PASADENA, California: Texas Christian completed a perfect season with a 21-19 win over Wisconsin in college football's Rose Bowl Saturday, with linebacker Tank Carder swatting down a potential tying 2-point conversion pass attempt with 2 minutes to play. Quarterback Andy Dalton threw a touchdown pass, passed for 219 yards and ran for a score for TCU, which won't win the national title – that will go to Auburn or Oregon at the BCS championship game in nine days – but proved it can play with anybody on college football's biggest stages. Bart Johnson caught an early TD pass and recovered a late onside kick for the Mountain West champion Horned Frogs (13-0), who followed up their second straight unbeaten regular season by performing on the big stage. Montee Ball rushed for 132 yards and a late score for the Big Ten co-champion Badgers (11-2), whose loss capped a nightmare New Year's Day for their conference, whose teams went 0-5 in bowl games Saturday. Fiesta Bowl Oklahoma 48, Connecticut 20: In Glendale, Arizona, Oklahoma ended a five-game BCS bowl losing streak with win over Connecticut in the Fiesta Bowl, with Landry Jones throwing for a school bowl-record 429 yards and three touchdowns. Oklahoma (12-2) carried plenty of BCS baggage after losing three straight title games and two Fiesta Bowls. The Sooners avoided the setback six pack thanks to Jones and Ryan Broyles, who had team records of 13 catches and 170 yards to go with the sealing touchdown. Connecticut (8-5) at least kept close for a while in its first BCS bowl. The hopeful Huskies steadied themselves after an initial barrage from Oklahoma and avoided a complete New Year's Day desert disaster with hard-nosed running by Jordan Todman and a handful of big plays. Outback Bowl Florida 37, Penn State 24: In Tampa, Florida, coach Urban Meyer walked away from Florida with a win in the Outback Bowl against veteran Joe Paterno, who insists Penn State's disappointing season won't be his last. Meyer closed out a highly successful six-year run that included a pair of national titles by leading the Gators back from a second-half deficit. Omarius Hines and Mike Gillislee ran for touchdowns, Chas Henry kicked three second-half field goals, and Ahmad Black sealed the win with an 80-yard interception return TD to help Florida (8-5) send Meyer out with a smile. He resigned last month amid health concerns. Paterno spent the week leading up to the game repeatedly shooting down rumors that the Outback Bowl could be his last. He expects to be back for a 46th season with the Nittany Lions (7-6). Matt McGloin threw five interceptions for Penn State after only being picked off four times in 174 attempts during the regular season. He finished 17 of 41 for 211 yards and one touchdown. Gator Bowl Mississippi State 52, Michigan 14: In Jacksonville, Florida, Chris Relf threw three touchdown passes, Vick Ballard ran for three scores and the Bulldogs overwhelmed the Wolverines in the Gator Bowl. The 38-point drubbing was the worst bowl loss in Michigan's storied history and may have sealed the fate of Wolverines coach Rich Rodriguez. His three-year tenure has been tainted by consecutive losing seasons, NCAA sanctions and late-season slides. Michigan (7-6) was out of this game early, done in again by a defense that made a middle-of-the-pack Southeastern Conference team look like a juggernaut. Relf and Ballard posed problems all day. Relf completed 18 of 23 passes for 281 yards, and added 49 yards on the ground. Ballard ran for 77 yards. The Bulldogs (9-4) finished with 485 yards and punted only twice. Capital One Bowl Alabama 49, Michigan State 7: In Orlando, Florida, Alabama rolled to the most lopsided victory in Capital One Bowl history, as Mark Ingram ran for two scores to break the Crimson Tide's career touchdown record. The 2009 Heisman winner had 59 yards rushing against the team he supported as a kid, and moved past Shaun Alexander's mark (41) with 42 career touchdowns. Greg McElroy threw for 220 yards and one touchdown as the Crimson Tide (10-3) found the end zone on their first four possessions, held the Spartans (11-2) to 171 total yards and sacked Kirk Cousins four times in their best performance all season. Ticketcity Bowl Texas Tech 45, Northwestern 38: In Dallas, Taylor Potts threw four touchdown passes and scored another on a trick play to carry Texas Tech to a tight victory over Northwestern. Eric Stephens ran 86 yards for a score, and the Red Raiders (8-5) led by 22 points early in the second half, then had to sweat it out. The Wildcats (7-6) got within a touchdown twice in the fourth quarter, with quarterbacks Evan Watkins and Kain Colter combining to lead three straight touchdown drives and Jordan Maybin returning an interception 39 yards for a score. The game wasn't decided until the final play, a heave by Watkins that was intercepted. Northwestern remains winless in a bowl since 1949. The Wildcats have lost eight in a row, including three straight close ones the last three seasons.
