LAS VEGAS - Steven Jackson sure looked ready for the NFL.
Jackson tied a bowl-game record with five touchdowns, and Oregon State's defense overwhelmed mistake-plagued New Mexico in a 55-14 win at the Las Vegas Bowl on Wednesday night.
Then Jackson announced he'll skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft. He's expected to be a first-round pick.
"No matter what I do, I know I'm going to be successful," he said. "As a running back, everybody is gunning for you and you've only got so many carries left in your body."
Jackson, the leading rusher in the Pac-10 this season, ran for 149 yards on 28 carries.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound back caught a 34-yard pass from Derek Anderson five minutes into the game and added touchdown runs of 3, 11, 6, and 1 yards.
Former NFL star Barry Sanders scored five touchdowns for Oklahoma State against Wyoming in the 1988 Holiday Bowl, and Sheldon Canley of San Jose State had five against Central Michigan in the 1990 California Bowl.
The five touchdowns also are an OSU record.
Two of Jackson's scores came in the second quarter. That got the Beavers (8-5) rolling and extended the Lobos' bowl drought.
New Mexico (8-5) has not won a bowl game since 1961 and lost its third postseason game since 1997. It was the second straight defeat for New Mexico in this game, having lost to UCLA 27-13 last season.
The Lobos' scores came on a 27-yard pass from Casey Kelly to Hank Baskett in the first quarter and Kole McKamey's 17-yard toss to Dwight Counter in the fourth.
Unable to run or pass against OSU's defense, the Lobos had only one first down in the first half and 21 yards through the first three quarters. The bleak stats also included 6 yards rushing, seven first downs and 127 total yards.
New Mexico got its second first down on a 46-yard pass from wide receiver Baskett to Counter with just more than 10 minutes left.
New Mexico helped the rout by getting penalized for 103 yards.
Lobos sophomore tailback DonTrell Moore, who led the Mountain West Conference with 1,438 yards this season, finished with 5 yards on 11 carries. His second-quarter fumble at the New Mexico 15 led to Jackson's third TD and second in a span of 1:39.
New Mexico had the fourth-best rushing defense in the country this season, but after gaining just 11 yards in the first quarter, Jackson found plenty of holes and scoring chances.
Anderson was equally impressive. He completed 21 of 32 passes for 322 yards, raising his season total to 4,058.
