Andre Dixon rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown and resilient Connecticut ended a trying season with a 20-7 victory over South Carolina in the Papajohns.com Bowl on Saturday.
The Huskies (8-5) are 3-1 in bowl games since moving up to Division I-A (now FBS) in 2002. They won their final three regular-season games and overcame the October stabbing death of cornerback Jasper Howard to reach a bowl.
Upon made the most of the trip. The nation's 95th-rated pass defense throttled South Carolina (7-6) and quarterback Stephen Garcia while relying on Dixon's 33 carries to control the ball.
Dixon was the Most Valuable Player and joined teammate Jordan Todman as 1,000-yard rushers, the first time two UConn backs have surpassed that mark in a season.
Garcia completed just 16 of 38 passes for 129 yards while gaining 56 yards on 15 carries.
International Bowl (South Florida 27, Northern Illinois 3)
TORONTO (AP) _ Mike Ford ran for a career-high 207 yards and scored one touchdown, and B.J. Daniels threw two scoring passes to A.J. Love.
Carlton Mitchell caught six passes for 94 yards for the Bulls, who won back-to-back bowls for the first time. South Florida beat Memphis 41-14 in last year's St. Petersburg Bowl, part of a streak of five straight bowl appearances.
South Florida scored 24 unanswered points in the second half after the teams traded field goals in a dreary first half.
Ford had just one carry in the first half, an 18-yard gain in the second quarter. He broke out in the third, rushing 12 times for 106 yards, then capped his day with a 24-yard scoring run in the final quarter.