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2009 Cincinnati

12–⁠1 (7–⁠0 Big East), coached by Brian Kelly, then Jeff Quinn (bowl game), finished No. 8 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Cincinnati in 2009, game by game: won at Rutgers 47–15; won vs. Southeast Missouri State 70–3; won at Oregon State 28–18; won vs. Fresno State 28–20; won at Miami (OH) 37–13; won at No. 21 South Florida 34–17; won vs. Louisville 41–10; won at Syracuse 28–7; won vs. UConn 47–45; won vs. West Virginia 24–21; won vs. Illinois 49–36; won at No. 14 Pittsburgh 45–44; lost vs. No. 5 Florida 24–51+67−27Won 47–15 at Rutgers+32RutgersWon 70–3 vs. Southeast Missouri State+67Southeast Misso…Won 28–18 at Oregon State+10Oregon StateWon 28–20 vs. Fresno State+8Fresno StateWon 37–13 at Miami (OH)+24Miami (OH)Won 34–17 at No. 21 South Florida+17No. 21 South FloridaWon 41–10 vs. Louisville+31LouisvilleWon 28–7 at Syracuse+21SyracuseWon 47–45 vs. UConn+2UConnWon 24–21 vs. West Virginia+3West VirginiaWon 49–36 vs. Illinois+13IllinoisWon 45–44 at No. 14 Pittsburgh+1No. 14 PittsburghLost 24–51 vs. No. 5 Florida-27No. 5 Florida
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 7atRutgersW 47–⁠1546%
Sep 12vsSoutheast Missouri StateW 70–⁠393%
Sep 19atOregon StateW 28–⁠1848%
Sep 26vsFresno StateW 28–⁠2080%
Oct 3atMiami (OH)W 37–⁠1388%
Oct 15at21South FloridaW 34–⁠1751%
Oct 24vsLouisvilleW 41–⁠1088%
Oct 31atSyracuseW 28–⁠783%
Nov 7vsUConnW 47–⁠4580%
Nov 13vsWest VirginiaW 24–⁠2170%
Nov 27vsIllinoisW 49–⁠3689%
Dec 5at14PittsburghW 45–⁠4453%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs5FloridaSugar BowlL 24–⁠5141%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Florida 51–⁠24 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 8 in the final AP poll; Big East champions.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 114 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 2: 23
  2. Wk 3: 17
  3. Wk 4: 14
  4. Wk 5: 10
  5. Wk 6: 8
  6. Wk 7: 8
  7. Wk 8: 5
  8. Wk 9: 5
  9. Wk 10: 4
  10. Wk 11: 5
  11. Wk 12: 5
  12. Wk 13: 5
  13. Wk 14: 5
  14. Wk 15: 4
  15. Final: 8

Big East champions7–⁠0 in the conference

Record
12–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠0 first in Big East
AP final
No. 8 peak No. 4
Points
502–⁠300
Coach
Brian Kelly, then Jeff Quinn (bowl game)
Elo
1738 +124 this season
SP+ rating
18.2 No. 16 of 120; offense No. 1, defense No. 45, special teams No. 31
SRS
13.8 No. 12 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 56
Offensive coordinator
Jeff Quinn
Defensive coordinator
Bob Diaco
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense7th of 120
  • Defense93rd of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted8th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted102nd of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1447%0.927th of 120
Defense0.1043%0.9493rd of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.11 off
0.07 def		47% off
42% def		—8th off
102nd def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 332% allowed
Defense-0.1own 273% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsTony Pike QB2,520 yds
Passing touchdownsTony Pike QB29 TD
Rushing yardsIsaiah Pead RB806 yds
Rushing touchdownsIsaiah Pead RB9 TD
Receiving yardsMardy Gilyard WR1,191 yds
Receiving touchdownsArmon Binns WR11 TD
InterceptionsAaron Webster DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Reuben Johnson CB★★★★No. 330
Josh Jones WR★★★No. 946
Everett Horne CB★★★No. 971
Ricky Harris DT★★★No. 1073
Mitch Kessel OT★★★No. 1111

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers33.00.832
Offensive line33.00.827
Defensive line33.00.825
Linebackers22.50.790
Defensive backs33.30.854
Athletes and specialists12.00.744
Whole class152.90.823

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2010

The 2010 draft
Rd 4Mardy Gilyard WRSt. Louis Rams
Rd 6Tony Pike QBCarolina Panthers
Rd 7Ricardo Mathews DTIndianapolis Colts

Roster 104

The 2009 roster

104 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 36 have a stat line. See the roster

2009 Big East standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Cincinnati7–⁠012–⁠18
Pittsburgh5–⁠210–⁠315
West Virginia5–⁠29–⁠425
Rutgers3–⁠49–⁠4
South Florida3–⁠48–⁠5
UConn3–⁠48–⁠5
Syracuse1–⁠64–⁠8
Louisville1–⁠64–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.