Nebraska 26
Clemson 21

Jan. 1, 2009 • 12:10 p.m. Central
Gator Bowl • Jacksonville, FL • CBS
1st2nd3rd4th F 
Nebraska0320326
Clemson0147021

2009 Gator Bowl, Eric Hagg sackEric Hagg sacks Clemson’s Cullen Harper for a 16-yard loss near the end of the game. · Lincoln Journal Star · Newspapers.com

2nd quarter
CU: D. McDaniel 28 fumble return (M. Buchholz kick) 4:52
NU: A. Henery 48 field goal, 1:10
CU: A. Kelly 25 pass from C. Harper (Buchholz kick)  0:35
3rd quarter
NU: N. Swift 17 pass from J. Ganz (Henery kick) 12:24
CU: J. Ford 41 pass from Harper (Buchholz kick) 10:06
NU: T. Peterson 19 pass from Ganz (Henery kick) 7:54
NU: Henery 28 field goal, 5:13
NU: Henery 28 field goal, 1:45
4th quarter
NU: Henery 22 field goal, 5:20

                              NU       CU
FIRST DOWNS ................. 14       14
  Rushing .................... 3        2
  Passing ................... 11        7
  Penalty .................... 0        5
RUSHES-NET YARDS ........ 35-125     26-4
  Average Per Rush ......... 3.6      0.2
  Yards Gained Rushing ..... 164       58
  Yards Lost Rushing ........ 39       54
NET YARDS PASSING .......... 236      206
  Comp-Att-Int ......... 19-36-1  17-37-2
TOTAL OFFENSE ..........  71-361   63-210
  Avg. Gain Per Play ....... 5.1      3.3
Fumbles-Lost ............... 3-2      1-0
Penalties-Yards ........... 8-81     7-50
Punts-Average ........... 7-38.6   9-37.0
Punt returns-Yards-TD ... 6-33-0   6-81-0
Kickoff returns-Yds-TD .. 4-89-0   4-97-0
Interceptions-Yds-TD ..... 2-0-0   1-63-0
Fumble Returns-Yds-TD .... 0-0-0   1-28-1
Possession Time .......... 34:11    25:49
Third-Down Conv. .......... 7/19     3/16
Fourth-Down Conv. .......... 0/0      1/3
Red-Zone Scores-Chances .... 5-5      1-3
Sacks By: Number-Yards .... 5-44      0-0

RUSHING
NU: Castille 18-125; Witt 1-4; Ganz 7-1;
    Helu 5-minus-1
CU: Davis 12-26; Spiller 7-17; Ford 1-3;
    Harper 6-minus-42

PASSING
NU: Ganz 19/36 236 Yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
CU: Harper 17/37, 206 Yds, 2 TD, 2 INT

RECEIVING
NU: Peterson 4-96; Lucky 4-13; Swift 3-32;
    McNeill 3-27; Holt 2-35; Paul 2-13; 
    Castille 1-20  
CU: Kelly 6-74; Ford 5-112; Spiller 4-6;
    Faerber 1-8; Grisham 1-6

Attendance: 67,282

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Coverage

Stats & recap
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PHOTO CAPTION HERE | Courtesy of Nebraska Athletics

Huskers rally past Tigers for bowl win

Nebraska scored on four consecutive third-quarter possessions to rally from an 11-point halftime deficit and the Blackshirts capped a dominating effort with a late defensive stand as the Huskers came back for a 26-21 victory over Clemson in the Gator Bowl.

The Huskers were poised for the comeback thanks to an outstanding effort from the Blackshirts. Nebraska held Clemson to 210 yards, including only four yards rushing. All 21 Clemson points came off Husker turnovers, while NU forced two Tiger turnovers that led to six important points in the five-point win.

Clemson led 14-3 at halftime thanks to a pair of touchdowns off Husker turnovers. The Nebraska offense then erupted for 20 points in the third quarter, gaining a lead the Huskers would not relinquish with 1:40 remaining in the third quarter. Overall, Nebraska scored the game’s final 16 points thanks to clutch plays from Joe Ganz, Quentin Castille and the offense, and a stout effort from the defense.

After the Tigers converted another turnover into a touchdown to go on top 21-10, the Blackshirts limited five straight Clemson drives to three or fewer plays. The Tigers ran 14 plays during that stretch for minus-six total yards. During the same period, Ganz threw a touchdown pass to Todd Peterson while Alex Henery connected on three field goals to provide the final margin of victory.

Clemson made one final drive in the closing minutes, marching from its own 23 all the way to the NU 10. With a 1st-and-goal opportunity, the Tigers were sacked for a loss of 16 yards and threw three incompletions to seal the victory.

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Lincoln Journal Star*
Grand Island Indep.
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Pregame & team info
2008 schedule
04/19Reds 24, Whites 14
08/30W. MichiganW 47-24
09/06San Jose St.W 35-12
09/13New Mexico St.W 38-7
09/27Virginia TechL 30-35
10/04MissouriL 17-52
10/11@ Texas TechL 31-37
10/18@ Iowa St.W 35-7
10/25BaylorW 32-20
11/01@ OklahomaL 28-62
11/08KansasW 45-35
11/15@ Kansas St.W 56-28
11/28ColoradoW 40-31
01/01ClemsonW 26-21

Commentary

Colonel Mustard

The game cannot be considered an artistic success. But for the second game in a row the team displayed great heart and determination.

Sipple

May the team with the best chemistry win. Call me corny, but maybe that was the difference in Nebraska’s 26-21 triumph.

Lincoln Journal Star
Schubert

The old hard-hitting nature of the Big Red was back on New Year’s Day, and it’s hard to believe it will be going away anytime soon.

Daily Nebraskan
Max

Our defense won the game for us and Joe came through when he needed to.

HuskerMax
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