2009 Gator Bowl

Bo Pelini's arrival saw a renewed interest and optimism in Nebraska football, as evidenced by their record Pay-Per View buys.

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.

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.

[3] 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.