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  Friday, Dec. 31 8:30pm ET
Rebels repeat in Independence Bowl
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) -- Mississippi finally got one to go its way in the fourth quarter, and the result was another Independence Bowl victory.

Deuce McAllister
Mississippi running back Deuce McAllister runs for a touchdown during the first quarter against Oklahoma.

The Rebels, who closed out the regular season with three-point losses to Georgia and Mississippi State after leading late, beat Oklahoma 27-25 Friday night.

Les Binkley's 39-yard field goal on the final play gave Ole Miss (8-4) its second straight Independence Bowl victory and fourth straight bowl win. Oklahoma, making its first bowl appearance since 1994, finished 7-5 despite a record-setting performance by quarterback Josh Heupel.

Heupel's third touchdown pass, a 17-yarder to Quenton Griffin, and the point-after kick by Tim Duncan had given the Sooners a 25-24 lead with 2:17 remaining.

"We all had it going through our mind, what we had been through with Miss State and Georgia," coach David Cutcliffe said. "But while they were driving, we talked about what we were going to do, how we were going to approach it. We felt we could get it done."

Deuce McAllister, who ran for 121 yards and scored twice, including an 80-yard run, got the Rebels started with a 42-yard kickoff return. Then he carried for 8 and 9 yards on the first two plays of the drive.

Later, Oklahoma was penalized five yards for having too many players on the field on a third-and-2 play.

"They said defense broke the huddle with 12 men on the field. We don't huddle," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "I've never heard of defense being called for breaking the huddle with 12 men on the field, have you?

"We called timeout before the snap and they threw a flag, so you figure it."

The penalty gave Ole Miss a first down at the 27. Three plays later, on third down, Binkley came on and cleanly made the game-winner as time expired.

"I felt pretty confident," said Binkley, who had hit from 49 yards during the regular season.

Cutcliffe said he knew Binkley was within range, and he didn't want to take any chances by running one more play before the kick.

"I've just seen so many bizarre things happen, I just didn't think it was worth the risk," he said. "The difference may have been two or three yards. I didn't want to risk a turnover."

Moments earlier, it looked as though Oklahoma had pulled off the victory.

Heupel was 39-of-53 for 390 yards, all Independence Bowl records, and led two scoring drives in the third quarter to pull Oklahoma within 21-18. He was 10-of-12 for 109 yards on the drives as the Sooners outgained Ole Miss 148-15.

A 29-yard field goal by Binkley capped a 14-play drive for Ole Miss and gave the Rebels a 24-18 lead with 11:18 remaining in the game.

Heupel appeared to commit a costly turnover when he fumbled at the Rebels 20 on Oklahoma's next drive, but Ole Miss didn't take advantage and Oklahoma got another shot. The Sooners drove 79 yards, including a 24-yard run by Griffin and a 22-yard completion to Brandon Daniels, before scoring the go-ahead touchdown.

The Rebels used big plays on both sides of the ball to build a big first-half lead.

The Sooners drove to the Ole Miss 18 on their first possession, but Duncan missed a 35-yard field goal. The Sooners also lost two fumbles, Heupel had a pass intercepted in the end zone, and a fake field goal on the final play of the half resulted in a 17-yard loss.

"You think of all the points we let go in the red zone and it's hard to win," Stoops said.

Romaro Miller was especially sharp in the first half, when he completed 12-of-17 passes for 158 yards. He had two intercepted, but also had two touchdown passes.

The first was a 25-yarder to McAllister, one play after Miller had hit Mice Flourney on a 45-yard completion.

McAllister came up with a big play three minutes later when he chased down defensive end Cory Heinecke, who had intercepted a pass and returned it 51 yards to the Ole Miss 20. Oklahoma wound up settling for a field goal.

The Rebels used 12 plays and nearly six minutes to score their second touchdown, which came on a 9-yard pass to tight end Adam Bettis. Miller was 5-of-5 passing and kept the drive alive with a 5-yard scramble on a third-and-5 play.

McAllister's 80-yard touchdown run, the longest in Independence Bowl history, came on the first play after Tim Strickland intercepted Heupel's pass in the end zone. McAllister bounced off a defender at the line, cut back and outran a handful of Sooners to the end zone.

The Rebels gave the state of Mississippi a 3-0 record in bowls. Mississippi State beat Clemson 17-7 in the Peach Bowl and Southern Mississippi beat Colorado State 23-17 in the Liberty Bowl.

 


ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard

Mississippi Clubhouse

Oklahoma Clubhouse

Sanford Independence Bowl


AUDIO/VIDEO
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 Deuce Mcallister 25-yard TD pass from Romaro Miller.
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 Romaro Miller connects with Adam Betris for a 9-yard TD.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

 Les Binkely hits a 39-yard field goal on the game's final play against the Sooners.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1