2009 Gator Bowl The 2009 Gator Bowl was played on January 1 , 2009 as part of the 2008 College Football season . It featured the Nebraska Cornhuskers , who finished tied for first in the Big 12 Conference ' s North Division with Missouri , and the Clemson Tigers , who finished fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference ' 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 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 is an annual college football bowl game that is played at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville , Florida . 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 . Overview . The Gator Bowl has tie - ins from the Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) , Big 12 Conference , and Big East Conferences , as well as independent Notre Dame . 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 , who finished the 2008 season with an overall record of 7 - 5 ( 4 - 4 in the ACC ) playing the Big 12 ' s Nebraska Cornhuskers , 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 in 2007 , while Nebraska did not qualify for a bowl game . Teams . University of Nebraska - Lincoln Cornhuskers . Nebraska opened up the season with 3 straight wins against Western Michigan , 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 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 and beat Iowa State University in a dominant fashion . They came back home and won against the Baylor Bears . Pelini ' s Huskers then lost on the road the following week to the Oklahoma Sooners . 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 , 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 . 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 , who resigned six games into his tenth season with a 3 - 3 record in 2008 . The interim head coach Dabo Swinney 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 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 . Aftermath . The Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Bo Pelini 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 .