KENTUCKY HOLDS OFF PENN STATE IN CITRUS BOWL

Winning 10 games, beating Penn State on New Year’s Day, and finishing in the Top 20 is no small deal for the Kentucky Wildcats. So when Mark Stoops took a seat on the podium flanked by linebacker Josh Allen and running back Benny Snell Jr. after Tuesday’s 27-24 victory in the Citrus Bowl, the coach understandably was beyond excited.

“It was extremely important to this team, to all of us, to come home with some hardware, to come home with a trophy,” Stoops said.

Snell ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns to become Kentucky’s career rushing leader and helped the Wildcats end their best season in more than four decades on a winning note.

“There’s no question that these guys changed the culture,” Stoops said. “They’ve done so much and meant so much to this team and this program that it was very important to finish, to collect the trophy, win 10 games and win a game on New Year’s Day.”

Snell scored on runs of 2 and 12 yards in the second half, then carried for a couple of crucial first downs to help Kentucky (10-3) run out the clock after Penn State’s Trace McSorley trimmed a 27-7 deficit to three points despite playing with a foot injury. McSorley threw for 246 yards and two TDs, and the Nittany Lions’ career passing and wins leader also rushed for a team-high 75 yards and one TD. Penn State (9-4) started slowly on offense, missed one field goal and had another blocked.

Lynn Bowden Jr. scored on a 58-yard punt return for Kentucky. Allen, the Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year, had three of the Wildcats’ six sacks.

Outback Bowl: The Iowa Hawkeyes lost a yard on the last play of the Outback Bowl, pushing their final rushing total to minus-15 yards, and didn’t mind a bit.

They ran the play from victory formation. Safety Jake Gervase’s interception in the end zone helped preserve a late lead, and a ball-hawking defense compensated for a sputtering offense as Iowa beat Mississippi State 27-22 in Tampa, Fla.

Gervase also batted down an errant fourth-down pass to end the Bulldogs’ final drive at the Iowa 32 with 25 seconds left. Two earlier Mississippi State threats in the fourth quarter led to only three points.

The Hawkeyes totaled just 199 yards, with 75 on a TD pass from Nathan Stanley to Nick Easley, but they converted three takeaways into 17 points. The Hawkeyes won despite their running backs totaling 4 yards in 15 carries.

“We had a hard time blocking their front,” coach Kirk Ferentz said. “Defense really bailed us out.”

Iowa (9-4) earned its biggest postseason victory since an Orange Bowl win over Georgia Tech to cap the 2009 season. Mississippi State (8-5) lost to a team outside the top 15 for the first time.

Trailing 24-19, the Bulldogs had a first down at the Iowa 1 early in the fourth quarter, but three quarterback draws lost 2 yards and they settled for a field goal. They were again on the verge of taking the lead with nine minutes left, but receiver Stephen Guidry bobbled a tipped pass in the end zone, and Gervase snatched it away.

The Hawkeyes then drove 50 yards for a field goal, the game’s final score.

MIKE EHRMANN / GETTY IMAGES Mississippi State’s Stephen Guidry bobbles a pass that ends up in the hands of Iowa’s Jake Gervase during the fourth quarter of the Outback Bowl.

JOE ROBBINS / GETTY IMAGES Kentucky’s Benny Snell Jr., who rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns, looks to evade Penn State cornerback Amani Oruwariye during the first quarter of the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla., on Tuesday.