2009 UCF Knights football team

The 2009 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Their head coach was George O'Leary, in his sixth season with the team. Coaching changes included new offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe. For the third season, the UCF Knights played all of their home games at Bright House Networks Stadium on the school's main campus in Orlando, Florida.[1]

2009 UCF Knights football
ConferenceConference USA
DivisionEast
2009 record8–5 (6–2 C-USA)
Head coachGeorge O'Leary
Offensive coordinatorCharlie Taaffe
Defensive coordinatorDave Huxtable
Home stadiumBright House Networks Stadium
(Capacity: 45,323)
2009 Conference USA football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
East Carolina x$  7 –1     9 –5  
UCF  6 –2     8 –5  
Southern Miss  5 –3     7 –6  
Marshall  4 –4     7 –6  
UAB  4 –4     5 –7  
Memphis  1 –7     2 –10  
West Division
Houston xy  6 –2     10 –4  
SMU x  6 –2     8 –5  
Tulsa  3 –5     5 –7  
UTEP  3 –5     4 –8  
Rice  2 –6     2 –10  
Tulane  1 –7     3 –9  
Championship: East Carolina 38, Houston 32
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

All games were broadcast live on the UCF-ISP Sports radio network.[2] The flagship was WYGM "740 The Game" in Orlando, which had returned to a sports talk format after a year's absence but retained UCF's rights throughout. The games were called by Marc Daniels (play-by-play) and Gary Parris (color commentary), with Scott Adams and Jerry O'Neill as field reporters.

For the season, the Knights had an 8–5 record, 6–2 in Conference USA, and placed second in the Eastern Division. The Knights finished the season with a six-game conference winning streak, after starting conference play 0–2. The season included a 37–32 Homecoming win over the Houston Cougars, who were ranked #12 in the Coaches' Poll, marking the first time in program history that the Knights had defeated a ranked opponent.[3] For the third time in five years, the Knights became bowl eligible and lost to Rutgers in the St. Petersburg Bowl.

Personnel

Coaching staff
Head Coach George O'Leary

On January 5, 2009, UCF hired Charlie Taaffe to be the team's new Offensive Coordinator.[4] The change occurred amid a staff shake-up by Head Coach George O'Leary after a disappointing 2008 season. Tim Salem, whom Taaffe replaced, will transition to being the tight-ends coach and special-teams coordinator, 2008 quarterbacks coach George Godsey will move to be the running-backs coach, and Brent Key will move from being the tight-ends coach and special-teams coordinator to offensive-line coach.[4]

Recruiting class
Name[5]PositionHeightWeightStateHigh School/Junior College
Corey Ammons
-
6-1275FloridaArchbishop Carroll
A. J. BouyeWR/ CB6-0180GeorgiaTucker
Jamie BoylePK5-10193New YorkMonroe Woodbury
D.J. BrownTE6-4225FloridaDunnellon
Brandon BryantDL6-3230GeorgiaWashington
Frankie DavisDL6-3240FloridaEast Ridge
Jonathan DavisRB/ LB5-9195GeorgiaTucker
Troy DavisLB6-2217GeorgiaBerkmar
Nico FloresDL/ QB6-2199FloridaNorth Miami Beach
Dontravious FloydWR6-3203FloridaSouth Dade
Victor GrayDL6-4235FloridaDr. Phillips
Javen HarrisLB7-2223AlabamaEufaula
Tay IrvinDT6-0310GeorgiaTroup County
Kemal IshmaelWR/DB5-11197FloridaNorth Miami Beach
Abre LegginsDT6-3280FloridaWestwood HS
Quincy McDuffieWR5-10160FloridaEdgewater
Deon SimonDT6-4280LouisianaGlen Oaks
Jarrett SwabyWR/DB6-1189FloridaGlades Day
Jim TeknippTE6-5225GeorgiaHenry County
Leon WoodsWR
-
-
FloridaLake Gibson
Henry WrightDB6-1185FloridaEdgewater

Schedule
Bright House Networks Stadium, the Knights home field.
The field at Bright House Networks Stadium.
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 57:30 PMSamford*
BHSNW 28–2434,486[6]
September 127:00 PMat Southern Miss
L 19–2627,456[7]
September 197:30 PMBuffalo*
  • Bright House Networks Stadium
  • Orlando, FL
BHSNW 23–1733,689[8]
September 263:30 PMat East Carolina
BHSNL 14–1943,210[9]
October 33:30 PMMemphis
  • Bright House Networks Stadium
  • Orlando, FL
BHSNW 32–1440,408[10]
October 177:30 PMNo. 9 Miami (FL)*
  • Bright House Networks Stadium
  • Orlando, FL
CBSCSL 7–2748,453[11]
October 243:30 PMat Rice
W 49–710,196[12]
November 18:15 PMMarshall
  • Bright House Networks Stadium
  • Orlando, FL
ESPNW 21–2035,676[13]
November 712:00 PMat No. 2 Texas*
FSNL 3–35101,003[14]
November 1412:00 PMNo. 13 Houston
  • Bright House Networks Stadium
  • Orlando, FL
CBSCSW 37–3234,437[15]
November 212:00 PMTulane
  • Bright House Networks Stadium
  • Orlando, FL
BHSNW 49–031,390[16]
November 281:30 PMat UAB
W 34–2713,381[17]
December 198:00 PMvs. Rutgers
ESPNL 24–4529,763[18]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Samford
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 0 7 17 0 24
Knights 0 7 14 7 28
See also: Samford Bulldogs football

UCF and Samford last met for a Homecoming game in the 1990s.

