2009 Cincinnati Bearcats football team

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.

2009 Cincinnati Bearcats football
Big East champion
Sugar Bowl, L 24–51 vs. Florida
ConferenceBig East
Ranking
CoachesNo. 9
APNo. 8
2009 record12–1 (7–0 Big East)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJeff Quinn (3rd season)
Defensive coordinatorBob Diaco (1st season)
Home stadiumNippert Stadium
(Capacity: 35,097)
2009 Big East Conference 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 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.

A heart-warming element of this amazing 2009 team was their adoption of Mitch Stone, a 12-year-old cancer patient, called "a key to this special season".[1]

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 74:00 pmat Rutgers
ESPNW 47–1553,737[2]
September 127:30 pmSoutheast Missouri State*No. 23
FSN OhioW 70–330,421[3]
September 196:45 pmat No. 24 Oregon State*No. 17
FSNW 28–1841,909[4]
September 2612:00 pmFresno State*No. 14
  • Nippert Stadium
  • Cincinnati, OH (Whiteout Game)
ESPN+W 28–2032,910[5]
October 31:00 pmat Miami (OH)*No. 10
ESPN360W 37–1323,493[6]
October 157:30 pmat No. 21 South FloridaNo. 8
ESPNW 34–1763,976[7]
October 243:30 pmLouisvilleNo. 5
ESPNUW 41–1035,099[8]
October 3112:00 pmat SyracuseNo. 5
ESPNUW 28–733,802[9]
November 78:00 pmConnecticutNo. 5
  • Nippert Stadium
  • Cincinnati, OH (Blackout Game)
ABCW 47–4535,100[10]
November 138:00 pmNo. 23 West VirginiaNo. 5
  • Nippert Stadium
  • Cincinnati, OH (Ring of Red Game)
ESPN2W 24–2135,105[11]
November 2712:00 pmIllinois*No. 5
  • Nippert Stadium
  • Cincinnati, OH
ABCW 49–3635,106[12]
December 512:00 pmat No. 15 PittsburghNo. 5
ABCW 45–4463,387[13]
January 18:30 pmvs. No. 5 FloridaNo. 4
FOXL 24–5165,207[14]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • 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.
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
QB 14 Chazz Anderson  Jr
TE 86 Blake Annen  Fr
WR 80 Armon Binns Jr
WR 1 Mardy Gilyard Sr
C 60 Jason Kelce Jr
TE 18 Travis Kelce Fr
T 71 Jeff Linkenbach Sr
RB 23 Isaiah Pead So
QB 15 Tony Pike Sr
TE 88 Adrien Robinson So
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DT 40 John Hughes So
DE 90 Ricardo Mathews Sr
LB 37 J. K. Schaffer So
DT 78 Derek Wolfe So
LB 27 Jeremy Matthews 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

Roster

Awards and milestones

All-Americans
  • Mardy Gilyard, WR
  • Andre Revels, LB 3rd Team Sporting News All American

Post-season finalists and winners

[15]

Big East Conference honors

Offensive player of the week
  • Week 1: Tony Pike[15]
  • Week 4: Mardy Gilyard[15]
  • Week 9: Zach Collaros[15]
  • Week 12: Tony Pike[15]
  • Week 13: Tony Pike[15]

Special teams player of the week
  • Week 2: Mardy Gilyard[15]
  • Week 6: Jacob Rodgers[15]
  • Week 9: Jacob Rodgers[15]
  • Week 13: Mardy Gilyard[15]

Big East Conference All-Conference First Team

[15]

Big East Conference All-Conference Second Team

[15]

Players in the 2010 NFL Draft
See also: 2010 NFL Draft
PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL Club
Mardy GilyardWR499St. Louis Rams
Tony PikeQB6204Carolina Panthers
Ricardo MathewsDT7238Indianapolis Colts

References
  1. Thamel, Pete (October 14, 2009). "Resurgent Cincinnati Inspired by Bond With Young Cancer Patient". The New York Times. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  2. "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  3. "Southeast Missouri State Redhawks vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  4. "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Oregon State Beavers Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  5. "Fresno State Bulldogs vs. Cincinnati Bearcuts Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on March 15, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  6. "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Miami (OH) RedHawks Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  7. "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. South Florida Bulls Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  8. "Louisville Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Box Score". ESPN. Archived from the original on October 28, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
  9. "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Syracuse Orange Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  10. "Connecticut Huskies vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  11. "West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  12. "Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  13. "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Pittsburgh Panthers Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  14. "Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Florida Gators Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  15. "2011 Cincinnati Media Guide" (PDF). University of Cincinnati Athletics. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
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