Pittsburgh Panthers vs Mississippi Rebels Box Score on Jan 05, 2013

Mississippi 38, Pittsburgh 17: Bo Wallace threw for three first-half touchdowns as the Rebels rolled to a convincing victory in the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham, Ala.

Wallace finished 22-of-32 for only 151 yards – overcoming two second-quarter interceptions – for Mississippi (7-6), which rushed for 224 yards en route to its ninth win in its last 10 bowl appearances.

Freshman Rushel Shell, filling in for an injured Ray Graham, ran for 79 yards for Pittsburgh (6-7).

Playing without Graham, the Panthers came out flat and quickly fell behind after quarterback Tito Sunseri was intercepted by Senquez Golson, leading to Wallace’s first touchdown throw to Ja-Mes Logan five plays later. Following a three-and out by Pittsburgh on the next possession, Wallace capped a 10-play march with a 27-yard scoring pass to Randall Mackey to give the Rebels a 14-0 advantage.

The Panthers cut the lead in half following an interception when Sunseri found Devin Street wide open in the end zone for a 10-yard score with 7:13 left in the second quarter, but Wallace answered with his final touchdown - an 18-yard toss to Vince Sanders - 71 seconds later. Pittsburgh managed a field goal late in the half to move within 21-10, but could get no closer.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Graham, the second-leading rusher in school history, has a lingering hamstring injury. … Mississippi freshman I'Tavius Mathers set a bowl record with a 62-yard scoring run on his first carry and finished with 96 yards, all in the final nine minutes. … Sunseri’s first-quarter interception ended a streak in which he had thrown 272 consecutive passes without a pick.