Thirty days of tackling drills and a few extra minutes of conditioning went a long way for the Mississippi defense.

Ole Miss stymied Texas Tech's mighty offense en route to a 47-34 victory in the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, mainly by outthinking and outlasting the Red Raiders.

"Coach has been telling us all week to run to the ball, and our guys did a great job," said senior defensive tackle Peria Jerry, who had rare sack of Tech quarterback Graham Harrell. "We just hustled to the ball when the plays came our way."

The Ole Miss defense wasn't dominant, but was effective in executing what it needed to do when it needed to be done.

"There would be some key moment where Mississippi had to make something happen or they needed a break, and then they'd find a way and they'd get there," Tech coach Mike Leach said.

Without the quick, back-breaking strikes that allowed it to run up big scores and drain opponents' confidence all season, Tech stumbled.

Harrell, from Ennis, completed 36 of 58 passes for 364 yards and four touchdowns, but was sacked twice and threw two interceptions, one that was returned 65 yards for a touchdown.

Harrell had been sacked 11 times and had thrown seven interceptions all season.

Sophomore receiver Michael Crabtree of Carter was quiet, with four catches for 30 yards and a touchdown.

The secondary, thought to be a weak link in the Rebels' defense, turned in perhaps its best performance of the season. Tech's longest pass play was 35 yards.

The Rebels never looked back after cornerback Marshay Green, in one-on-one coverage on Crabtree, picked off a pass and returned it for a touchdown.

"I think they took it as a challenge, just the way the coaching staff took it as a challenge," Ole Miss defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix said. "Nobody gave us a chance and [they] said we couldn't do it. So we took it as a challenge and did the best we could."

The Rebels' defensive line had few breakout moments, but its consistency made it effective. By the third quarter, it was starting to wear down the Red Raiders.

"All those extra gassers Coach [Houston] Nutt put us through in practice, they paid off," Jerry said. "We weren't tired a bit. We could run all day."

Junior linebacker Patrick Trahan's safety early in the fourth quarter provided further proof of how Ole Miss' determination outmaneuvered the Tech offense.

"I don't think they were surprised by the game plan," Jerry said. "I just think they were surprised by an 8-4 team that they probably looked down on and didn't think we belonged here with them. We knew we could come in and win."