SEC 2-1 In New Year’s Day Bowls; FSU Wins Orange

The SEC is regarded by most as the best football conference in America but it sure got a scare on New Year’s Day.  

In the Gator Bowl, SEC member Mississippi State loses to Northwestern of the Big 10 34-20 as the Wildcats win their first bowl game since 1949 and finish 10-3 on the season.  After a fast start to the season, Dan Mullen’s Bulldogs fade down the stretch and finish 8-5.

In the Capital One Bowl, Nebraska and Georgia exchanged points quickly and often until the fourth quarter when Georgia pulls away for a 45-31 win.   Quarterback Aaron Murray throws five touchdown passes as Georgia ends its season 12-2 and Nebraska falls to 10-4.

In the Outback Bowl, reserve quarterback Dylan Thompson fires a touchdown pass while being nailed by an oncoming rusher in the final minute of play to lift South Carolina to a 33-28 win over Michigan.   For the Gamecocks, the win meant the school gets back to back 11 win seasons for the first time in school history; with the loss, Michigan drops to 8-5.

In other bowl games on New Year’s Day, Stanford tops Wisconsin 20-14 to win the Rose Bowl and Florida State starts slowly but comes on late to beat upstart Northern Illinois 31-10 to win the Orange Bowl.   Running back Lonnie Pryor ran for 130 yards and two scores for the Seminoles who finish 12-2.