ALAMO BOWL Bo Pelini leads Nebraska to victory

The interim coach must now wait and see if he gets hired full time.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Bo Pelini is undefeated as Nebraska's interim head coach. Whether that will be good enough to get the full-time job remains to be seen.
Pelini, auditioning to replace Frank Solich, helped his cause Monday night by leading the No. 22 Cornhuskers to a 17-3 win over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl.
"I was asked to do a job and I did it," said Pelini, who moved up from defensive coordinator after Solich was fired Nov. 29 with a 9-3 record. "I'm not worried about it. It's out of my control."
Jammal Lord threw for a career-best 160 yards and ran for 79 more for the Cornhuskers (10-3). Running back Cory Ross also had a career night by rushing for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
Lord said much of the credit for the team's 10th win goes to the man who led them to the first nine.
"Coach Solich was just on us all season to finish things. Finish big," he said. "This trophy was for him."
Nebraska linebacker Benard Thomas, however, tipped his helmet to Pelini when asked to rate the coach.
"Out of 10? A 12," said Thomas, flashing a wide grin.
Strong performance
The win was the Cornhuskers' second in the Alamo Bowl in four years. They rolled over Northwestern 66-17 in 2000.
While Nebraska's offense amassed 389 total 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 threw three interceptions.
"They had some good speed rushes and a good (defensive) line," Smoker said. "And a lot of it at times was good coverage, too. ... Everywhere I was trying to throw the ball, there was somebody there (for Nebraska)."
Pelini's only obvious misstep came in the fourth quarter, when he was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for arguing too strenuously that Michigan State had fumbled the ball in Cornhuskers territory.
"I was a little frustrated and felt like we couldn't get a call," he said.
Nebraska got the turnover four plays later when Pat Ricketts intercepted a pass from Smoker intended for Aaron Alexander at the Cornhuskers 32 with 5:24 remaining.
The penalty didn't dull the enthusiasm for Pelini among some Nebraska fans, who chanted "We want Bo!" over and over after the game.
Pelini, a Mooney High graduate, and quarterbacks coach Turner Gill are the only known candidates for the head coaching job.