Southern Miss
1 2 3 4 Total
Knights 0 10 0 9 19
Golden Eagles 14 6 0 6 26
See also: 2009 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team

UCF and Southern Miss last met in Orlando on November 8, 2008. UCF lost the game 17-6.

Buffalo
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulls 0 17 0 0 17
Knights 7 0 10 6 23
See also: 2009 Buffalo Bulls football team

UCF and Buffalo last met in Orlando in 2003.

East Carolina
1 2 3 4 Total
Knights 7 0 0 7 14
Pirates 3 7 3 6 19
See also: 2009 East Carolina Pirates football team and East Carolina–UCF football rivalry

UCF and East Carolina last met in Orlando on November 2, 2008. East Carolina won the game in overtime 13–10.

Memphis
1 2 3 4 Total
Tigers 0 7 7 0 14
Knights 0 3 12 17 32
See also: 2009 Memphis Tigers football team

UCF and Memphis last met in Memphis on November 22, 2008. UCF won the game 28–21.

Miami
1 2 3 4 Total
#9 Hurricanes 7 3 10 7 27
Knights 0 0 7 0 7
See also: 2009 Miami Hurricanes football team

UCF and Miami met for the first time on October 11, 2008 in Miami. Miami won the game 20–14.

There were 48,453 fans on hand to watch the game, which was the largest crowd to watch a football game at Bright House Networks Stadium.[19]

Rice
1 2 3 4 Total
Knights 21 7 14 7 49
Owls 0 0 0 7 7
See also: 2009 Rice Owls football team

UCF and Rice last met in 2006.

Marshall
1 2 3 4 Total
Thundering Herd 0 17 3 0 20
Knights 0 7 0 14 21
See also: 2009 Marshall Thundering Herd football team and Marshall–UCF football rivalry

UCF and Marshall last met on November 15, 2008 in Huntington. UCF won the game 30–14. UCF is 5–3 all time versus Marshall. Marshall was leading 20-7 with less than 8 minutes to go in the game, but UCF staged a comeback to win the game 21-20.

Texas
1 2 3 4 Total
Knights 0 3 0 0 3
#2 Longhorns 0 14 7 14 35
See also: 2009 Texas Longhorns football team

UCF and Texas last met on September 15, 2007 for the inaugural game at Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando. #8 Texas won the game 35–32.

Houston
1 2 3 4 Total
#12 Cougars 10 7 0 15 32
Knights 0 10 13 14 37
See also: 2009 Houston Cougars football team

UCF and Houston last met on October 28, 2006 in Houston. The Cougars won the game 51–31. This was the first time in the program's history that the Knights proved victorious over a ranked opponent. UCF is now 20–10 all time on Homecoming weekend.

Tulane
1 2 3 4 Total
Green Wave 0 0 0 0 0
Knights 7 7 28 7 49
See also: 2009 Tulane Green Wave football team

UCF and Tulane last met in 2006 in New Orleans. The Green Wave won the game.

UAB
1 2 3 4 Total
Knights 10 14 7 3 34
Blazers 7 7 0 13 27
See also: 2009 UAB Blazers football team

UCF and UAB last met on November 29, 2008 in Orlando. The Blazers won the game 15–0.

St. Petersburg Bowl
1 2 3 4 Total
Knights 7 10 0 7 24
Scarlet Knights 14 14 10 7 45
See also: 2009 St. Petersburg Bowl

UCF had been bowl eligible for three of the past five seasons. UCF was 0–3 in bowl games until this point. This game marked the first meeting between the two teams.

References
  1. Athletics Facilities - Bright House Networks Stadium
  2. "UCF ISP Radio Network". Archived from the original on 2010-02-13. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
  3. "Central Florida holds off Keenum, No. 15 Houston". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  4. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orl-sportsfbcucf04010409jan04,0,4978498.story Archived 2009-01-06 at the Wayback Machine Amid shakeup, UCF taps Taaffe to lead offense
  5. MaxPreps - Football Signing Day - By College - UCF
  6. "Samford Bulldogs vs. UCF Knights Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on February 19, 2010. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  7. "UCF Knights vs. Southern Miss Golden Eagles Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  8. "Buffalo Bulls vs. UCF Knights Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  9. "UCF Knights vs. East Carolina Pirates Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  10. "Memphis Tigers vs. UCF Knights Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  11. "Miami Hurricanes vs. UCF Knights Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  12. "UCF Knights vs. Rice Owls Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  13. "Marshall Thundering Herd vs. UCF Knights Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  14. "UCF Knights vs. Texas Longhorns Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  15. "Houston Cougars vs. UCF Knights Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  16. "Tulane Green Wave vs. UCF Knights Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  17. "UCF Knights vs. UAB Blazers Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  18. "UCF Knights vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2010. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  19. "UCF blown away 27-7 vs. Miami Hurricanes". Central Florida Future. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
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