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 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 Everbank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. It is one of the oldest college bowls, held continuously since 1946. Its current full name is the TaxSlayer Bowl after its present sponsor, TaxSlayer.com.

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.

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