2008–09 NCAA football bowl games

College football postseason game series August 2023 2008 2008 Bowls-USA-states.PNG Bowl sites by state August 28–December 6 34 3 December 20, 2008 January 31, 2009 2009 BCS Championship Dolphin Stadium,Miami Gardens, Florida Florida Gators Pac-10 ACC 10 4 6 2 SEC 8 6 2 4 Big 12 7 4 3 5 Big Ten 7 1 6 4 Big East 6 4 2 2 Conference USA 6 4 2 0 Pac-10 5 5 0 3 Mountain West 5 3 2 3 WAC 5 1 4 1 MAC 5 0 5 1 Independents 2 1 1 0 Sun Belt 2 1 1 0 The 2008–09 NCAA football bowl games, which concluded the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, contained a record number of bowl games scheduled in college football history. A total of 37 bowl games, 34 team-competitive games and three all-star games, were played starting on December 20, 2008, with four contests and concluding with the Texas vs. The Nation Game in El Paso, Texas, played on January 31, 2009, at Sun Bowl Stadium. For the first time in 62 years, however, the Hula Bowl was not a part of the post-season as it was cancelled indefinitely. A new record of 34 team-competitive bowls, plus three all-star games, were played, including the inaugural St. Petersburg Bowl and EagleBank Bowl. While bowl games had been the purview of only the very best teams for nearly a century, this was the third consecutive year that teams with non-winning seasons participated in bowl games. To fill the 68 available team-competitive bowl slots, a new record total of 9 teams (13% of all participants) with non-winning seasons participated in bowl games—all 9 had a .500 (6-6) season. Selection of the teams NCAA bylaws say that a school with a record of 6–6 in regular season play and at least 5 wins over FBS teams are eligible only after conferences cannot fill out available positions for bowl games with teams having seven (or more) wins automatically eligible, excluding games played in Hawaii and conference championship games in the ACC, Big 12, Conference USA, MAC and the SEC. thumb|left|300px|Number of bowl teams per state. After the final regular-season games on December 7, 2008, four conferences — the Pac-10, the SEC, the Big 12, and the Big Ten — did not have enough teams to fill their bowl game allotments. The Pac-10 had seven contracted bowl slots with only five teams eligible. The last two bowls in the Pac-10 pecking order—the Hawaii Bowl (sixth) and Poinsettia Bowl (seventh)—had contingency contracts with other conferences, respectively Conference USA and the WAC, to select one of the secondary conference's teams should the Pac-10 fail to supply enough eligible teams to supply that bowl. However, because C-USA had only six bowl-eligible teams to fill its six primary bowl slots, the Pac-10/C-USA slot in the Hawaii Bowl became an at-large spot, and was awarded to independent Notre Dame. The SEC and Big 12 failed to produce enough teams to fill their requirements even before both conferences had two teams selected to BCS games, while the Big Ten was unable to fill its requirements once a second team from that conference (Ohio State) was selected to a BCS game. The Atlantic Coast Conference sent an NCAA-record ten teams to bowl games this season. http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=494797 Unbeaten Boise State heads Poinsettia; ACC slots 10 2008-12-08 2008-12-07 The Sporting News September 2018 InternetArchiveBot yes Since 72 teams were bowl-eligible, but only 68 bowl slots were available, four teams were left out of bowl games. Unlike in 2007, when an eight-win Troy team was left home for the postseason, no team with seven or more wins went without a bowl bid this year. All four uninvited teams — Arkansas State, Bowling Green, Louisiana-Lafayette, and San José State — had six wins. Results NOTE: Rankings from final regular-season AP Poll of December 7, 2008. Non-BCS bowl games DateGameSiteTeamsAffiliationsResults Dec. 20EagleBank BowlRFK Stadium Washington, D.C.Wake Forest (7–5)Navy (8–4)ACCIndependentsWake Forest 29Navy 19New Mexico BowlUniversity StadiumAlbuquerque, New MexicoColorado State (6–6)Fresno State (7–5)Mountain WestWACColorado State 40Fresno State 35St. Petersburg BowlTropicana FieldSt. Petersburg, FloridaSouth Florida (7–5)Memphis (6–6)Big EastC-USASouth Florida 41Memphis 14Las Vegas BowlSam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NevadaArizona (7–5)#17 BYU (10–2)Pac-10Mountain WestArizona 31BYU 21Dec. 21New Orleans BowlLouisiana SuperdomeNew OrleansSouthern Miss (6–6)Troy (8–4)C-USASun BeltSouthern Miss 30Troy 27 (OT)Dec. 23Poinsettia BowlQualcomm StadiumSan Diego#11 TCU (10–2)#9 Boise State (12–0)Mountain WestWACTCU 17Boise State 16Dec. 24Hawaii BowlAloha StadiumHonolulu, HINotre Dame (6–6)Hawaii (7–6)IndependentsWACNotre Dame 49Hawaii 21Dec. 26Motor City BowlFord FieldDetroitFlorida Atlantic (6–6)Central Michigan (8-4)Sun BeltMACFlorida Atlantic 24Central Michigan 21 Dec. 27Meineke Car Care BowlBank of America StadiumCharlotte, North CarolinaWest Virginia (8–4)North Carolina (8–4)Big EastACCWest Virginia 31North Carolina 30Champs Sports BowlCitrus BowlOrlando, FloridaFlorida State (9–3)Wisconsin (7–5)ACCBig TenFlorida State 42Wisconsin 13Emerald BowlAT&T ParkSan FranciscoCalifornia (8–4) Miami (FL) (7–5) Pac-10ACCCalifornia 24Miami (FL) 17Dec. 28Independence BowlIndependence StadiumShreveport, LouisianaLouisiana Tech (7–5)Northern Illinois (6–6)WACMACLouisiana Tech 17Northern Illinois 10 Dec. 29Papajohns.com BowlLegion FieldBirmingham, AlabamaRutgers (7–5) North Carolina State (6–6)Big EastACCRutgers 29NC State 23Alamo BowlAlamodomeSan Antonio#25 Missouri (9–4)#22 Northwestern (9–3)Big 12Big TenMissouri 30Northwestern 23 (OT) Dec. 30Humanitarian BowlBronco Stadium Boise, IdahoMaryland (7–5)Nevada (7–5)ACCWACMaryland 42Nevada 35Holiday BowlQualcomm StadiumSan Diego#15 Oregon (9–3)#13 Oklahoma State (9–3)Pac-10Big 12Oregon 42 Oklahoma State 31Texas BowlReliant StadiumHoustonRice (9–3)Western Michigan (9–3)C-USAMACRice 38 Western Michigan 14 Dec. 31Armed Forces BowlAmon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TexasHouston (7–5)Air Force (8–4)C-USAMountain WestHouston 34Air Force 28Sun BowlSun Bowl Stadium El Paso, Texas#24 Oregon State (8–4)#18 Pittsburgh (9–3)Pac-10Big EastOregon State 3Pittsburgh 0Music City BowlLP FieldNashville, TennesseeVanderbilt (6–6)Boston College (9–4)SECACC Vanderbilt 16 Boston College 14Insight BowlSun Devil Stadium Tempe, ArizonaKansas (7–5)Minnesota (7–5)Big 12Big TenKansas 42 Minnesota 21Chick-fil-A BowlGeorgia DomeAtlantaLSU (7–5)#14 Georgia Tech (9–3)SECACCLSU 38Georgia Tech 3 Jan. 1Outback BowlRaymond James StadiumTampa, FloridaIowa (8–4)South Carolina (7–5)Big TenSECIowa 31South Carolina 10Gator BowlJacksonville Municipal StadiumJacksonville, FloridaNebraska (8–4) Clemson (7–5)Big 12ACC Nebraska 26Clemson 21Capital One BowlCitrus BowlOrlando, Florida#16 Georgia (9–3)#19 Michigan State (9–3)SECBig TenGeorgia 24Michigan State 12 Jan. 2Cotton Bowl ClassicCotton Bowl, Fair ParkDallas, Texas#20 Ole Miss (8–4)#8 Texas Tech (11–1)SECBig 12 Ole Miss 47 Texas Tech 34Liberty BowlLiberty Bowl Memorial StadiumMemphis, TennesseeKentucky (6–6)East Carolina (9–4)SECC-USAKentucky 25 East Carolina 19Jan. 3International BowlRogers CentreTorontoUConn (7–5)Buffalo (8–5)Big EastMACUConn 38Buffalo 20Jan. 6GMAC BowlLadd–Peebles StadiumMobile, AlabamaTulsa (10–3)#23 Ball State (12–1)C-USAMACTulsa 45Ball State 13 BCS bowl games DateGameSiteTeamsAffiliationsResultsJan. 