ORLANDO, Fla. — Aaron Murray wanted nothing more this week than to send Georgia’s senior class out with a game to remember.
The junior quarterback provided a record-setting performance to make it a reality.
Murray threw five touchdown passes to set a Georgia bowl record, including two in the fourth quarter, as the seventh-ranked Bulldogs beat No. 16 Nebraska 45-31 in the Capital One Bowl on Tuesday.
Murray shook off two firsthalf interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, and passed for 427 yards — also a Bulldogs bowl record — against the nation’s topranked passing defense. He was the game’s MVP on the way to earning his first bowl victory at Georgia.
Georgia (12-2) also reached 12 victories for the third time in school history.
“I don’t know what it’s like to head into an offseason with a win,” Murray said. “It’s a great feeling to get a win. It’s great for the seniors, who have meant so much to this team. They’ve done a great job of leading this team the whole season.
“To get 12 wins ... that’s something special.”
Nebraska (10-4) lost its third consecutive bowl game, and finished the season with two consecutive woeful defensive performances. It lost the Big Ten Championship Game 70-31 to Wisconsin.
The Cornhuskers led 24-23 at halftime, but committed two of their three turnovers in the final 30 minutes.
Taylor Martinez had two interceptions and two touchdown passes for Nebraska and Rex Burkhead rushed 140 yards in his final college game.
But Nebraska Coach Bo Pelini said the efficiency of Murray and Georgia on third down (finished 12 for 17) was too much to overcome.
“I thought the plan was good,” Pelini said of his team’s defensive scheme. “Third down hurt us, obviously. We were in position; it was man on man down the field. We needed to make some of those plays and we didn’t. And, you know, again, that cost us a football game.”
Nebraska drops to 12-7 against SEC opponents in bowl games.
Trailed by questions about his team’s focus following its narrow loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, Georgia Coach Mark Richt said Tuesday was also about a team that finished 5 yards shy of a BCS title game-berth finding closure.
“We wanted to win this game to prove to ourselves that we are one of the better teams in the country,” Richt said. “I think our guys did a good job of sucking it up when they were tired. ... But when you make a big play here and there, it gives you a little more energy as well. ... We made enough big plays at the right moment.”
Nebraska’s offense finished with 443 total yards, but the Bulldogs defense was stingy when it needed to be.
They sacked Martinez five times, with junior All-America linebacker Jarvis Jones notching two. Damian Swann had both of Georgia interceptions.
With his two sacks Jones set a single-season record for with 14 1/2 sacks for the season. He will now decide in the coming days whether or not to enter the NFL Draft.
HEART OF DALLAS BOWL
Fake punt rouses Cowboys
DALLAS — Patrick Higgins made a big decision right away in his only chance to be in charge of Purdue.
The interim coach called for a fake punt just 13 yards from his end zone on the Boilermakers’ first possession, and it worked. He just never got another chance to influence the outcome.
Clint Chelf threw three of Oklahoma State’s five touchdown passes and the Cowboys (8-5) shook off a tough Big 12 finish by rolling up 524 yards and forcing five Purdue (6-7) turnovers in a dominating 58-14 victory in the Heart of Dallas Bowl on Tuesday.
“When you turn the ball over five times, you don’t take advantage of your opportunities, the game can turn out like this,” Higgins said.
Higgins might have unintentionally awakened the Cowboys soon after the latemorning kickoff on a cold, overcast day when he called for the fake and punter Cody Webster easily picked up the first down on a 16-yard run.
Webster ended up punting anyway five plays later, and Josh Stewart returned it 64 yards to the Purdue 19 to set up Oklahoma State’s first score on a 4-yard pass from Chelf to Charlie Moore. Robert Marve threw his first interception on the next possession, and a 26-yard drive ended with Chelf ’s 7-yard pass to Blake Jackson.
“When they faked that punt on their own 13, they certainly got our attention they’d be willing to do anything,” Oklahoma State Coach Mike Gundy said.
Higgins welcomed fired coach Danny Hope into the locker room and said he hadn’t seen new coach Darrell Hazell, who attended the game just shy of a month after he was hired from Kent State. Higgins still doesn’t know what’s next for him.
“This whole situation has been awkward, you know,” Higgins said. “There’s nothing normal about where the head coach gets let go, the new coach is there. I’m holding the water out till the new guy comes in.”
Gundy didn’t hide the disappointment of Oklahoma State sliding down the bowl priority list with an overtime loss to Oklahoma when the rival Sooners scored in the final seconds of regulation, followed by another narrow defeat at Baylor to finish the regular season.
Sports, Pages 18 on 01/02/2013