Postgame Notes

BOWL INFORMATION

Ole Miss made its second straight postseason trip to the Cotton Bowl and third since 2004 ... This marked Ole Miss' fifth al-time Cotton Bowl appearance, posting a 4-1 record ... The Rebels defeated TCU 14-13 in the 1956 game, dropped a 12-7 decision to Texas in 1962 and knocked off Oklahoma State 31-28 in 2004 and Texas Tech 47-34 in 2009.
Ole Miss made consecutive January bowl appearances for the first time since 1970-71 ... The last time the Rebels made consecutive bowl appearances was 2002-03.
Ole Miss is 8-1 in its last nine bowl games dating back to a 13-0 win over Air Force in the 1992 Liberty Bowl ... The Rebels' only loss during that span came during the 2000 Music City Bowl, falling 49-38 to West Virginia.
This marked Ole Miss' 33rd all-time bowl appearance, which is tied for 17th on the NCAA Division I-A's list of all-time bowl appearances ... Ole Miss is 21-12 in bowl games, with the 21 wins tied for 11th most in NCAA Division I-A history.
The Rebels are 8-2 in bowl games against the Big XII Conference and have won seven straight.

SERIES INFORMATION

This game marked the second meeting of the all-time series, and both have been in the Cotton Bowl Classic.
In the only other meeting, Ole Miss defeated Oklahoma State 31-28 in the 2004 Cotton Bowl.

GENERAL NOTES

With a 9-4 mark for the second straight year, Ole Miss has posted back-to-back nine-win seasons for the first time since 1961-62.
Ole Miss is 47-11 versus non-conference opponents dating back to a 38-0 win over Tulane on Nov. 12, 1994.
With the win over No. 18 Oklahoma State, Ole Miss improved to 2-1 vs. ranked opponents this year, having lost to No. 3 Alabama 22-3 and defeated No. 8 LSU 25-23 ... Ole Miss is 5-3 against ranked teams under head coach Houston Nutt, who boasts 21 career coaching victories over ranked teams.
The Rebels matched their season high for turnovers with five while forcing a season-high seven turnovers.
Ole Miss' first-quarter drive that stalled at the one-yardline marked the first time this year that the Rebels turned the ball over in the red zone.
The Rebels improved to 8-1 when leading at halftime this year.

OFFENSIVE NOTES

Senior Dexter McCluster became the first player in SEC history with 1,000 rushing yards (1,169) and 500 receiving yards (520) in the same season ... His 1,169 yards is the second-highest rushing total in school history ... He is the fourth Rebel all-time to rush for 1,000 yards and posted the sixth 1,000-yard season in Ole Miss history.
McCluster topped 100 rushing yards for the fifth time in the last seven games with 182 yards ... His 34 carries marked a career high ... His two TD runs give him multiple scores for the third time this year (4 runs vs. Tennessee; 1 run, 1 reception vs. Memphis)
McCluster's career-long 86-yard run for a TD marked the longest by a Rebel since 1997, when John Avery rushed 97 yards for a score against Arkansas ... It is the second-longest TD run in Cotton Bowl history and also the second-longest TD run in Ole Miss' bowl history, behind Ray Brown's 92-yard TD run against Texas in the 1958 Sugar Bowl ... McCluster notched six plays this year of over 50 yards (4 rushes, 2 receptions).
McCluster becomes the first two-time Cotton Bowl Offensive MVP since SMU's Doak Walker was honored after the 1948 and 1949 Classics.
With 112 yards on seven receptions, senior WR Shay Hodge became the Ole Miss career leader in receiving yards with 2,646, passing Chris Collins' 2,621 (2000-03) ... Hodge notched his fifth 100-yard receiving game of the year, which puts him alone in first place on the Rebels' single-season chart.
Junior QB Jevan Snead finished 13-of-23 for 168 yards with three interceptions ... He failed to throw a TD pass for just the fourth time this year.

DEFENSIVE NOTES

The Ole Miss defense matched their season-high for turnovers forced with seven (four interceptions, three fumbles) ... The last time Ole Miss intercepted four passes was 2007 against Memphis ... The four picks ties the Rebels' bowl record.
With OSU's nine first downs, the Rebel defense held the opposition under 10 first downs for the first time since the 2008 Mississippi State game (8).
Ole Miss limited the Cowboys to 259 total yards, marking the seventh time this season the opponent was held under 300 yards of total offense ... The Rebels held the opposition to just 119 passing yards.
Senior S Kendrick Lewis recorded a career-high two interceptions ... He is the first Rebel since Dustin Mouzon in the 2007 Memphis game with two picks ... It marked Lewis' first two interceptions of the year and give him six in his career ... He finished with four tackles, two interceptions, a pass break-up and a forced fumble.
Playing in his third career Cotton Bowl (2007, 2009, 2010), senior LB Patrick Trahan returned his first career fumble recovery 34 yards for his career TD ... It marked the first time for a Rebel to return a fumble for a TD since Travis Johnson in the 2005 Citadel game (16-yard return) ... Trahan also notched the first interception of his career today ... Trahan, who posted a safety in last year's Classic, finished today with four tackles with 1.0 TFL.
Senior CB Cassius Vaughn topped the team with a season-high seven total tackles (all solos) along with two pass break-ups.
Junior S Fon Ingram recorded his second interception of the year.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

Senior PR Marshay Green notched a season-long 63-yard punt return and finished with a career-high 106 return yards ... Including 79 yards in last year's Classic, Green boasts 185 career punt return yards in the Cotton Bowl.
Senior K Joshua Shene missed only his second FG attempt of less than 40 yards this year (12-of-14) with the 39-yard miss in the fourth quarter ... Shene connected on all three PATs.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

Related Videos