College Football Roundup | Mississippi State stops Central Fla.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Mississippi State's victory in the Liberty Bowl was the kind of game coach Sylvester Croom's mentor would have loved.

Playing at the site of Paul "Bear" Bryant's final game 25 years ago, the Bulldogs used power running and a dominant defense to beat Central Florida 10-3 Saturday and earn a milestone win for the once-dormant program.

"I've said, quite often, we don't need style points," said Croom, the Southeastern Conference coach of the year who either played for Bryant or coached on his staff at Alabama for 11 seasons.

Anthony Dixon powered in from the 1 for the winning touchdown with 1:54 to go and the game's most valuable player, Derek Pegues, picked off two passes in a game featuring anemic offenses and 17 punts.

The Bulldogs (8-5) kept the Knights (10-4) out of the end zone and prevented Kevin Smith from setting the NCAA record for rushing yards in a season. The junior finished with 119 yards, leaving him 61 shy of Barry Sanders' mark of 2,628 yards set for Oklahoma State in 1988.

"I was trying to find the holes, but they were playing faster than us," said Smith, who had 35 carries and said he will return as a senior.

Croom is the SEC's first black football coach. Before the season, there was speculation the Bulldogs needed to have a winning season for Croom to keep his job. The season ended with the team's first postseason victory since the 2000 Independence Bowl.

Wake Forest triumphs

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Behind speedy receiver Kenneth Moore and a swarming defense full of big plays, Wake Forest rallied to beat fellow upstart Connecticut 24-10 in the Meineke Bowl.

Often called "Weak Forest" for a history of ineptitude, Wake Forest (9-4) secured the second-most wins in school history, behind last season's 11-3 mark.

Wake Forest finished with nine wins in its last 11 games, and reeled off 24 unanswered points after falling behind 10-0 at halftime against the Huskies (9-4).

Moore caught 11 passes for 112 yards and was voted the game's MVP.

Penn State prevails

SAN ANTONIO — Joe Paterno's 500th game as Penn State coach ended the way most have: with JoePa on top.

Evan Royster snapped a tie with a 38-yard touchdown run as Penn State erased an early 14-point deficit to beat Texas A&M 24-17 in the Alamo Bowl.

Paterno, the sport's leader in bowl appearances (34), led the Nittany Lions (9-4) in a thriller that brought him his record 23rd postseason win. The 81-year-old coach has 372 career victories, one behind Florida State's Bobby Bowden for the most in major-college football.

Most of the 66,166 fans at the Alamodome were rooting for the Aggies (7-6).

Notes

• Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, the Heisman Trophy runner-up to Florida's Tim Tebow, said he expects to play in Tuesday's Cotton Bowl against Missouri. A television report raised questions about his eligibility. Arkansas television station KARK later backed off the report, apologizing to McFadden and his family.

"It's something that's uncalled for — people not getting their facts straight," McFadden said. "I haven't done anything wrong."

• Illinois coach Ron Zook, who has guided the Illini to Tuesday's Rose Bowl against USC, won the Liberty Mutual coach-of-the-year award.

Illinois had a 2-10 record last season.