Associated Press
ROSE BOWL
No. 8 Stanford 20, Wisconsin 14
PASADENA, Calif. -- Stepfan Taylor rushed for 89 yards and an early touchdown, Kevin Hogan passed for 123 yards, and No. 8 Stanford's dominant defense shut out Wisconsin in the second half of a 20-14 victory in the 99th Rose Bowl on Tuesday night.
Usua Amanam made the decisive interception near midfield with 2:30 to play as the Pac-12 champion Cardinal (12-2) won their first Rose Bowl since 1972.
Stanford didn't score many style points, but the Big Ten champion Badgers (8-6) couldn't score many points at all while losing the Granddaddy of Them All in heartbreaking fashion for the third consecutive season.
Wisconsin still stayed in position for an upset in the one-game return of Hall of Fame coach Barry Alvarez, who returned to the Wisconsin sideline for one game after hanging up his whistle.
Montee Ball rushed for 100 yards and his FBS-record 83rd touchdown for the Badgers, who managed only 82 yards after halftime.
Outback Bowl
No. 11 South Carolina 33, No. 19 Michigan 28
TAMPA, Fla. -- Dylan Thompson came off the bench to throw a 32-yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds remaining Tuesday, giving No. 11 South Carolina a 33-28 victory over No. 19 Michigan in the Outback Bowl.
Thompson replaced Connor Shaw during the winning drive, covering the final 43 yards after the Gamecocks' starter began 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 against Clemson 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 as a backup Tuesday.
Gardner threw for 214 yards in his fifth start for Michigan (8-5) since Denard Robinson injured his right elbow in late October. Robinson took some snaps at quarterback, but lined up mostly at running back and rushed for 100 yards on 23 carries.
Capital One Bowl
No. 6 Georgia 45, No. 23 Nebraska 31
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Aaron Murray threw five touchdown passes to set a Georgia bowl record, including two in the fourth quarter, as the sixth-ranked Bulldogs beat No. 23 Nebraska 45-31 in the Capital One Bowl on Tuesday.
Murray shook off a pair of first-half interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, and passed for 427 yards -- also a Bulldogs' bowl record -- against the nation's top-ranked passing defense.
Georgia (12-2) reached 12 wins for the third time in school history.
Nebraska (10-4) lost its third consecutive bowl game, and finished the two season with two straight woeful defensive performances. The Cornhuskers lost the Big Ten championship game 70-31.
The Cornhuskers led 24-23 at the half, but committed two of their three turnovers in the final 30 minutes.
Gator Bowl
No. 21 Northwestern 34, Mississippi State 20
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Behind huge interceptions early and late, No. 21 Northwestern beat Mississippi State (8-4) 34-20 in the Gator Bowl on Tuesday and snapped college football's longest postseason losing streak.
The Wildcats (10-3) won their first bowl game since 1949, snapping a nine-game losing streak that was tied for the longest in NCAA history. They also celebrated double-digit victories for the first time since the 1995 Rose Bowl season.
Quentin Williams returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown on the third play of the game and Nick Vanhoose set up a late touchdown with a 39-yard interception return. Those plays were the difference in a back-and-forth game that featured more interceptions (7) than touchdowns (6).
Heart of Dallas Bowl
Oklahoma State 58, Purdue 14
DALLAS -- Clint Chelf threw three of Oklahoma State's five touchdown passes and the Cowboys shook off a disappointing Big 12 finish by dominating Purdue (6-7) 58-14 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl on Tuesday.
The Cowboys, a year removed from a Fiesta Bowl win that capped the best season in school history, forced five turnovers and had another short touchdown drive after a 64-yard punt return from Josh Stewart.
It was the biggest bowl win for Oklahoma State since coach Mike Gundy was the quarterback in a 62-14 rout of Wyoming in the 1988 Holiday Bowl. The Cowboys (8-5) missed out on upper-tier bowls after narrow losses in their last two Big 12 games.
With former Purdue quarterbacks Drew Brees and Kyle Orton watching, Robert Mavre didn't get to 100 yards passing until Oklahoma State led 45-0 as the Boilermakers (6-7) fell to 0-4 on New Year's Day.
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