2009 Cincinnati Bearcats football team

2009 Cincinnati Bearcats football
Big East Champions
Sugar Bowl, L 51-24 vs. Florida
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches	#9
AP	#8
2009 record	12–1 (7–0 Big East)
Head coach	Brian Kelly Jeff Quinn (Sugar Bowl)
Offensive coordinator	Jeff Quinn
Defensive coordinator	Bob Diaco
Home stadium	Nippert Stadium
Seasons « 2008 2010 »

2009 Big East football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#8 Cincinnati †		7	–	0					12	–	1
#25 West Virginia		5	–	2					9	–	4
#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 champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 2009 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented the University of Cincinnati in the college football season of 2009–2010. 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 only the second major 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 p.m.	at Rutgers		Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	ESPN	W 47–15	53,737
September 12	7:30 p.m.	Southeast Missouri State*	#23	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH	FSN Ohio	W 70–3	30,421
September 19	6:45 p.m.	at #24 Oregon State*	#17	Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR	FSN	W 28–18	41,909
September 26	12:00 p.m.	Fresno State*	#14	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH (Whiteout Game)	ESPN Plus	W 28–20	32,910
October 3	1:00 p.m.	at Miami (OH)*	#10	Yager Stadium • Oxford, OH (Victory Bell)	ESPN360	W 37–13	23,493
October 15	7:30 p.m.	at #21 South Florida	#8	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	ESPN	W 34–17	63,976
October 24	3:30 p.m.	Louisville	#5	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH (Keg of Nails)	ESPNU	W 41–10	35,099
October 31	12:00 p.m.	at Syracuse	#5	Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY	ESPNU	W 28–7	33,802
November 7	8:00 p.m.	Connecticut	#5	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH (Blackout Game)	ABC	W 47–45	35,100
November 13	8:00 p.m.	#23 West Virginia	#5	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH (Ring of Red Game)	ESPN2	W 24–21	35,105
November 27	12:00 p.m.	Illinois*	#5	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH	ABC	W 49–36	35,106
December 5	12:00 p.m.	at #15 Pittsburgh	#5	Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, PA (River City Rivalry)	ABC	W 45–44	63,387
January 1	8:30 p.m.	vs. #5 Florida	#4	Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	Fox	L 24-51	65,207
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

See also: 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking Movement
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week.

Poll	Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Final
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 3 4 Total Cincinnati 7 10 7 21 45 Pittsburgh 7 24 0 13 44 at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA Date: December 5 Game time: 12:00 p.m. Game weather: Flurries, 30°F Game attendance: 63,387 Referee: Gerard McGinn TV: ABC Recap

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Cincinnati Pittsburgh 1 7:27 56 6:29 Pittsburgh Dion Lewis 4-yard touchdown run, Dan Hutchins kick good 0 7 1 5:17 66 2:10 Cincinnati Jacob Ramsey 2-yard touchdown run, Jacob Rogers kick good 7 7 2 14:13 68 6:04 Pittsburgh Jonathan Baldwin 22-yard touchdown reception from Bill Stull, Dan Hutchins kick good 7 14 2 11:12 76 3:01 Cincinnati 20-yard field goal by Jacob Rogers 10 14 2 10:28 63 :44 Pittsburgh Jonathan Baldwin 40-yard touchdown reception from Bill Stull, Dan Hutchins kick good 10 21 2 4:53 33 4:32 Pittsburgh 33-yard field goal by Dan Hutchins 10 24 2 1:26 5 1:23 Pittsburgh Bill Stull 3-yard touchdown run, Dan Hutchins kick good 10 31 2 1:10 Cincinnati Mardy Gilyard 99 yard kickoff return, Jacob Rogers kick good 17 31 3 8:12 78 1:38 Cincinnati Mardy Gilyard 68-yard touchdown reception from Tony Pike, Jacob Rogers kick good 24 31 4 12:26 32 1:51 Pittsburgh Dion Lewis 15-yard touchdown run, Dan Hutchins kick good 24 38 4 11:09 23 1:17 Cincinnati DJ Woods 8-yard touchdown reception from Tony Pike, Jacob Rogers kick failed 30 38 4 5:46 68 3:08 Cincinnati Isaiah Pead 1-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass good 38 38 4 1:36 67 4:10 Pittsburgh Dion Lewis 5-yard touchdown run, 2-point run failed 38 44 4 :33 61 1:03 Cincinnati Armon Binns 29-yard touchdown reception from Tony Pike, Jacob Rogers kick good 45 44 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 45 44

References

• "Football - 2009-2010 Schedule". University of Cincinnati. http://www.gobearcats.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/cinn-m-footbl-sched.html. Retrieved 2009-08-04.