DALLAS — Tuesday’s Cotton Bowl featured two All-American running backs. But neither Darren McFadden nor Felix Jones could touch Missouri’s explosive running game.

Missouri senior running back Tony Temple ran for a Cotton Bowl-record 281 yards and scored 4 touchdowns in a 38-7 rout of Arkansas. Not surprisingly, Temple was named the game’s Offensive MVP. It was the second-highest rushing total in a NCAA bowl history.

Playing against an Arkansas defense featuring predominantly three down linemen throughout the game, Missouri struggled to 136 passing yards, well below its season average.

To combat that, Temple was effective taking draw plays from quarterback Chase Daniel out of the Shotgun formation.

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“ When people get in the 30 front with us, a three-man front, they put a lot of defensive action in, which I thought that was a great plan, ” Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said of Arkansas’ defense. “ They stifled our passing game. They were dropping everybody, rushing one or two people at times. It caused some problems for us.

“ I think we had the patience to stick with it. The great thing about our receivers and tight ends, as you well know, a very talented group, quarterback, is that this is about winning the football game and doing what’s right. What was right this time was to lean on the running game, and we did that. ”

Temple had nine runs of 10 yards or more – including six runs of 22 yards or longer – and averaged 11. 7 yards per carry.

Temple broke his own school-record for rushing yards in a bowl game. Temple set the record after rushing for 194 yards in a loss to Oregon State last season in the Sun Bowl. The difference this time was Missouri got the win.

“ We got the ‘ W, ’ and that’s what matters the most, ” Temple said. “ I mean, I can have all the records in the world, but if my team’s not winning I don’t care about the records. I’m just so happy that we can walk out of here. We leave a great legacy going on here. ”

But Temple’s legacy might not be over. Listed as a senior, Pinkel said the school will appeal the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility for the running back, who played just one game in 2004 before going down with an injury.

“ There will be an appeal process now that will take place, ” Pinkel said. “ He had to finish his eligibility on paper. He did that. So we’ll see what happens. That would be a nice phone call. ”

Temple’s four rushing touchdowns also set a Cotton Bowl record and were the most in the game since Jim Brown of Syracuse ran for three scores in 1957. But Temple’s last touchdown nearly didn’t happen after he injured his hamstring early in the fourth quarter.

“ We were deciding whether we were going to put him back in our not, ” Pinkel said. “ Our trainer Rex Sharp came up to me and said, ‘ I think he can go. ’ I went up to Tony and asked, ‘ Do you think you can go ? ’ He said, ‘ I’ll let you know. ’ He was trying to stretch it out a little bit. Then one of our coaches came and said he was like 36 or 37 yards from breaking the Cotton Bowl record. ”

Temple broke the record on his next carry, a 40-yard burst with 8: 33 left in the fourth quarter to put the Tigers up by the final margin.

“ What a prestigious record, ” Pinkel said. “ Of all the great, great running backs that have played in this bowl game. … It was so awesome in the first play to get the great blocking, the great effort. That kind of a record is just so outstanding. ”