Cincinnati gets 10th victory, 31-21

Ben Mauk and No. 20 Cincinnati spoiled Jeff Bower’s farewell.

Mauk passed for 334 yards and four touchdowns and DeAngelo Smith intercepted three passes Saturday, leading the Bearcats to a 31-21 victory over Southern Mississippi and its outgoing coach in the Papajohns.com Bowl at Birmingham, Ala.

The victory gave Cincinnati (10-3) its second 10-win season and first since 1951, virtually assuring a spot in the final rankings for the first time.

Mauk completed 30 of 52 passes and overcame three interceptions to become only the third Bearcats player to have a 3,000-yard passing season. It was a nice finish for the former Wake Forest starter and for first-year Cincinnati Coach Brian Kelly, but a difficult one for Southern Miss (7-6) and Bower.

This was the final game as coach for Bower after 17 seasons at his alma mater, a stay that ranks behind only that of Joe Paterno, Bobby Bowden and Frank Beamer among current coaches. Bower was forced to resign after a disappointing regular season, leading to the hiring of Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Larry Fedora.

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Paul Baker ran for 167 yards in his first start, and Donovan Porterie threw for a career-high 354 yards and two touchdowns to help New Mexico beat Nevada, 23-0, in the New Mexico Bowl at Albuquerque.

The Lobos (9-4) ended a 46-year skid without a postseason victory and gave 10th-year Coach Rocky Long his first bowl victory in five tries.

The Wolf Pack (6-7) hadn’t gone scoreless since losing to Weber State, 10-0, on Sept. 27, 1980, a span of 329 games -- the longest current streak in college football and the second longest in history.

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Thirty-six Florida State players won’t be going to the Dec. 31 Music City Bowl against Kentucky because of an academic cheating scandal, violations of team rules, injuries or other reasons.

Linebacker Dekoda Watson, cornerback Patrick Robinson, who had six interceptions, and three top defensive tackles were among the players sidelined either as a result of the ongoing investigation into an academic cheating scandal at the school or some other violation of team rules. The total number of players not going to the game was determined by comparing the travel list with the roster provided by the university. A violation of team rules could range from poor class attendance to a run-in with the law or failing a drug test, among many other things.