Jaxson Dart threw for 404 yards and four touchdowns in his final collegiate game, leading No. 16 Mississippi to a 52-20 romp over Duke in the Gator Bowl on Thursday night in Jacksonville, Fla.

Dart connected with Jordan Watkins seven times for 180 yards and two scores, including a 69-yarder with 1:27 to play that got the quarterback chewed out by coach Lane Kiffin. Dart added 43 yards rushing, leaving EverBank Stadium with grass and dirt stains all over his red and white uniform.

The senior never considered opting out of the bowl game. Instead, he helped the Rebels (10-3) make history. With the victory, Ole Miss notched double-digit wins in consecutive years for the second time in program history and the first since 1959-60.

Ulysses Bentley IV, another senior playing his last college game, ran for 70 yards and two scores for the Rebels. Isaiah Hamilton returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter. All of them got to celebrate with sideline dunks on a portable basketball hoop adorned with Duke logos.

This ACC-SEC postseason matchup was never close. It wasn’t expected to be, either. Ole Miss was a 17 1/2-point favorite, according to BetMGM, mostly because the Blue Devils (9-4) were without quarterback Maalik Murphy and running back Star Thomas. Both entered the transfer portal after Duke’s regular-season finale.

Third-year sophomore Henry Belin IV made his second career start and was harassed all night. Belin completed 25 of 44 passes for 236 yards, with two touchdowns and the interception. He was sacked three times.

Belin’s TD passes were two of the team’s few highlights. Sahmir Hagans’ 99-yard kickoff return — off a cross-field lateral, no less — was another.

Surging Ohio State to face tenacious Texas

Texas will be a whole lot closer to home than Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

The Buckeyes appear to be a whole lot closer to Atlanta.

That’s where the winner of the Cotton Bowl, which doubles as a College Football Playoff semifinal this year, will be heading next for the national championship game.

But first, two powerhouse college football programs meet Jan. 10 at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium.

No. 6 Ohio State (12-2, CFP No. 8 seed) was favored by nearly a touchdown in many early Cotton Bowl betting lines, reflecting the confidence generated by the Buckeyes’ optimization of their bountiful talent over their last two games. Ohio State has looked like the best team in the nation since the first 12-team CFP began last month.

Coach Ryan Day’s team has rebounded from two regular-season losses to rout a pair of elite opponents by a combined 45 points. Ohio State beat No. 7 Tennessee 42-17 in Columbus before jumping to an early 34-point lead in a 41-21 thrashing of top-ranked Oregon in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday.

No. 4 Texas (13-2, CFP No. 5 seed) only has to travel 200 miles north from Austin to Arlington for its second straight trip to the CFP semifinals, needing one win to reach the Longhorns’ first CFP championship game.

The Longhorns have been much less convincing than the Buckeyes in their first two CFP victories, but the Texas train somehow keeps rolling in coach Steve Sarkisian’s fourth season.

Georgia is the only team this season to beat the Longhorns, who have rebounded from their overtime SEC title game loss to the Bulldogs by knocking off Clemson 38-24 and then outlasting Arizona State 39-31 in double overtime to win a wild Peach Bowl.

Minnesota looks to extend bowl streak

The Minnesota Golden Gophers put their seven-game bowl win streak on the line tonight in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl at Charlotte, N.C., against a Virginia Tech squad that has been decimated by transfers and opt-outs.

The Gophers (7-5) have won the last five of those bowls under head coach P.J. Fleck, a testament to the coaching staff’s ability to continue the development process of younger players while striking the balance of serious preparation and holiday-season fun.

“They just love playing football and they love getting better, and when you have a team like that, that makes the preparation a lot more enjoyable,” Fleck said.

The Gophers will rely heavily on running back Darius Taylor, who ran for 873 yards and nine touchdowns this season while hauling in 50 catches for 333 yards and two touchdowns.

“At Minnesota, we take high pride in bowl games,” Taylor said. “We work so hard during the season so we view it as a privilege to be here. We take winning these bowl games very seriously as a team.”

Virginia Tech (6-6) will be without 14 starters due to the usual bowl-season spate of transfers and opt-outs for injury prevention.

Big 12 commissioner calls for standards for targeting

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is calling for more consistency in determining what constitutes a targeting penalty after no call was made on Texas safety Michael Taaffe’s high hit on Arizona State receiver Melquan Stovall late in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Peach Bowl.

Taaffe struck Stovall with a helmet-to-helmet hit as Stovall caught a pass near midfield with 1:15 left in regulation and the game tied Wednesday. No flag was thrown, but referee Larry Smith of the Big Ten halted play to check the replay for possible targeting. As Stovall was being helped off the field, Smith announced there was no penalty.

Had a 15-yard penalty been called, ASU would have been in range to attempt a tiebreaking field goal. Instead, the Sun Devils punted and Texas won 39-31 in two overtimes.

Yormark said in a statement Thursday he was proud of how ASU represented the Big 12 and that the Sun Devils proved they were one of the most talented teams in the nation. He then addressed the no-call.

“As a member of the College Football Playoff management committee, I have had multiple discussions seeking clarity surrounding the targeting call on Arizona State’s final drive of the 4th quarter with Richard Clark,” Yormark said, referring to the CFP executive director.

“Moving forward, we need to address CFP officiating to ensure national standards are developed,” Yormark added. “These standards will be crucial to the CFP’s future, and I look forward to discussing them with my fellow committee members when we meet next.”