EL PASO, Texas — Oregon State wanted nothing to do with overtime.
Yvenson Bernard barely pushed into the end zone on a gutsy 2-point conversion run after Joe Newton caught a 14-yard touchdown pass with 22.1 seconds left, and No. 24 Oregon State beat Missouri 39-38 in the Sun Bowl on Friday.
The Beavers (10-4) trailed by 14 points with 12:08 to go before rallying for their eighth victory in nine games. Bernard's 7-yard reception had cut the gap to seven with 6:02 to go.
Tony Temple had 194 yards, four short of the Sun Bowl record, on 20 carries with two touchdowns, and Chase Daniel threw two touchdown passes for Missouri (8-5). The Tigers lost four of their last five after a 6-0 start.
Matt Moore threw four touchdown passes and ran for a fifth for Oregon State, which helped produce the second-highest scoring game in the Sun Bowl's 73-year history. He was 5-for-7 for 55 yards on the winning drive, set up after Sammie Stroughter's 38-yard punt return to the Oregon State 46.
Bernard's conversion run came after Missouri called a timeout to freeze kicker Alexis Serna before the extra point. Instead, it gave the Beavers time to persuade coach Mike Riley to go for two — and the gamble paid off.
Missouri had seven plays of 29 yards or longer, including Danario Alexander's 74-yard touchdown catch and Temple's 65-yard run against a defense that ranked in the middle of the Pac-10. Missouri responded after Oregon State scored on its opening drive of the second half for a 21-17 lead.
Tommie Saunders' 29-yard TD catch from tight end Chase Coffman off a lateral gave the lead back to Missouri and Temple's 65-yard untouched touchdown run seemingly put the Tigers in control at 31-21 with 5:58 in the third.
Daniel averaged 20 yards per completion, going 16-for-29 for 330 yards.
The victory was the latest in a series of nail-biters for Oregon State, which beat Hawaii and Oregon by a combined five points in the last two regular-season games. The Beavers' biggest triumph after a 2-3 start that had fans calling for Riley to be fired was a 33-31 stunner over then-No. 3 Southern California on Oct. 28.
Moore was 31-for-54 for 356 yards and set a school record of 182 passes without an interception before getting picked off by Brandon Massey in the third quarter. Oregon State retained possession on the play after Massey was stripped.
Oregon State prevailed despite a porous defense that allowed 98 points the last three games. Among Missouri's other big plays were a 40-yard catch by Coffman that led to Temple's 7-yard scoring run on the opening drive. A 47-yard run by Temple was followed by an 18-yard touchdown pass from Daniel to Coffman on the next play for a 38-24 lead with 12:08 left in the game.
Newton also caught an 11-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and had six receptions for 74 yards.
MUSIC CITY BOWL
KENTUCKY 28, CLEMSON 20: At Nashville, Tenn., Andre Woodson conjured up memories of Tim Couch and made Kentucky a bowl winner for the first time in 22 years. Woodson threw for three touchdowns and 300 yards as the Wildcats surprised Clemson 28-20. The junior completed 20 of 30 passes to finish his breakout season with 31 touchdowns — more than five times his total from last year. He joins Couch, the former No. 1 NFL draft pick, as the only Wildcats to top the 30-touchdown mark in a season. Behind Woodson, the game's Most Valuable Player, the Wildcats (8-5) racked up their highest point total in bowl history. They won their sixth bowl game overall and first since beating Wisconsin in the 1984 Hall of Fame Bowl.
Kentucky made its first bowl appearance since 1999 in front of a huge contingency of Wildcats fans, many of whom made the 200-mile trip from Lexington.
Clemson (8-5) took the loss in its 18th bowl game since 1985. The Tigers hadn't ended their season in defeat in three years. Despite beating Wake Forest and Georgia Tech, the teams that played for the Atlantic Coast Conference title, Clemson went into a tailspin down the stretch, losing four of five.
LIBERTY BOWL
SOUTH CAROLINA 44, HOUSTON 36: At Memphis, Tenn., South Carolina and Houston put on a record-setting offensive show for the first 30 minutes of the Liberty Bowl. The Gamecocks provided the defense when it mattered most.
Defensive end Jordin Lindsey came up with two turnovers for a defense that slowed down Houston in the second half, and South Carolina beat the Cougars 44-36 Friday for its first bowl victory under coach Steve Spurrier.
Blake Mitchell tied a bowl record by throwing four touchdown passes, Cory Boyd ran for two more TDs as the Gamecocks (8-5) finished Spurrier's second season with their best record since going 9-3 in 2001. Houston (10-4) came in with a six-game winning streak and looking to cap its Conference USA championship season. The Cougars, who went 0-11 in 2001, had Kevin Kolb making his 50th start at quarterback and leading the nation's sixth-best offense. Instead, the Cougars lost their seventh straight bowl game, third under coach Art Briles, and have not won a bowl since the 1980 Garden State Bowl.
CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL
MARYLAND 24, PURDUE 7: At Orlando, Fla., Sam Hollenbach passed for 223 yards and two touchdowns and Lance Ball rushed for 98 yards as Maryland beat Purdue 24-7 in the Champs Sports Bowl on Friday night.
The Terrapins (9-4) were able to keep Purdue's offense, the NCAA's 10th best at 425 yards per game, in check by blanketing its speedy wideouts, batting down several passes — and keeping the ball away from the Boilermakers.
Boilermaker quarterback Curtis Painter completed 23-of-36 passes for 264 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Maryland's offense was virtually mistake free, but Purdue (8-6) had several costly miscues.
INSIGHT BOWL
TEXAS TECH 44, MINNESOTA 41 (OT): At Tempe, Ariz., after spotting Minnesota a 31-point lead, Texas Tech rallied for a stunning 44-41 overtime victory, the biggest comeback in Division I-A bowl history.
Joel Monroe kicked a 32-yard field goal to put Minnesota up 41-38 in overtime, but Shannon Woods scored on a 3-yard run to win it for the Red Raiders.
The previous record for a bowl comeback was 30 points, set by Marshall against East Carolina in the 2001 GMAC Bowl.
Tech (8-6) appeared finished after Minnesota (6-7) took a 38-7 lead with 7:47 to go in the third quarter. But the Red Raiders mounted a furious comeback, scoring 31 unanswered points in less than 20 minutes.
Alex Trlica's 52-yard field goal as regulation expired sent the game into overtime.