the schools��� near-identical cardinal-and-white gear, Stanford went up 14-0 on Taylor���s 3yard TD run just 8 1/2 minutes in. Wisconsin briefly got rolling behind Ball, who rushed for 296 yards in his first two Rose Bowls. Stanford stopped James White inside the 1 on fourth down early in the second quarter after a touchdown run by Ball was wiped out by a holding penalty, but Ball scored on the next drive. The Badgers then mounted an 85-yard drive in the waning 2 1/2 minutes of the first half, with Phillips��� 38-yard run setting up Fredrick���s short TD catch to trim Stanford���s halftime lead to 17-14. and we didn���t. And, you know, again, that cost us a football game.������ Nebraska drops to 12-7 against SEC opponents in bowl games. Trailed by questions about his team���s focus following its narrow loss to Alabama in the SEC championship game, Georgia coach Mark Richt said Tuesday was also about a team that finished 5 yards shy of a BCS title game-berth finding closure. ������We wanted to win this game to prove to ourselves that we are one of the better teams in the country,������ Richt said. ������I think our guys did a good job of sucking it up when they were tired...But when you make a big play here and there, it gives you a little more energy as They sacked Martinez five times, with junior AllAmerican linebacker Jarvis Jones notching two. Damian Swann had both Georgia interceptions. there had to be a sense of panic. After all, the Wildcats had blown three double-digit (Continued from page 1B) leads in the second half of three games this season. Northwestern surrendered nel again.��������� It worked as Mississippi big leads against Penn State, State tied the game at 13 in Nebraska and Michigan. the third quarter. That ���here-we-go-again��� On the other sideline, feeling easily could have taken over when Mississippi State seized momentum. But the Wildcats didn���t flinch. They responded with Siemian directing a 76-yard drive that put NU up for good. Tyris Jones bowled in from 3 yards out. Siemian added a 4-yard TD run ��� set up by Colter���s 31-yard scamper ��� that made it 27-13 with 26 seconds remaining in the third. That came after Russell���s fourth pick, the one VanHoose grabbed near midfield. ������I feel like a big burden has been lifted off our shoulders,������ Colter said. CAPONE (Continued from page 1B) come. ������I thought the plan was good,������ Pelini said of his team���s defensive scheme. ������Third down hurt us, obviously. When were in position, it was man on man down the field. We needed to make some of those plays GATOR well...We made enough big plays at the right moment.������ Nebraska���s offense finished with 443 total yards, but the Bulldogs defense was stingy when it needed to be. DALLAS (AP) ��� Patrick Higgins made a big decision right away in his only chance to be in charge of Purdue. The interim coach called for a fake punt just 13 yards from his end zone on the Boilermakers��� first possession, and it worked. He just never got another chance to influence the outcome. Clint Chelf threw three of Oklahoma State���s five touchdown passes and the Cowboys shook off a tough Big 12 finish by rolling up 524 yards and forcing five Purdue turnovers in a dominating 58-14 victory in the Heart of Dallas Bowl on Tuesday. ������When you turn the ball over five times, you don���t take advantage of your opportunities, the game can turn out like this,������ Higgins said. Higgins might have unintentionally awakened the Cowboys soon after the latemorning kickoff on a cold, overcast day when he called for the fake and punter Cody Webster easily picked up the first down on a 16-yard run. Webster ended up punting anyway five plays later, and Josh Stewart returned it 64 yards to the Purdue 19 to set up Oklahoma State���s first score on a 4-yard pass from Chelf to Charlie Moore. Robert Marve threw his first interception on the next possession, and a 26-yard drive ended with Chelf���s 7-yard pass to Blake Jackson. ������When they faked that punt on their own 13, they certainly got our attention they���d be willing to do anything,������ Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. Higgins welcomed fired coach Danny Hope into the locker room and said he hadn���t seen new coach Darrell Hazell, who attended the game just shy of a month after he was hired from Kent State. Higgins still doesn���t know what���s next for him. ������This whole situation has been awkward, you know,������ Higgins said. ������There���s nothing normal about where the head coach gets let go, the new coach is there. I���m holding the water out till the new guy comes in.