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 | |
| Conference | Big East Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 9 |
| AP | No. 8 |
| Record | 12–1 (7–0 Big East) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Jeff Quinn (3rd season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Joe Tresey (3rd season) |
| Home stadium | Nippert Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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".