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 ESPN W 47–1553,737[1] September 12 7:30 PM Southeast Missouri State * No. 23 FSN Ohio W 70–330,421[2] September 19 6:45 PM at No. 24 Oregon State * No. 17 FSN W 28–1841,909[3] September 26 12:00 PM Fresno State * No. 14 Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, Ohio (Whiteout Game) ESPN+ W 28–2032,910[4] October 3 1:00 PM at Miami (OH) * No. 10 ESPN360 W 37–1323,493[5] October 15 7:30 PM at No. 21 South Florida No. 8 ESPN W 34–1763,976[6] October 24 3:30 PM Louisville No. 5 ESPNU W 41–1035,099[7] October 31 12:00 PM at Syracuse No. 5 ESPNU W 28–733,802[8] November 7 8:00 PM Connecticut No. 5 Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, Ohio (Blackout Game) ABC W 47–4535,100[9] November 13 8:00 PM No. 23 West Virginia No. 5 Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, Ohio (Ring of Red Game) ESPN2 W 24–2135,105[10] November 27 12:00 PM Illinois * No. 5 Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, Ohio ABC W 49–3635,106[11] December 5 12:00 PM at No. 15 Pittsburgh No. 5 ABC W 45–4463,387[12] January 1 8:30 PM vs. No. 5 Florida No. 4 FOX L 24–5165,207[13] *Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time
Rankings [ ]
Ranking MovementLegend: ██ 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 [ ]
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
Jon 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
Jon 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
Roster [ ]
2009 Cincinnati Bearcats football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) IneligibleRoster
Awards and milestones [ ] Post-season finalists and winners [ ] [14]
Big East Conference honors [ ] Offensive player of the week [ ] Week 1: Tony Pike[14]
Week 4: Mardy Gilyard[14]
Week 9: Zach Collaros[14]
Week 12: Tony Pike[14]
Week 13: Tony Pike[14] Special teams player of the week [ ] Week 2: Mardy Gilyard[14]
Week 6: Jacob Rodgers[14]
Week 9: Jacob Rodgers[14]
Week 13: Mardy Gilyard[14] Big East Conference All-Conference First Team [ ]
Mardy Gilyard, WR
Chris Jurek, OL
Tony Pike, QB
Mardy Gilyard, KR
[14]
Big East Conference All-Conference Second Team [ ]
Armon Binns, WR
Jason Kelce, OL
Alex Hoffman, OL
Jeff Linkenbach, OL
Ben Guidugli, TE
[14]
Players in the 2010 NFL Draft [ ] References [ ]
↑ "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights Box Score" . ESPN.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100320140156/http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=292500164 . Retrieved March 30, 2010 .↑ "Southeast Missouri State Redhawks vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Box Score" . ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=292552132 . Retrieved March 30, 2010 .↑ "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Oregon State Beavers Box Score" . ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=292620204 . Retrieved March 30, 2010 .↑ "Fresno State Bulldogs vs. Cincinnati Bearcuts Box Score" . ESPN.com. Archived from the original on March 15, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100315124526/http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=292692132 . Retrieved March 30, 2010 .↑ "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Miami (OH) RedHawks Box Score" . ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=292760193 . Retrieved March 30, 2010 .↑ "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. South Florida Bulls Box Score" . ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=292880058 . Retrieved March 30, 2010 .↑ "Louisville Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Box Score" . ESPN. Archived from the original on October 28, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091028211130/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=292972132 . Retrieved October 24, 2009 .↑ "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Syracuse Orange Box Score" . ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=293040183 . Retrieved March 30, 2010 .↑ "Connecticut Huskies vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Box Score" . ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=293112132 . Retrieved March 30, 2010 .↑ "West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Box Score" . ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=293172132 . Retrieved March 30, 2010 .↑ "Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Box Score" . ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=293312132 . Retrieved March 30, 2010 .↑ "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Pittsburgh Panthers Box Score" . ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=293390221 . Retrieved March 30, 2010 .↑ "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Florida Gators Box Score" . ESPN.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100320131303/http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=300010057 . Retrieved March 30, 2010 .↑ 14.00 14.01 14.02 14.03 14.04 14.05 14.06 14.07 14.08 14.09 14.10 14.11 14.12 14.13 "2011 Cincinnati Media Guide" . University of Cincinnati Athletics. https://gobearcats.com/documents/2011/9/2/11FB_Supplement.pdf . Retrieved December 22, 2018 .
Template:Big East Conference football champions