1Rose BowlRose Bowl StadiumPasadena, California#5 USC (11–1)#6 Penn State (11–1)Pac-10Big TenUSC 38Penn State 24Orange BowlDolphin StadiumMiami Gardens, Florida#21 Virginia Tech (9–4)#12 Cincinnati (11–2)ACCBig EastVirginia Tech 20 Cincinnati 7Jan. 2Sugar BowlLouisiana SuperdomeNew Orleans#7 Utah (12-0)#4 Alabama (12-1)Mountain WestSECUtah 31 Alabama 17 Jan. 5Fiesta BowlUniversity of Phoenix StadiumGlendale, Arizona#3 Texas (11-1)#10 Ohio State (10-2)Big 12Big TenTexas 24 Ohio State 21 Jan. 8BCS National Championship GameDolphin StadiumMiami Gardens, Florida#1 Florida (12-1)#2 Oklahoma (12-1)SEC Big 12Florida 24 Oklahoma 14 Conference bowl representation Bowl Appearances Final Rankings Conference No. of teams Record Pct. Winners Losers RankedTeams Team AP(1/9/09) Coaches(1/9/09) BCS(12/7/08)  Pac-10 5 5–0 1.000  USCOregonOregon StateCaliforniaArizona 4USC#3(1)#2 #5Oregon#10#9 #17Oregon State#18#19 NRCaliforniaNR#25 NR Winners of 2008–09 Bowl Challenge Cup with perfect record.  SEC 8 6–2 0.750  FloridaGeorgiaOle MissVanderbiltLSUKentucky AlabamaSouth Carolina 4Florida#1(48)#1(60) #2Alabama#6#6 #4Georgia#13#10 #15Ole Miss#14#15 #25 Florida won the National Championship. Vanderbilt won in a bowl for the first time since 1955.Kentucky won a bowl for the third straight season, a first in school history.  Big East 6 4–2 0.667  West VirginiaSouth FloridaRutgersConnecticut CincinnatiPittsburgh 3Cincinnati#17#17 #12West Virginia#23NR NRPittsburghNRNR #20 Both of the Big East's BCS-ranked teams lost their games.  Big 12 7 4–3 0.571  TexasMissouriKansasNebraska OklahomaTexas TechOklahoma State 5Texas#4#3 #3Oklahoma#5#6 #1Texas Tech#12#12 #7Oklahoma State#16#18 #13Missouri#19#16 #21  Conference USA 6 4–2 0.667  Southern MississippiRiceHoustonTulsa MemphisEast Carolina 0 none Rice ended a 54-year winless streak in bowls, Houston ended theirs at 28.  Mountain West 5 3–2 0.600  UtahTCUColorado State Brigham YoungAir Force 3Utah#2(16)#4(1) #6TCU#7#7 #11Brigham Young#25#21 #16 Utes became first BCS outsider to win two BCS games; their other was the 2005 Fiesta Bowl.The Utes also won their eighth straight bowl game.  Independents 2 1–1 0.500  Notre Dame Navy 0 none Notre Dame won first bowl game since 1994 Cotton Bowl Classic.  Sun Belt 2 1–1 0.500  Florida Atlantic Troy 0 none Only conference ineligible for 2008–09 Bowl Challenge Cup.  ACC 10 4–6 0.400  Virginia TechFlorida StateMarylandWake Forest Georgia TechBoston CollegeNorth CarolinaMiami (FL)NC StateClemson 4Virginia Tech#15#14 #19Georgia Tech#22#22 #14Florida State#21#23 NRBoston CollegeNRNR #24 The ACC's ten teams in postseason is a new NCAA record.Boston College's streak of bowl wins in eight consecutive seasons ended.  Western Athletic 5 1–4 0.200  Louisiana Tech Boise StateFresno StateHawaiiNevada 1Boise State#11#13 #9  Big Ten 7 1–6 0.143  Iowa Penn StateOhio StateMichigan StateNorthwesternMinnesotaWisconsin 5Penn State#8#8 #8Ohio State#9#11 #10Iowa#20#20 NRMichigan State#24#24 #18NorthwesternNR#NR #23 Iowa's win in Outback Bowl avoided a total shutout.  Mid-American 5 0–5 0.000  Ball StateCentral MichiganNIUWestern MichiganBuffalo 1Ball StateNRNR #22 Only winless conference in bowl season. NOTE: BCS bowl participants are listed in italics. Post-BCS All-Star Games All-Star GameDateLocationTelevisionResultRef. East–West Shrine Game January 17, 2009 Robertson StadiumUniversity of HoustonHouston, Texas ESPN2 East 24, West 19 http://www.shrinegame.com/press_release/84_game/EWSG_Player_Alert_12-3-08.pdfJune 2017 InternetArchiveBot yes Senior Bowl January 24, 2009 Ladd–Peebles StadiumMobile, Alabama NFL Network South 35, North 18 http://www.seniorbowl.com/images/fanguide09.pdf Archived copy www.seniorbowl.com 17 January 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20090203175224/http://www.seniorbowl.com/images/fanguide09.pdf 3 February 2009 deadhttp://www.seniorbowl.com/2009schedule.asp Official Website of the Senior Bowl 2009-01-01 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20081222180340/http://www.seniorbowl.com/2009schedule.asp 2008-12-22 Texas vs The Nation January 31, 2009 Sun Bowl StadiumUniversity of Texas at El PasoEl Paso, Texas CBS College Sports Network The Nation 27, Texas 24 http://texasvsthenation.cstv.com/ Texas vs. The Nation 2009-01-01 2008-12-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20081220115125/http://texasvsthenation.cstv.com/ dead References 35em