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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 15 • 26 the-Year, has rushed for 2,168 yards and 27 touch- downs. He's the top rush- er in the FCS in both of those categories. Rober- son has thrown for more than 3,000 yards and 27 touchdowns. The defense is allow- ing only 20.9 points per game. "It's been a lot of work," Spack told the Champaign News-Gazette. "A lot of people have put in a huge commitment to get to where we're at right now — former players, coaches, staff, administrators. This particular team has been a lot of fun to coach. They're tremendously tough. This is what we're capable of, I believe." BOWL UPDATE The Big Ten won five of its 10 bowl games — with Ohio State still to play for the national champion- ship after beating top-ranked Ala- bama in the Sugar Bowl. Michigan State and Wisconsin surged to late victories in the Cot- ton Bowl and Outback Bowl, while Penn State won the New Era Pin- stripe Bowl and Rutgers won the day after Christmas in the Quick Lane Bowl. Illinois, Nebraska, Maryland, Minnesota and Iowa lost their bowl games. Ohio State hasn't won a na- tional championship since 2002. It rallied from a 21-6 deficit to upset Alabama 42-35 behind sophomore Ezekiel Elliott's 230 rushing yards. The Buckeyes play Oregon, which beat Florida State 59-20, for the championship on Jan. 12 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. "We're going to do our best to represent the Big Ten and the great state of Ohio," Coach Urban Meyer told reporters after the victory. Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon had a big rushing day, too, to push the Badgers past Auburn in overtime. Gordon, who won't return for his senior year, had an Outback Bowl-record 251 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. It was his sixth 200-plus yard game of the season. Gordon finished with 2,587 rushing yards in 14 games, the second-most in FBS history to Barry Sand - ers (2,628, 11 games). Gordon also rushed for 29 TDs. "Melvin is truly special," said Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez, who filled in as coach for the bowl game after Gary Andersen left to Oregon State. "I think some- one told him he couldn't have the numbers that you had if you played in the Southeastern Conference, and he begged to differ." NEW MAN IN MICHIGAN Michigan may be coming off a sub-.500 season — its third time in seven years with a losing record — but new coach Jim Harbaugh was adamant during a press conference that announced his hiring that it wasn't a rebuilding project. "This is Michigan. There is no turnarounds at Michigan," he told reporters. "This is greatness. Long tradition of it." Harbaugh has a seven-year deal worth about $40 million, not counting performance bonuses, ac- cording to the AP. He received a $2 million signing bonus. Brady Hoke was 31-20 before being fired after the season. Har- baugh comes from the NFL where he guided the San Francisco 49ers to three consecutive NFC champi- onship games before finishing 8-8 this season. Some fans are calling Har- baugh the savior of the program, but he said he's not comfortable with that label. "I'm standing on a foundation that's been built for over 100 years by some great men," he told reporters. "I feel like I'm standing on their shoul- ders. I want to do a good job." j Michigan Jim Harbaugh left the NFL to take over Michigan's program, the school for which he was a quarterback.