Eric Gay / AP

Texas Tech interim coach Ruffin McNeill, right, celebrates with one of his players following the Red Raiders' 41-31 win over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl on Saturday night.

updated 2:55 a.m. ET Jan. 3, 2010

SAN ANTONIO - No questions about Mike Leach. No questions about Adam James.

Those were the ground rules Texas Tech quarterback Steven Sheffield laid down Saturday night after saving the day in a thrilling Alamo Bowl victory that his fired head coach would’ve loved.

Let him enjoy it somewhere else, the Red Raiders said. This isn’t his team anymore.

“I looked up in the stands and I saw signs about Team Leach. Bring Leach back,” Sheffield said. “Leach ain’t coming back. That’s how it is.”

After a week like that, the Red Raiders can finally unwind a little.

With everyone still talking about Leach — and who can blame them? — the Red Raiders blocked out the distractions and rallied to beat Michigan State 41-31 in front of an anxious, almost angry crowd that clearly wanted their “Head Pirate” back on the sideline.

They also wanted James gone. Texas Tech fired Leach on Wednesday amid allegations that he mistreated James, son of ESPN analyst Craig James, after the sophomore wide receiver was diagnosed with a concussion.

James declined comment after a night in which fans booed him so loud, it drowned out the marching band at halftime. He was flanked by two security guard as Texas Tech (9-4) celebrated and looked relaxed for the first time since arriving in San Antonio.

The Red Raiders heard the boos. They saw the posters — “Man up, Adam!” among them.

But offensive lineman Brandon Carter had a message for fans: James isn’t the one to blame.

“This was not the first situation,” Carter said. “This was just the last straw. Sooner or later, something was going to come out. Adam is part of our family. Hopefully, this washes over for Adam and he can stay and he won’t have to go.”

Interim coach Ruffin McNeill said he also was disappointed in James’ reception.

“I wish the fans would not boo our kids,” McNeill said. “Things happen in life. They’re kids, man.”

The tone of the crowd changed after the win. A chorus of “Ruffin! Ruffin!” went out in a thank-you to Leach’s defensive coordinator, who navigated the Red Raiders through a week the school is desperate to forget.

The controversy surrounding Leach didn’t even quiet long enough to let Saturday belong to the game.

Hours before kickoff, Texas Tech released an affidavit in which school athletic trainer Steve Pincock says he told James he was “sorry” for having placed the player inside an equipment shed near the practice field. Pincock told Tech officials he didn’t agree with that “form of treatment for anyone.”

Just another layer to a bowl game that cornered the market on turmoil.

No bowl teams in the country kicked off with more upheaval than Texas Tech and Michigan State (6-7). Leach’s firing did Michigan State the favor of drawing attention from its own black eye: 14 players who didn’t make the trip in the wake of a Nov. 22 dormitory brawl.

Nine Michigan State players face charges of misdemeanor assault. But the short-handed Spartans held their own.

They took a 28-27 lead into the fourth quarter, and appeared to get a break when Tech quarterback Taylor Potts left the game after injuring his non-throwing hand. He left with an Alamo Bowl-record 372 yards and two touchdowns.

But this was still a Leach-built team. And in his offense, quarterbacks thrive.

With Tech down 31-27, Sheffield marched the Red Raiders downfield in eight plays, the last an 11-yard touchdown pass to Detron Lewis. Baron Batch tacked on a 25-yard touchdown run to put it away.

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