2009 Capital One Bowl

The 2009 Capital One Bowl was held on January 1, 2009 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The Georgia Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference defeated the Michigan State Spartans of the Big Ten Conference by a score of 24–12.[2] The game was televised to a national audience on ABC. The game was supposed to be a "showdown" between MSU RB Javon Ringer and Georgia RB Knowshon Moreno, but both players combined for only 43 carries and 109 yards, with Ringer scoring on a rushing touchdown and Moreno on a receiving.[3]

2009 Capital One Bowl
Georgia Bulldogs Michigan State Spartans
(9–3) (9–3)
SEC Big Ten
24 12
Head coach: 
Mark Richt		 Head coach: 
Mark Dantonio
APCoachesBCS
161715
APCoachesBCS
191818
1234 Total
Georgia 30147 24
Michigan State 3306 12
DateJanuary 1, 2009
Season2008
StadiumFlorida Citrus Bowl
LocationOrlando, Florida
MVPMatthew Stafford (Georgia QB)
FavoriteGeorgia by 8.5
RefereeKarl Richins
Attendance59,681
PayoutUS$4.25 million per team[1]
United States TV coverage
NetworkABC
AnnouncersMike Patrick, Todd Blackledge
Nielsen ratings6.4 (10.8 mil. viewers)

Game summary

First half

The Bulldogs scored the first points of the game when Blair Walsh connected on a 32 yd field goal early in the first quarter. Michigan State would answer with a 20-yard field goal by Brett Swenson with 4:50 left in the first quarter. The Spartans would take the lead late in the second quarter with a 32 yd field goal of their own. Despite multiple turnovers neither Michigan State or Georgia could score a touchdown in the first half and Michigan State would take a 6–3 lead into halftime.

Second half

Both teams continued to struggle offensively until Georgia drove 96 yards and scored on a Matthew Stafford 35-yard touchdown pass to Michael Moore with 3:31 left in the third quarter. After forcing Michigan State to punt on their next possession, Georgia would score another touchdown off a 21-yard Matthew Stafford pass, this time to Aron White right before the end of the third quarter. Michigan State would pull within a touchdown after Javon Ringer finally found the end zone for the Spartans with 8:50 left in the fourth quarter. Michigan State attempted a two-point conversion to try to pull within three points of Georgia, however the attempt failed with an incomplete pass. This made the score 17–12. After a short possession by Georgia, Michigan State would get the ball back and would drive into Georgia territory, but turned the ball over on a failed fourth down conversion attempt. Georgia would seal the game when Knowshon Moreno scored on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Stafford with just 3:43 left in the fourth quarter.

Scoring summary
QuarterTimeDriveTeamScoring Information[4]Score
LengthTimeGeorgiaMichigan State
1 9:268 plays, 48 yards2:39Georgia Blair Walsh 32–yard field goal 30
4:504 plays, 3 yards1:25Michigan State Brett Swenson 20–yard field goal 33
2 2:1410 plays, 24 yards4:45Michigan State Brett Swenson 32–yard field goal 36
3 3:3110 plays, 96 yards5:51Georgia Michael Moore 35–yard reception from Matthew Stafford, Blair Walsh kick good 106
0:091 play, 21 yards0:06Georgia Aron White 21–yard reception from Matthew Stafford, Blair Walsh kick good 176
4 8:5010 plays, 54 yards2:20Michigan State Javon Ringer 1–yard rush, Brian Hoyer pass failed 1712
3:4311 plays, 67 yards5:03Georgia Knowshon Moreno 21–yard reception from Matthew Stafford, Blair Walsh kick good 2412
Final Score2412

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-12-19. Retrieved 2011-09-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Georgia vs Michigan State (Jan 1, 2009)". Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  3. "Georgia overcomes slow start to get past Michigan State". USA Today. AP. 2009-01-02. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  4. "Capital One Bowl (Georgia vs. Michigan State) Box Score". Michigan State University Sports Information. 2009-01-01. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
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