DALLAS — Ole Miss was in high cotton Friday.

Running back Dexter McCluster and defensive back Marshay Green both earned game Most Valuable Player honors as the Rebels beat seventh-ranked Texas Tech 47-34 in the 73rd AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic.

McCluster had 180 all-purpose yards — 97 rushing and 83 receiving — to lead the Rebels (9-4) to the upset win over Texas Tech (11-2), the co-champions of the Big 12 South and, at one time, the No. 1 team in the nation.

“I think we surprised them,” McCluster said. “We had a lot of speed on the field.”

Green, who returned an interception 65 yards to put Ole Miss up 31-21 in the third quarter, was named the Defensive MVP.

“We play in the SEC. You have to bring your ‘A’ game. We play great quarterbacks every week,” Green said.

First-year Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt was elated with his team’s performance — both on and off the field. Ole Miss won no SEC games and three games total in 2007. The Rebels will likely finish the season ranked in the Associated Press’ Top 25 poll.

“Over the last seven weeks, we were a really great football team,” Nutt said. “Every function we went to, I got reports back about how classy our guys were. Our seniors took ownership of our team and I wish I could have this team back, every one, next year.”

Texas Tech coach Mike Leach credited Nutt and his staff.

“At the key times, Ole Miss did better than we did. They did a great job of responding,” he said. “I thought we were ready to play. If you couldn’t get ready for the Cotton Bowl, you need to do something else — maybe extreme skydiving.”

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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com.