2009 Gator Bowl
Encyclopedia
The 2009 Gator Bowl was played on January 1, 2009 as part of the 2008 College Football season
2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on August 28, 2008, progressing through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game in Miami Gardens, Florida on January 8, 2009, where the #2...

. It featured the Nebraska Cornhuskers
2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
The 2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Bo Pelini and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska....

, who finished tied for first in the Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...

's North Division with Missouri
2008 Missouri Tigers football team
The 2008 Missouri Tigers football team represented the University of Missouri in college football's 2008 season. The team was coached by Gary Pinkel, who returned in his eighth season with Mizzou, and played their home games at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium.Quarterback Chase Daniel returned for...

, and the Clemson Tigers
2008 Clemson Tigers football team
The 2008 Clemson football team represented Clemson University in the 2008 college football season. The Tigers were led by oft-maligned head coach Tommy Bowden, who resigned six games into his tenth season. The interim head coach was assistant coach Dabo Swinney...

, who finished fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...

's Atlantic Division. Nebraska scored 16 unanswered points to beat Clemson after being down 21-10 in the third quarter. This game was the first meeting between the Clemson Tigers and the Nebraska Cornhuskers since the 1982 Orange Bowl
1982 Orange Bowl
The 1982 edition of the Orange Bowl featured the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and the Clemson Tigers.Clemson, coached by Danny Ford, came into the game unbeaten at 11-0 and ranked #1 and was attempting to win its first national championship...

 where Clemson defeated Nebraska for their first and only national title. This was the second game between both schools with Nebraska evening up the record.

The Gator Bowl
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...

 is an annual college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...

 that is played at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...

. It is one of the oldest college bowls, held continuously since 1946. Its current full name is the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl after its present sponsor, Konica Minolta
Konica Minolta
is a Japanese manufacturer of office equipment, medical imaging, graphic imaging, optical devices, and measuring instruments. It is headquartered in the Marunouchi Center Building in Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, with a Kansai office in Nishi-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture...

. Gator Bowl lands new deal for title sponsor.

Overview

The Gator Bowl has tie-ins
Automatic bids to non-BCS bowls
I dont know how to edit this at all. But info on this page is incorrect. The Insight Bowl alternates choices with the Gator Bowl. One year one a bowl gets choice #4 from the Big10 and Big12 and one bowl gets #3. The following year the 3 and 4 are switched. This year the Ingsight will get choice 3...

 from the Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...

 (ACC), Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...

, and Big East Conferences, as well as independent Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...

. They have the right to the third pick of a team from the ACC, and have the option to offer the other spot to the second pick from the Big East, the fourth pick from the Big 12, or Notre Dame. The 2009 game featured the ACC's Clemson Tigers
2008 Clemson Tigers football team
The 2008 Clemson football team represented Clemson University in the 2008 college football season. The Tigers were led by oft-maligned head coach Tommy Bowden, who resigned six games into his tenth season. The interim head coach was assistant coach Dabo Swinney...

, who finished the 2008 season with an overall record of 7-5 (4-4 in the ACC) playing the Big 12's Nebraska Cornhuskers
2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
The 2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Bo Pelini and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska....

, who finished the 2008 season with an overall record of 8–4 (5–3 in the Big 12). Clemson went to the Chick-fil-A Bowl
Chick-fil-A Bowl
The Chick-fil-A Bowl, formerly called the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, and before that simply called the Peach Bowl, is an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta, Georgia since December 1968. The first three Peach Bowls were played at Grant Field on the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta....

 in 2007, while Nebraska did not qualify for a bowl game.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cornhuskers

Nebraska opened up the season with 3 straight wins against Western Michigan
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University is a public university located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1903 by Dwight B. Waldo, and as of the Fall 2010 semester, its enrollment is 25,045....

, San Jose State, and New Mexico State. Bo Pelini's arrival saw a renewed interest and optimism in Nebraska football, as evidenced by their record Pay-Per View buys.
Nebraska then proceeded to lose a close game to Virginia Tech, while getting beat by Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...

 the next week. Hitting the road for the first time of the season, the Huskers lost to Texas Tech in overtime. Then the Huskers traveled to Ames, Iowa
Ames, Iowa
Ames is a city located in the central part of the U.S. state of Iowa in Story County, and approximately north of Des Moines. The U.S. Census Bureau designates that Ames, Iowa metropolitan statistical area as encompassing all of Story County, and which, when combined with the Boone, Iowa...

 and beat Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...

 in a dominant fashion. They came back home and won against the Baylor Bears
Baylor Bears
Baylor Bears refers to the sports teams of Baylor University. Baylor's men's sports teams are nicknamed the Bears, and some women's teams are nicknamed the Lady Bears. Student athletes participate in the NCAA's Division I, and Baylor is the only private school in the Big 12 Conference...

. Pelini's Huskers then lost on the road the following week to the Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma Sooners
The University of Oklahoma features 19 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's teams are called the Sooners, a nickname given to the early participants in the land rushes which initially opened the Oklahoma Indian Territory to non-native settlement. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A,...

. This game marked the first time Pelini went up against Bob Stoops who he formerly worked under as defensive coordinator at the University of Oklahoma in 2004.

On November 8, Bo Pelini's Nebraska Cornhuskers won against Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...

