2009 Cincinnati Bearcats football team

2009 Cincinnati Bearcats football
Big East champion
Sugar Bowl, L 24–51 vs. Florida
Conference Big East
Ranking
Coaches No. 9
AP No. 8
2009 record 12–1 (7–0 Big East)
Head coach Brian Kelly (3rd season)
Jeff Quinn (interim)
Offensive coordinator Jeff Quinn (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator Bob Diaco (1st season)
Home stadium Nippert Stadium
(Capacity: 35,097)
2009 Big East football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 8 Cincinnati $  7 –0     12 –1  
No. 25 West Virginia  5 –2     9 –4  
No. 15 Pittsburgh  5 –2     10 –3  
Rutgers  3 –4     9 –4  
Connecticut  3 –4     8 –5  
South Florida  3 –4     8 –5  
Louisville  1 –6     4 –8  
Syracuse  1 –6     4 –8  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2009 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team, coached by Brian Kelly, played its home games in Nippert Stadium.

The 2009 season was arguably the best in Cincinnati's 125-year football history. The Bearcats won a school-record 12 games and finished the regular season fourth in both major media polls, their highest ranking ever. They won their second consecutive Big East Conference championship and played in their second consecutive Bowl Championship Series game, the Sugar Bowl vs Florida. It was also the second BCS bowl appearance in school history.

The Bearcats finished third in the 2009 Bowl Championship Series rankings. The Bearcats became the first team from a BCS conference to finish the regular season unbeaten and be left out of the BCS Championship Game since Auburn in 2004. However, had Texas lost the 2009 Big 12 Championship Game, the Bearcats would have had a realistic shot at playing in the BCS National Championship Game, since they would have been one of only two undefeated teams left from an AQ conference.

Head coach Brian Kelly resigned at the end of the regular season to take the head coaching job at Notre Dame. Offensive coordinator Jeff Quinn coached the Bearcats in the Sugar Bowl. Butch Jones began coaching the team in 2010.

The Bearcats were defeated by Florida 51–24 in the Sugar Bowl to end their undefeated season.

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 7 4:00 PM at Rutgers Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, New Jersey ESPN W 47–15   53,737[1]
September 12 7:30 PM Southeast Missouri State* No. 23 Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati FSN Ohio W 70–3   30,421[2]
September 19 6:45 PM at No. 24 Oregon State* No. 17 Reser Stadium • Corvallis, Oregon FSN W 28–18   41,909[3]
September 26 12:00 PM Fresno State* No. 14 Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio (Whiteout Game) ESPN+ W 28–20   32,910[4]
October 3 1:00 PM at Miami (OH)* No. 10 Yager Stadium • Oxford, Ohio (Victory Bell) ESPN360 W 37–13   23,493[5]
October 15 7:30 PM at No. 21 South Florida No. 8 Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, Florida ESPN W 34–17   63,976[6]
October 24 3:30 PM Louisvilledagger No. 5 Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio (Keg of Nails) ESPNU W 41–10   35,099[7]
October 31 12:00 PM at Syracuse No. 5 Carrier Dome • Syracuse, New York ESPNU W 28–7   33,802[8]
November 7 8:00 PM Connecticut No. 5 Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio (Blackout Game) ABC W 47–45   35,100[9]
November 13 8:00 PM No. 23 West Virginia No. 5 Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio (Ring of Red Game) ESPN2 W 24–21   35,105[10]
November 27 12:00 PM Illinois* No. 5 Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio ABC W 49–36   35,106[11]
December 5 12:00 PM at No. 15 Pittsburgh No. 5 Heinz Field • Pittsburgh (River City Rivalry) ABC W 45–44   63,387[12]
January 1 8:30 PM vs. No. 5 Florida No. 4 Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans (Sugar Bowl) FOX L 24–51   65,207[13]
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

Ranking Movement
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week.
PollPreWk 1Wk 2Wk 3Wk 4Wk 5Wk 6Wk 7Wk 8Wk 9Wk 10Wk 11Wk 12Wk 13Wk 14Final
AP -- 23 17 14 10 8 8 5 5 4 5 5 5 5 4 8
Coaches -- 23 21 15 11 10 9 6 7 7 5 5 5 5 4 9
Harris Not released 10 9 8 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 4
BCS Not released 5 8 5 5 5 5 5 3

Game summaries

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh
1 2 34Total
Cincinnati 7 10 72145
Pittsburgh 7 24 01344

at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh

Roster

2009 Cincinnati Bearcats football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
WR 80 Armon Binns
WR 1 Mardy Gilyard
C 60 Jason Kelce Jr
TE 18 Travis Kelce Fr
T 71 Jeff Linkenbach
RB 23 Isaiah Pead
QB 15 Tony Pike Sr
TE 88 Adrien Robinson
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DT 40 John Hughes So
DE 90 Ricardo Mathews Sr
LB 37 J. K. Schaffer So
DT 78 Derek Wolfe So
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
LS 93 Mike Windt Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

References

  1. ↑ "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Southeast Missouri State Redhawks vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Oregon State Beavers Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Fresno State Bulldogs vs. Cincinnati Bearcuts Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on March 15, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Miami (OH) RedHawks Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. South Florida Bulls Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Louisville Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Box Score". ESPN. Archived from the original on October 28, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
  8. ↑ "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Syracuse Orange Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Connecticut Huskies vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  10. ↑ "West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Pittsburgh Panthers Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Florida Gators Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
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