Nebraska Mixes It Up in 17-3 Victory

Bo Pelini tried something a little different in his one-game audition to become Nebraska’s next head coach.

Jammal Lord threw for a career-best 160 yards and ran for 79 Monday night to lead the Cornhuskers to a 17-3 victory over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl.

Running back Cory Ross also had a career night by rushing for 138 yards and two touchdowns for usually run-oriented Nebraska, which won its 10th game to cap a season in which coach Frank Solich was fired after finishing the regular season with a 9-3 record.

“I think we showed the world what Nebraska football is all about,” Pelini said while accepting the winner’s trophy. “I couldn’t be prouder of a group of men.”

The victory was the Cornhuskers’ second in the Alamo Bowl in four years. They rolled over Northwestern, 66-17, in 2000.

While Nebraska’s offense piled up 389 yards, its defense limited the Spartans’ potent passing attack to 156 yards to go with 18 yards on the ground.

Quarterback Jeff Smoker was sacked five times, twice on Michigan State’s first possession, and he had three passes intercepted.

Pelini’s only obvious misstep of the night came in the fourth quarter, when the interim head coach was given an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty for arguing too strenuously that Michigan State had fumbled away the ball in Cornhusker territory.

Michigan State finished 8-5.