������ Gundy didn���t hide the disappointment of Oklahoma State sliding down the bowl priority list with an overtime loss to Oklahoma when the rival Sooners scored in the final seconds of regulation, followed by another narrow defeat at Baylor to finish the regular season. The Cowboys (8-5), a year removed from finishing the best season in school history with a win in the Fiesta Bowl, sure didn���t seem to lack motivation. They put together the biggest bowl NFL PLAYOFFS WILD CARDS Saturday���s games Cincinnati at Houston, 1:30 p.m. (NBC) Minnesota at Green Bay, 5 p.m. (NBC) Sunday���s games Indianapolis at Baltimore, 10 a.m. (CBS) Seattle at Washington, 1:30 p.m. (FOX) DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS Saturday, Jan. 12 Baltimore, Indianapolis or Cincinnati at Denver, 1:30 p.m. (CBS) Washington, Seattle or Green Bay at San Francisco, 5 p.m. (FOX) Sunday, Jan. 13 Washington, Seattle or Minnesota at Atlanta, 10 a.m. (FOX) Baltimore, Indianapolis or Houston at New England, 1:30 p.m. (CBS) CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS Sunday, Jan. 20 AFC, TBA (CBS) NFC, TBA (FOX) PRO BOWL Sunday, Jan. 27 At Honolulu AFC vs. NFC, 7 p.m. (NBC) SUPER BOWL Sunday, Feb. 3 At New Orleans AFC champion vs. NFC champion, 3 p.m. (CBS) win for Oklahoma State since Gundy was the quarterback in a 62-14 rout of Wyoming in the 1988 Holiday Bowl. ������Some of the seniors, those guys, would like to have been in a better bowl,������ said Chelf, who was 17 of 22 for 197 yards with no interceptions. ������We���re a highly motivated group. I think everybody wanted to go out there and prove people wrong, show them we could win a game like this.������ With former Purdue quarterbacks Drew Brees and Kyle Orton watching, Marve didn���t get to 100 yards passing until Oklahoma State led 45-0 as the Boilermakers (6-7) fell to 04 on New Year���s Day. Leading 28-0 at halftime, Oklahoma State erased any lingering doubt three plays into the second half when Justin Gilbert stripped Purdue receiver O.J. Ross on a short completion. The loose ball shot straight to Daytawion Lowe, who ran 37 yards down the sideline in front of the Purdue bench for a 35-0 lead. Lowe���s score was the third fumble return for a touchdown at historic Cotton Bowl Stadium dating to the namesake bowl game that started in 1937 and moved to Cowboys Stadium in 2009. Oklahoma State���s 58 points were the most in a bowl game at the Fair Park stadium, topping the 55 scored by Keyshawn Johnson and Southern California against Texas Tech in 1995. The Cowboys pushed the lead to 45-0 on Chelf���s third touchdown pass, a leaping 37-yard grab in the end zone by Isaiah Anderson, who had 78 yards receiving. J.W. Walsh had two touchdown passes for Oklahoma State after replacing Chelf in the third quarter. Freshman Wes Lunt, who won the quarterback job in summer workouts before getting hurt during the season, played the last half of the fourth. Purdue finally scored late in the third quarter when Marve found a wide open Brandon Cottom for a 32yard touchdown. NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific L.A. Clippers WARRIORS L.A. Lakers Sacramento Phoenix Southwest San Antonio Memphis Houston Dallas New Orleans Northwest Oklahoma City Portland Denver Minnesota Utah W 25 21 15 11 11 L 6 10 15 20 21 Pct GB .806 ��� .677 4 .500 9.5 .355 14 .344 14.5 W 25 19 17 13 7 L 8 9 14 19 24 Pct GB .758 ��� .679 3.5 .548 7 .406 11.5 .226 17 W 24 16 17 14 15 L 6 14 15 13 17 Pct .800 .533 .531 .519 .469 GB ��� 8 8 8.5 10 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic New York Brooklyn Boston Philadelphia Toronto Central Indiana Chicago Milwaukee Detroit Cleveland Southeast W 21 16 14 14 11 L 10 15 16 17 20 Pct .677 .516 .467 .452 .355 GB ��� 5 6.5 7 10 W 18 16 16 12 7 L 13 13 13 22 25 Pct GB .581 ��� .552 1 .552 1 .353 7.5 .219 11.5 W L Pct GB Miami 21 8 .724 ��� Atlanta 20 10 .667 1.5 Orlando 12 19 .387 10 Charlotte 8 23 .258 14 Washington 4 25 .138 17 ������������������������������������������������������ Tuesday���s results Dallas 103, Washington 94 Portland 105, New York 100 Detroit 103, Sacramento 97 Atlanta 95, New Orleans 86 L.A. Clippers at Denver, late Philadelphia at L.A. Lakers, late Today���s games Sacramento at Cleveland, 4 p.m. Portland at Toronto, 4 p.m. Washington at Indiana, 4 p.m. Chicago at Orlando, 4 p.m. Memphis at Boston, 4:30 p.m. Dallas at Miami, 4:30 p.m. New Orleans at Houston, 5 p.m. Brooklyn at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m. San Antonio at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. Philadelphia at Phoenix, 6 p.m. Minnesota at Utah, 6 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Golden State, 7:30 p.m.