, making them bowl eligible, something his predecessor, Bill Callahan, was able to accomplish only twice in four years. On November 28, 2008, the Cornhuskers faced the Colorado Buffaloes
Colorado Buffaloes
The University of Colorado Boulder sponsors 16 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's team are called the Buffaloes or Golden Buffaloes . "Lady Buffs" referred to the women's teams beginning in the 1970s, but was officially dropped in 1993...

. This game proved to be a close one, with Nebraska getting win #8, 40–31 with the help of a school record 57 yard field goal by Alex Henery and an interception by Ndamukong Suh which was run back for a touchdown. This victory tied Nebraska with Missouri for first in the Big 12 North, although Missouri represented the division in the conference championship game because of its tie-breaking, head-to-head win over the Huskers.

Clemson Tigers

The season started with head coach Tommy Bowden
Tommy Bowden
Tommy Bowden is an American football coach who served as the head coach at Clemson University from 1999 until October 13, 2008...

, who resigned six games into his tenth season with a 3-3 record in 2008. The interim head coach Dabo Swinney
Dabo Swinney
William Christopher "Dabo" Swinney is the head coach of the Clemson University Tigers football team; he was previously assistant head coach and wide receivers coach.-Playing career:...

 took over the team and had a 4-2 record going into the Gator Bowl.

Recap

After both teams traded punts throughout most of the first and second quarters, DeAndre McDaniel of Clemson scored on a 28 yard fumble return, with 4:52 in the second, after he batted down a pitch by Joe Ganz. The Cornhuskers battled back, and were able to tack on a 48 yard Alex Henery field goal with 1:10 left in the first half. Clemson was driving for another score before the half when Cullen Harper's pass was deflected and picked off by Nebraska. On the next play, Joe Ganz threw an interception right back to Clemson. Clemson capitalized with a 25 yard touchdown catch by Aaron Kelly with just 0:35 left in the half. Clemson took a 14–3 lead into halftime.

Quarterback Joe Ganz drove the Huskers the length of the field on Nebraska's first possession of the second half, capping off with a 17 yard touchdown catch by Nate Swift to bring the Huskers within four. After Nebraska receiver Niles Paul botched the punt return, Clemson's Jacoby Ford
Jacoby Ford
Jacoby Ford is an American football wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He is also an accomplished track and field athlete. He played college football as a wide receiver and return specialist for the Clemson Tigers at Clemson University...

 caught a 41 yard touchdown pass to put Clemson up 21–10.

Nebraska struck back with Joe Ganz eventually finding receiver Todd Peterson from 17 yards out for a touchdown to bring the Huskers within four points of Clemson at 21-17. Nebraska's Blackshirt defense intercepted Clemson quarterback Cullen Harper on the next drive. The turnover led to an Alex Henery 28-yard field goal to bring Nebraska within one point at 21–20. Clemson went three-and-out on their next four drives while Nebraska managed two field goals to bring the score to a 26–21 Nebraska lead.

Despite the success of the Nebraska defense, Clemson held one more drive for a go-ahead touchdown. With no timeouts, Clemson converted on a third down and later a fourth down until they eventually drove down to the NU 10 yard line for a 1st & Goal situation. On 2nd & Goal, Nebraska cornerback Eric Hagg sacked Cullen Harper for 16 yards back at the NU 26. On 3rd & Goal, Harper found his tailback C.J. Spiller in the endzone, only to have the ball knocked from Spiller's hands by Cornhusker safety, Matt O'Hanlon. Facing a 4th & Goal, Harper threw an incomplete pass to end their drive, giving the ball back to Nebraska with no way to stop the clock. Nebraska kneeled on the ball three times, ending the game and giving the Huskers the 26-21 victory.

Scoring summary

Scoring Play Score
2nd Quarter
Clemson - DeAndre McDaniel 28 yard fumble return (Mark Buchholz kick), 4:52 Clemson 7-0
Nebraska - Alex Henery 48 yard FG, 1:10 Clemson 7-3
Clemson - Aaron Kelly 25 yard TD pass from Cullen Harper
Cullen Harper
Cullen Harper, Jr. is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was undrafted in the 2009 NFL Draft and has yet to sign a contract with a team. He played college football at Clemson....

 (Buchholz kick), :35
Clemson 14-3
3rd Quarter
Nebraska - Nate Swift 17 yard TD pass from Joe Ganz (Henery kick), 12:24 Clemson 14-10
Clemson - Jacoby Ford 41 yard TD pass from Harper (Buchholz kick), 10:06 Clemson 21-10
Nebraska - Todd Peterson 19 yard TD pass from Ganz (Henery kick), 7:54 Clemson 21-17
Nebraska - Henery 28 yard FG, 5:13 Clemson 21-20
Nebraska - Henery 28 yard FG, 1:40 Nebraska 23-21
4th Quarter
Nebraska - Henery 22 yard FG, 5:20 Nebraska 26-21

Aftermath

The Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Bo Pelini
Bo Pelini
Mark "Bo" Pelini is the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He had previously been defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers...

continued his perfect postseason record to 2-0. Pelini's 2008 regular season record of 9-4 was the highest among all 28 Division 1A teams with new head coaches and staffs that year.
Ndamukong Suh was named to the all Bowl team award.
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