South Carolina 38, North Carolina 21

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer had a bucket of mayonnaise dumped over his head Thursday, putting a memorable and messy finish on the Gamecocks' victory over North Carolina in the Duke's Mayo Bowl.

Jaheim Bell had five catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns for South Carolina (7-6), which rebounded nicely after it lost 30-0 to Clemson in its regular-season finale on Nov. 27. Kevin Harris added 169 yards rushing and a score, helping secure the mayo bath for Beamer.

Beamer joked that the mayo dump was "more awful than I thought it would be."

"I got hammered in the back of the head from the cooler — and then came the mayo," Beamer said. "I may have an concussion. It was awful. ... I have mayo in my pockets, I think."

Bell came into the game with 338 yards receiving and three TDs during the regular season, but figured prominently into the game plan early on.

The sophomore tight end got free for a 69-yard touchdown reception from converted wide receiver Dakereon Joyner and hauled in a 66-yard TD catch from former graduate assistant coach Zeb Noland on South Carolina's first two possessions.

Juju McDowell added a 35-yard TD run in the second quarter as South Carolina averaged 11.6 yards per play while opening a 25-13 lead in the first half.

Sam Howell threw for 205 yards and a touchdown for the Tar Heels (6-7), and reserve running back British Brooks had a bowl record 63-yard touchdown run for the Tar Heels.

South Carolina rotated Joyner and Noland under center, and both were effective.

Joyner came into the game having attempted only one pass this season and 31 in his college career.

But the element of surprise proved effective on the Gamecocks' first possession, when Joyner hit the 6-foot-3, 232-pound Bell in stride down the middle of the field.

Joyner, who was named the game's Most Valuable Player, finished 9-of-9 passing for 160 yards and also ran for 64 yards. Noland was 3-of-6 passing for 82 yards as the Gamecocks went nearly three quarters before their first incomplete pass.

Beamer said in hindsight he should have used Joyner more at quarterback earlier in the season.

"The element of making them defend the quarterback run was big," Beamer said. "And he's a talented thrower, too. ... We just wanted to give them something else to defend."

South Carolina rushed for 301 yards, despite Tar Heels coach Mack Brown saying North Carolina's game plan was to stop the run.

"You're not going to win football games like that," Brown said. "They ran it, we didn't."

Beamer said South Carolina had a 50-play live scrimmage leading up the game.

Said Beamer: "We had a plan for how we are going to win the game, but even I didn't anticipate it going that well."

Howell, a projected first-round pick in the NFL draft, made several impressive throws with his strong, accurate arm. But the junior quarterback spent most of the game under heavy duress playing behind an offensive line that struggled most of the season.

The Tar Heels cut the lead to 11 midway through the third quarter on a double-reverse flea flicker, with Howell finding a wide-open Garrett Walston for a 37-yard touchdown.

But South's Carolina's offense proved too much for a porous North Carolina defense as the Gamecocks racked up 543 yards on offense.

Purdue 48, Tennessee 45 (OT)

Mitchell Fineran kicked a 39-yard field goal in overtime and Purdue finished off its best season since 2003 by overcoming a 14-point deficit and beating Tennessee in a record-setting Music City Bowl.

Purdue (9-4) tied for the second-most wins in program history as only the 12th team in the Boilermakers' 134-year history to win nine games. They also won their fifth game away from home, something they hadn't done since 1943.

Tennessee (7-6) missed a chance to make Josh Heupel the first Vols coach to cap his debut season with a bowl win since Bill Battle won the 1971 Sugar Bowl. The Vols also snapped a four-game bowl victory streak with a loss that dropped the Southeastern Conference to 1-5 this bowl season.

This high-scoring game featured a flurry of big plays and points in the final five minutes only to see Purdue's defense make the deciding play.

On the first possession of overtime, Jamar Brown and Kieren Douglas stopped Vols running back Jaylen Wright short on fourth-and-goal at the 1. The stop was upheld on review for Wright's forward progress being stopped despite Wright reaching the ball over the goal line before the whistle without a knee touching the ground while laying on top of Douglas.

After Purdue ran three plays, Fineran sealed the victory with his fourth field goal of the game, sending the Boilermakers running down the field in celebration.

The end of regulation featured Purdue quarterback Aidan O'Connell throwing two of his five TD passes, starting with a pass Payne Durham took 62 yards after breaking a tackle in front of the Purdue bench.

Hendon Hooker threw two of his five TDs tying it up at 38 with a 13-yarder to Cedric Tillman on fourth-and-goal from the Purdue 13, then again at 45. The Vols had a final chance to win in regulation, but Chase McGrath's 56 yard field goal fell well short.

Tennessee finished with 639 yards total offense and Purdue had 623 in regulation — both bowl records before overtime. O'Connell easily set the mark with 534 yards passing, well above the 383 Mike Glennon had with N.C. State.

Purdue came in without All-America wide receiver David Bell, who's prepping for the NFL draft, and a receiving corps further thinned by injuries. Broc Thompson filled in with seven catches for a game-high 217 yards and two TDs.

The Boilermakers had a chance to keep this finish from being quite so exciting. But they settled for three field goals in the second quarter and only led 23-21 at halftime.

Hooker finished with 378 yards passing. Tillman had three touchdowns on seven receptions for 150 yards, and Jabari Small ran for 180 yards. 

Late Wednesday

No. 19 Clemson 20, Iowa State 13

D.J. Uiagalelei threw for 187 yards, Mario Goodrich scored on an 18-yard interception return and Clemson beat Iowa State in the Cheez-It Bowl for coach Dabo Swinney’s 150th victory. 

Will Shipley had a 12-yard touchdown run and finished with 61 yards rushing and 53 yards receiving for Clemson (10-3). Dacari Collins caught six passes for 53 yards, and B.T. Potter made two field goals.

Clemson won its sixth straight game to reach 10 victories for an 11th consecutive season. Florida State (14 from 1987-00) and Alabama (14 from 2008-21) are the only programs with longer streaks.

The Tigers, who came in with the nation's second-ranked scoring defense, held the Cyclones (7-6) to three field goals over the first three quarters. Iowa State finished with 270 yards and 14 first downs.

Goodrich sealed Clemson’s victory with 33 seconds to play when he stripped the ball away from Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy on fourth-and-2.

Iowa State dropped four of its final six games of the season.

No. 14 Oklahoma 47, No. 15 Oregon 32

Kennedy Brooks ran for 142 yards and three touchdowns as Oklahoma rode a dominant first half to a victory over Oregon in the Alamo Bowl.

Caleb Williams threw three touchdown passes for the Sooners, who gave interim coach Bob Stoops career win No. 191 and a special family moment when he hugged son Drake, an Oklahoma wide receiver, after a first-half touchdown.

Oklahoma (11-2) bolted to a 30-3 lead as Brooks and Williams sliced up the Oregon defense. At that point, the Sooners looked as dominant as some of Stoops’ old teams when he won a national championship and 10 Big 12 titles as Oklahoma’s coach from 1999-2016.

Travis Dye rushed for 153 yards and a touchdown for the Ducks (10-4). Anthony Brown finished with 306 yards passing.