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Updated: Thursday, December 25, 2003 1:30 AM EST
NCAA FOOTBALL RECAP
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Oregon St 55, New Mexico 14
OREGON ST. BEAVERS
Oregon St. Beavers
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NEW MEXICO LOBOS
New Mexico Lobos
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LAS VEGAS (Ticker) -- Steven Jackson had a happy homecoming, matching a bowl record with five touchdowns in leading Oregon State to a 55-14 rout of New Mexico in the Las Vegas Bowl.

A Las Vegas native, Jackson rushed for 149 yards and four touchdowns and caught five passes for 51 yards and another score in his final collegiate game. Afterward, he announced he will skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft.

"When I found out we were playing in the Las Vegas Bowl, it's something I dreamed about," Jackson said. "I did want to come back and put on a big performance in front of the home crowd."

Only two others have scored five TDs in a bowl game, including Oklahoma State's Barry Sanders against Wyoming in the 1988 Holiday Bowl. The other was San Jose State's Sheldon Canley vs. Central Michigan in the 1990 California Bowl.

Jackson is considered one of the best running backs in the country and a certain first-round pick in next year's draft.

Derek Anderson complemented his star running back, passing for 322 yards and two TDs as the Beavers (8-5) finished a somewhat disappointing season on a high note. They had lost four of their previous six games.

"All the ingredients happened tonight," Oregon State coach Mike Riley said. "Steven ran the ball big time against a team that really good against the rush. Derek really handled the blitz. I think we really put them on their heels early in the game, getting rid of the ball to the right guys."

Anderson became just the second Pac-10 Conference quarterback to throw for at least 4,000 yards in a season, joining Cody Pickett, who did it last year for Washington.

Oregon State's defense was on top of its game as well, holding New Mexico (8-5) to 127 yards of total offense - six rushing - and seven first downs.

"It's really disappointing for all of us," New Mexico quarterback Casey Kelly said. "We went out there with much higher expectations than what we showed."

Lobos' running back DonTrell Moore set a school record with 1,438 rushing yards during the regular season, but he picked up only five on 11 carries.

Mike Hass and Josh Hawkins added TD catches for the Beavers, who rebounded from last year's 38-13 loss to Pittsburgh in the Insight Bowl.

Hurt by early penalties, the Lobos dropped their third straight bowl game and second in as many years.

New Mexico got itself in an early hole as Jackson finished off an 84-yard drive - the first of the game - with a 34-yard TD catch off a screen on 3rd-and-19. The Lobos had held on 4th-and-1 before taking an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Using their best player as a decoy, the Beavers increased their lead to 17-7 when Jackson took a handoff and flipped the ball back to Anderson, who threw a 42-yard TD to Hass off a flea-flicker.

"One of the keys to our football team is our running game and getting the thing going and when we're at our best, we're running the ball and then everything else goes better," Riley said. "Obviously a play like that is a big deal."

Jackson added touchdown runs of three and 11 yards on consecutive possessions as Oregon State built a 31-7 lead with 7:01 left in the first half. He also found the end zone from six and one yards in the second half.

After scoring for the final time, Jackson walked off the field pulling back each finger on his left hand before holding it up to the crowd of 25,437 at Sam Boyd Stadium, signifying his school-record five TDs.

Recognized by his trademark dreadlocks, Jackson spent most of the final quarter celebrating with family members, fans and teammates, some of whom had him sign their jerseys.

The Beavers didn't exactly need Jackson, playing against an offense that didn't pick up its second first down until the fourth quarter. New Mexico averaged only 2.2 yards on 57 plays.

Penalties didn't help, either. New Mexico got to Oregon State's 14-yard line on a 19-yard completion in the first quarter, but a clipping call pushed them back 15 yards. A field goal made it 10-7.

The Beavers' defense made its share of big plays as well. Chaz Scott and Richard Seigler combined for a sack that ended a drive and set up Jackson's second TD of the night. On the Lobos' next possession, Scott recovered a fumble by Moore.

While the Beavers doused coach Riley with Gatorade in the closing moments, they did the same to defensive coordinator Mark Banker, who helped orchestrate the most decisive win in the 12-year history of the Las Vegas Bowl.


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