CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2009 Florida State

7–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Bobby Bowden.

Schedule and results

Florida State in 2009, game by game: lost vs. Miami 34–38; won vs. Jacksonville State 19–9; won at No. 7 BYU 54–28; lost vs. South Florida 7–17; lost at Boston College 21–28; lost vs. No. 22 Georgia Tech 44–49; won at North Carolina 30–27; won vs. NC State 45–42; lost at Clemson 24–40; won at Wake Forest 41–28; won vs. Maryland 29–26; lost at No. 1 Florida 10–37; won vs. No. 18 West Virginia 33–21+26−27Lost 34–38 vs. Miami-4MiamiWon 19–9 vs. Jacksonville State+10Jacksonville St…Won 54–28 at No. 7 BYU+26No. 7 BYULost 7–17 vs. South Florida-10South FloridaLost 21–28 at Boston College-7Boston CollegeLost 44–49 vs. No. 22 Georgia Tech-5No. 22 Georgia TechWon 30–27 at North Carolina+3North CarolinaWon 45–42 vs. NC State+3NC StateLost 24–40 at Clemson-16ClemsonWon 41–28 at Wake Forest+13Wake ForestWon 29–26 vs. Maryland+3MarylandLost 10–37 at No. 1 Florida-27No. 1 FloridaWon 33–21 vs. No. 18 West Virginia+12No. 18 West Virginia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 7vsMiamiL 34–⁠3868%
Sep 12vsJacksonville StateW 19–⁠982%
Sep 19at7BYUW 54–⁠2836%
Sep 26vsSouth FloridaL 7–⁠1763%
Oct 3atBoston CollegeL 21–⁠2844%
Oct 10vs22Georgia TechL 44–⁠4955%
Oct 22atNorth CarolinaW 30–⁠2746%
Oct 31vsNC StateW 45–⁠4272%
Nov 7atClemsonL 24–⁠4037%
Nov 14atWake ForestW 41–⁠2846%
Nov 21vsMarylandW 29–⁠2680%
Nov 28at1FloridaL 10–⁠3714%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs18West VirginiaGator BowlW 33–⁠2138%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat West Virginia 33–⁠21 in the Gator Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 42nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 78 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 18
  2. Wk 4: 18

Led the nationGreg Reid: punt return average (18.4)

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 18
Points
391–⁠390
Coach
Bobby Bowden
Elo
1620 +20 this season
SP+ rating
8.8 No. 37 of 120; offense No. 5, defense No. 84, special teams No. 29
SRS
5.9 No. 40 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 11
Offensive coordinator
Jimbo Fisher
Defensive coordinator
Mickey Andrews
Captains
Christian Ponder, Jamie Robinson and Recardo Wright
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense8th of 120
  • Defense112th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted5th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted118th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1349%0.818th of 120
Defense0.1442%1.11112th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.12 off
0.10 def		48% off
42% def		—5th off
118th 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 333% allowed
Defense0.0own 293% 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 yardsChristian Ponder QB2,717 yds
Passing touchdownsChristian Ponder QB14 TD
Rushing yardsJermaine Thomas RB832 yds
Rushing touchdownsJermaine Thomas RB9 TD
Receiving yardsRod Owens WR729 yds
Receiving touchdownsJarmon Fortson WR4 TD
InterceptionsJamie Robinson S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Jacobbi McDaniel DT★★★★★No. 5
Greg Reid CB★★★★★No. 25
Demonte McAllister DT★★★★No. 51
Willie Downs ATH★★★★No. 70
Rodney Smith WR★★★★No. 171
Lonnie Pryor RB★★★★No. 184
Jajuan Harley S★★★★No. 250
Gerald Demps S★★★★No. 317

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

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.852
Running backs24.00.908
Receivers23.50.890
Offensive line23.00.854
Defensive line34.00.937
Defensive backs44.00.910
Athletes and specialists23.50.911
Whole class163.70.902

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 1Patrick Robinson CBNew Orleans Saints
Rd 6Myron Rolle STennessee Titans
Rd 7Dekoda Watson OLBTampa Bay Buccaneers

Roster 102

The 2009 roster

102 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 34 have a stat line. See the roster

2009 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia Tech7–⁠111–⁠313
Virginia Tech6–⁠210–⁠310
Clemson6–⁠29–⁠524
Miami5–⁠39–⁠419
Boston College5–⁠38–⁠5
North Carolina4–⁠48–⁠5
Florida State4–⁠47–⁠6
Wake Forest3–⁠55–⁠7
Duke3–⁠55–⁠7
NC State2–⁠65–⁠7
Virginia2–⁠63–⁠9
Maryland1–⁠72–⁠10

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