SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- Nebraska won two more games this season than it did in 2002, but a 9-3 record was not good enough for first-year athletic director Steve Pederson.
Coach Frank Solich was fired one day after the 21st-ranked Cornhuskers closed the regular season with a 31-22 victory over Colorado, a move that did not sit well with all Nebraska fans. The Cornhuskers, making their NCAA-record 35th straight postseason appearance, will try to erase the bad taste when they face Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl.
Nebraska will be coached on an interim basis by Bo Pelini, who is in his first season as defensive coordinator. An NFL assistant for nine years, Pelini is not considered a leading candidate as Solich's permanent replacement. In fact, there is speculation that Pelini could land on Oklahoma's staff next year as the replacement for co-defensive coordinator Mike Stoops, who is now the coach at Arizona.
Pelini's immediate task is devising a game plan to slow down Michigan State's Jeff Smoker, who had six 300-yard passing games in the regular season and passed for 3,239 yards.
It will be the final Michigan State appearance for Smoker, whose return this season was one of college football's best stories. Smoker was given a second chance by first-year coach John L. Smith after being suspended for the final five games last season due to a substance abuse problem.
Following a 4-8 campaign, the Spartans won seven of their first eight games and were ranked as high as 10th in the country. Michigan State faltered down the stretch, losing to bowl-bound Ohio State and Wisconsin before closing the regular season with a 41-10 victory over Penn State.
Solich's fate may have been sealed after the Cornhuskers suffered a 38-9 loss to Kansas State on November 15 that knocked them out of the Big 12 Conference race. It was Nebraska's worst home loss since 1958.
Both teams feature one-dimensional offenses with Nebraska relying heavily on the run and Michigan State doing most of its damage through the air. Cornhuskers quarterback Jammal Lord rushed for 869 yards but passed for just 1,145. Nebraska was ninth in Division I-A in rushing but only two teams - Air Force and Rice - threw for less yards than the Cornhuskers.
Michigan State ranks 19th in passing, averaging 279.5 yards per game, but the Spartans are 106th in rushing, gaining only 104.0 yards per contest.
Nebraska suffered a 27-23 loss to Mississippi in last year's Independence Bowl, assuring the Cornhuskers (7-7) their first non-winning season since 1961.
Nebraska is 4-0 all time against Michigan State, including a 55-14 victory in the last meeting in 1996.
