2008 Alamo Bowl

The 2008 Valero Alamo Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 29, 2008 in the 65,000-seat Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, and televised nationally by ESPN. The game was one of the 2008–09 NCAA football bowl games that concluded the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The 2008 Alamo Bowl was the 16th annual edition of the contest and the second to be sponsored by Valero Energy Corporation. The game pit the Missouri Tigers (9–4) against the Northwestern Wildcats (9–3). The 2008 game was dubbed the Journalism Bowl by some in the media, owing to the nationally recognized journalism programs at each school: the Missouri School of Journalism and the Medill School of Journalism.

2008 Valero Alamo Bowl
Missouri Tigers Northwestern Wildcats (9–4) (9–3) Big 12 Big Ten 30 23 Head coach:  Gary Pinkel Head coach:  Pat Fitzgerald AP Coaches BCS 25 23 21 AP Coaches BCS 22 20 23
1 2 3 4 OT Total Missouri 0 10 10 3 7 30 Northwestern 7 3 13 0 0 23
Date	December 29, 2008
Season	2008
Stadium	Alamodome
Location	San Antonio, Texas
MVP	Offense: Jeremy Maclin Defense: Sean Weatherspoon (MIZZ)
Favorite	Missouri by 12.5
Referee	Jack Childress (ACC)
Attendance	55,986
Payout	US$2,250,000 million per team
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Ron Franklin and Ed Cunningham
Nielsen ratings	3.9

Scoring summary

First quarter

Northwestern's Brian Peters intercepted Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel on the Tigers' first drive. The Wildcats took advantage of the mistake and quarterback C. J. Bachér found a wide-open Eric Peterman for a 35-yard touchdown.

Second quarter

Missouri and Northwestern traded field goals in the second quarter. With just one minute before halftime, Jeremy Maclin bolted for a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown.

Third quarter

Bachér found Rasheed Ward for a 46-yard touchdown pass on the first drive of the second half. However, Northwestern's extra point attempt bounced off the right upright, making the score 16–10. Danario Alexander gave Mizzou its first lead of the game with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Daniel with about 7 minutes left in the third. Missouri kicked another field goal later in the quarter. With 31 seconds left in the quarter, Bachér found Ross Lane in the back of the endzone to give Northwestern a 23–20 lead.

Fourth quarter

Jeff Wolfert made his third field goal of the game with 2:49 remaining to tie the game at 23–23. However, he missed a 44-yard field as time expired, sending the game into overtime.

Overtime

Missouri started on offense first to begin the overtime period. Daniel threw a 7-yard pass to Maclin to give Missouri a 30–23 lead. Like their offense, Missouri's defense delivered. They forced a back-pedaling Bachér to fumble the ball, leaving Northwestern with a fourth-and-goal from the 32-yard line. Bachér's desperation hail mary was knocked down into the end zone.

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP MIZZ NU 1 9:30 60 2:26 NU Eric Peterman 35-yard touchdown reception from C. J. Bachér, Amado Villarreal kick good 0 7 2 14:49 72 3:44 MIZZ 31-yard field goal by Jeff Wolfert 3 7 2 9:11 72 5:33 NU 21-yard field goal by Amado Villarreal 3 10 2 1:00 75 0:00 MIZZ Stefan Demos punt for 36 yards, returned by Jeremy Maclin for 75 yards for a touchdown, Jeff Wolfert kick good 10 10 3 12:08 80 2:47 NU Rasheed Ward 46-yard touchdown reception from C. J. Bachér, Amado Villarreal kick no good 10 16 3 7:20 63 4:44 MIZZ Danario Alexander 11-yard touchdown reception from Chase Daniel, Jeff Wolfert kick good 17 16 3 3:46 5 1:06 MIZZ 43-yard field goal by Jeff Wolfert 20 16 3 0:31 24 1:05 NU Ross Lane 23-yard touchdown reception from C. J. Bachér, Amado Villarreal kick good 20 23 4 2:49 33 3:07 MIZZ 37-yard field goal by Jeff Wolfert 23 23 OT 15:00 25 0:00 MIZZ Jeremy Maclin 7-yard touchdown reception from Chase Daniel, Jeff Wolfert kick good 30 23 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 30 23