Four turnovers by University of Central Florida quarterback Kyle Israel and a late- game Mississippi State scoring drive broke a fourth-quarter tie and sealed a 10-3 victory for the Bulldogs (8-5, 4-4 SEC) in front of a record crowd of 63,816. Mississippi State head coach Sylvester Croom credited the win to his players and coaching staff’s ability to overcome adversity.
“They have such good character and teamwork,” he said. “We did what we always do and found a way to win late in the game. We just played Mississippi State football.”
Junior free safety Derek Pegues received Most Valuable Player and MSU Defensive Player of the Game honors after a pair of first-half interceptions, becoming only the sixth player in Liberty Bowl history to record two interceptions.
“I got a really good read on where he was throwing the ball,” Pegues said. “I could see it in his eyes, and I was just lucky to catch it because it was coming right at me.”
Pegues returned his first interception 40 yards to the six-yard line but the Bulldogs were unable to get to the end zone and had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by junior Adam Carlson.
“I was really proud of our defense during that drive, stopping them on the five and making them kick that field goal,” UCF head coach George O’Leary said. “It just shows how hard they fought.”
A 45-yard field goal by Michael Torres left a 3-3 tie going into halftime, and both teams struggled to attain first downs early in the second half.
The Golden Knights saw scoring opportunities in the second half as Torres missed on both a 32-yard and 37-yard field goal attempt. O’Leary said he had no second thoughts about going for the field goals.
“I was going to go for the field goal anyway,” he said. “Michael [Torres] has had such a good season, and it was disappointing he missed those two because it really killed our momentum.”
Tailback Kevin Smith, who received UCF Offensive Player of the Game honors, cost the Golden Knights another turnover after he fumbled the ball due to confusion as to what play had been called.
Smith would finish the game with his 13th 100-yard rushing game, after having 35 carries for 119 yards.
Croom said he was impressed with his team’s ability to stop Smith, who entered the game second in the nation in rushing yards.
“I think everybody else in their conference might as well go ahead and put their name on that conference trophy because they are going to be tough to beat with Kevin Smith coming back,” he said.
The Bulldogs capitalized on Israel’s third interception of the evening, beginning a 10-play, 59-yard drive capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by sophomore tailback Anthony Dixon, giving MSU a 10-3 lead that would not be relinquished.
Bulldogs quarterback Wesley Carroll said running the option play was a key to the touchdown drive.
“We knew the option was there,” he said. “They hadn’t stopped it all night and spreading them out definitely helped. We just knew we had to execute out of the gun.”
Dixon would finish the night with 86 yards on 24 carries, bringing him to 1,066 total yards this season. This marks the ninth 1,000-yard season in MSU history, with Dixon becoming the seventh Bulldog running back to reach the milestone.
O’Leary said the turnovers were key to the Golden Knights’ loss and he had considered using another quarterback after the third interception.
“You can’t turn the ball over four times and expect to win,” he said. “Actually the score was a lot closer than it should have been after four turnovers.”
Croom said he hoped the bowl win would help carry the team’s momentum to a successful 2008 season.
“I told Derek [Pegues] when he called me to tell me he was coming to State that we’d win a conference title before he left,” he said. “We’re going to take a couple of weeks off, and then we’ll come back and prepare for next season. We’ve got a long way to go [to an SEC championship], but that’s what we’ve got our eye on for next season.

Gallery • 7 Photos

Anthony Dixon caps off a Bulldog 56-yard scoring drive with a one-yard touchdown run.