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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
MOBILE, Ala. -- There were no quarterbacks to steal
LaDainian Tomlinson's thunder this time.
|  | | The North's Bobby Newcombe (12) escapes the grasp of the South's Brian Allen in Saturday's Senior Bowl. |
The Texas Christian tailback rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown
as the South held off the North 21-16 Saturday in the Senior Bowl
to earn overall MVP honors.
"This is my last college game, and I went out with the MVP
award," said Tomlinson, the Doak Walker Award winner as the
nation's leading rusher the past two seasons. "You can't ask for
anything better than that."
Tomlinson finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting,
behind quarterbacks Chris Weinke, Josh Heupel and Drew Brees.
Weinke of Florida State and Oklahoma's Heupel withdrew from the
game with nagging injuries.
Tomlinson's last visit to Ladd-Peebles Stadium also was ruined
by an opposing quarterback, when Southern Mississippi's Jeff Kelly
threw the game-winning TD pass in the final seconds.
"I never thought about it that way," Tomlinson said. "I just
know I had a good game."
Two big special teams plays kept the North alive in the fourth
quarter.
Arizona's Joe Tafoya blocked a punt, and Kansas State's Jerrod
Cooper scooped it up for a 30-yard TD to make it 21-16 with 3:31 to
play.
"The South came out a little lax thinking they'd already won
the game," Cooper said. "So we just tried to pour it on them."
The South's Cory Bird of Virginia Tech recovered the ensuing
onside kick, but the offense failed to get a first down. Then
Cooper got a hand on David Leaverton's punt, giving the North and
quarterback Mike McMahon of Rutgers one last chance from their own
23 with 2:40 left.
McMahon, who was 4-of-10 for 57 yards, hit Chad Johnson of
Oregon State across the middle for a 29-yard gain to move it into
South territory. After two incompletions and a 7-yarder to Johnson
took it to the 41, Pittsburgh's Kevan Barlow was stopped for no
gain on fourth-and-3.
Washington's Marques Tuiasosopo also was absent with an injury,
while the leading career rushers at Michigan (Anthony Thomas) and
Tennessee (Travis Henry) didn't play.
The South's defensive MVP was Mississippi State cornerback Fred
Smoot and the offensive MVP was Tennessee receiver Cedrick Wilson.
The trash-talking Smoot had three solo tackles and several pass
deflections down the field.
"You know all I was going to do was play the way I can play,"
Smoot said. "If I got the MVP or not, you know I was going to
think I was MVP."
Oklahoma linebacker Torrance Marshall continued a nice
postseason run. The Orange Bowl MVP intercepted a pass and was
voted North defensive MVP.
Maryland tailback Lamont Jordan ran nine times for 62 yards and
caught three passes for 29 yards. His 7-yard TD late in the third
quarter capped a 15-play, 62-yard drive that consumed nearly eight
minutes.
He converted two fourth-down plays with an 8-yard run and a
15-yard reception to keep the drive alive.
Quarterback Jesse Palmer of Florida, a late addition to the
South squad with Weinke's exit, led touchdown drives on two of his
three first-half possessions. He was 4-of-5 for 38 yards.
He spent a portion of the day handing off to Travis Minor from
the Gators' arch enemy, Florida State, and two of his completions
went to Tennessee's Wilson.
"It's nice to actually be playing with them instead of against
them," said Palmer, who scored on a 6-yard run.
Tomlinson opened the scoring with a 1-yard run, bouncing off
three tacklers after Kansas State's David Allen fumbled the kickoff
early in the first quarter.
Tomlinson also had a 28-yard reception.
"I just wanted to catch the ball out of the backfield and run
routes," he said. "They already know I can run."
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
LaDainian Tomlinson Senior Bowl Diary: Gameday
ESPN.com's Senior Bowl coverage
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jonathan Beasley takes a hit, but finds Maryland's Matt Kalipinski for a score.
avi: 1338 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Houston's Jason McKinley shakes off tacklers and finds Marcel Shipp for a TD.
avi: 1211 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Utah's Steve Smith hauls in the 40-yard TD pass from Jonathan Beasley.
avi: 1332 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Drew Brees finds Penn State's Tony Stewart for a 17-yard touchdown strike.
avi: 1041 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
ESPN profiles Heisman Trophy finalist LaDainian Tomlinson.
RealVideo: | 28.8
Maryland's Lamont Jordan finds an open alley in front of the end zone to score for the North.
avi: 1103 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson slices his way into the end zone for the TD.
avi: 1221 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Florida's Jesse Palmer dashes towards the end zone to score for the South.
avi: 1333 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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