Ralph Abernathy returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, and Cincinnati beat Vanderbilt 31-24 in the Liberty Bowl.

Isaiah Pead ran for 150 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries for the Bearcats, who finished 10-3. The Bearcats capitalized on three Commodore turnovers to win its third straight.

Vanderbilt (6-7) fell to 2-2-1 all-time in bowl games, the only wins coming in 2008 and 1955.

Jordan Rodgers started at quarterback for Vanderbilt, but Larry Smith replaced him and sparked the Commodores.

When Chris Boyd took Smith's screen pass 68 yards for a score, Vanderbilt led 21-17 early in the fourth. But Abernathy responded immediately, showing blazing speed on his pivotal return. Pead's 12-yard scoring run pushed the lead to 10. Vanderbilt made a field goal with 23 seconds left but could not recover the onside kick.

Cincinnati senior quarterback Zach Collaros, who broke his right ankle on Nov. 12, struggled in his return. He hit 12 of 29 throws for 79 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Cincinnati's defense did a nice job on Vanderbilt running back Zac Stacy, who entered averaging 6.2 yards per carry. He was held to 57 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.