JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mississippi State rang in the New Year in Saturday’s Gator Bowl in serious style. Cowbell style.

The Bulldogs chewed up Michigan 52-14 with a dominant effort by MVP Chris Relf and a workmanlike effort by the defense, which largely contained Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson after the Wolverines’ opening drive.

Relf led the Bulldogs (9-4) to points on their first five drives and Vick Ballard scored three touchdowns, giving him the MSU single-season record.

Relf completed 18 of 23 passes for 281 yards and three TDs and ran for another score, all while wearing the No. 36 of deceased teammate Nick Bell. Relf, who normally wears No. 14, made the switch for the bowl game to honor Bell, who died of cancer in November.

“I told Chris during warmups that he was going to have his best game of the season,” Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said. “He did a great job of managing the game. I think you saw the maturity that Chris has. When the team got together, the team thought it’d be a great idea if he wore it (Bell’s number). I think today he had an angel on his shoulder.”

The defense did its job as well. After giving up 46 rushing yards to Robinson on the opening drive, the Bulldogs held him to 23 the rest of the way. The defense forced Robinson out of his comfort zone by containing him on his scrambles and keeping him in the pocket, where the defense put serious heat on him.

“Michigan outplayed us out on the perimeter in the first quarter, but we knew if we continued making them a passing team, that would tilt our way,” MSU defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. “First-and-10 was a roll up your sleeves and play rock-em-sock-em robots down. Third down is recess.”

Mississippi State gave Michigan its worst-ever beating in a bowl game and embattled Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez had few answers. He was non-committal on his job status going into next season.

“We came out from the second quarter on and we did not execute,” Rodriguez said. “They (Mississippi State) made plays and we didn’t. They blocked better than we did. They tackled better than we did. We didn’t play as well as we’re capable of playing and they played extremely well.”

Despite an interception on a half-ending hail mary, Relf and the Bulldog offense picked up where they left off in the third quarter with a pair of scoring drives. Relf appeared to fumble into the end zone, but the call was overturned by a replay review and Ballard scored his second TD later on a 1-yard plunge.

MSU cornerback Johnathan Banks, who was burned by a couple of fade routes on Michigan’s opening scoring drive, picked off an overthrown Robinson pass with a leaping grab. On the ensuing possession, Relf hit LaDarius Perkins on a checkdown out of the backfield and Perkins went 81 yards, sprung by a vicious de-cleater block by 165-pound wide receiver Brandon Heavens. Ballard bulldozed his way into the end zone on the next play to give the Bulldogs a 45-14 lead with 1:02 left in the third.

In the opening half, the game had all the makings of a shootout that would go down to the last ticks.

The Wolverines made mincemeat of Mississippi State’s defense on the opening drive. Robinson got loose for runs of 24 and 22 yards and capped a 10-play, 78-yard drive with a perfectly executed play-action pass to Roy Roundtree to put the Wolverines in front 7-0.

Relf and the Bulldogs answered on the next drive, as he went 4-for-4 through the air. Arceto Clark made a beautiful catch on a short out route in the end zone to knot the game at 7.

After the defense forced a three-and-out, former Vicksburg High star Marvin Bure came through with the biggest play of his Mississippi State career. The walk-on came off the right side and partially blocked the punt to set the Bulldogs up at the Michigan 29-yard line. Derek Depasquale finished the drive with a 42-yard field goal.

Robinson and the Wolverines took back the lead, as the quarterback engineered a 72-yard drive keyed by a 31-yard pass to Junior Hemmingway. Robinson finished it with a 27-yard TD pass to Martavious Odoms to put Michigan back in front, 14-10.

Mississippi State scored on its next three drives to go up 31-14 at the break.

“We started off. We didn’t finish,” Robinson said.

Mississippi State, however, did.

The Bulldogs finished with 485 yards, had five fourth-down conversions and capped a surprising season with a dominant victory.

“I’ve been involved in a lot of games and this is easily as big as any of them,” Mullen said. “It’s such an accomplishment. It is such an accomplishment to our young men. I told them it’s a good thing in your life to be credited as an overachiever. That means as an individual you achieve more than anybody thought was possible.”