2008 Cincinnati Bearcats football team

The 2008 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team, coached by Brian Kelly, played its homes game in Nippert Stadium. Kelly was in his second full season with the Bearcats after coaching them to a 31–21 win against Southern Miss in the 2007 PapaJohns.com Bowl. On Friday, November 28, 2008, the Bearcats clinched a share of the Big East Conference title for the first time since joining the Big East in 2005. With a victory over Syracuse on November 29, 2008 the Bearcats became the outright football champions of the Big East and set a record with an average attendance of 31,964. After a disappointing loss to Virginia Tech in the 2009 Orange Bowl, the Bearcats finished 17th in the AP Top 25 for the second consecutive year. With West Virginia falling off Cincinnati became the front runner to win the big east.

2008 Cincinnati Bearcats football
Big East champion
Orange Bowl, L 7–20 vs Virginia Tech
Conference	Big East
Ranking
Coaches	No. 17
AP	No. 17
2008 record	11–3 (6–1 Big East)
Head coach	Brian Kelly (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Jeff Quinn (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Joe Tresey (2nd season)
Home stadium	Nippert Stadium (Capacity: 35,097)

2008 Big East Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 17 Cincinnati $		6	–	1					11	–	3
Pittsburgh		5	–	2					9	–	4
No. 23 West Virginia		5	–	2					9	–	4
Rutgers		5	–	2					8	–	5
Connecticut		3	–	4					8	–	5
South Florida		2	–	5					8	–	5
Louisville		1	–	6					5	–	7
Syracuse		1	–	6					3	–	9
$ – BCS representative as conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 28	7:30 pm	Eastern Kentucky*		Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH		W 40–7	26,913
September 6	3:30 pm	at No. 4 Oklahoma*		Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	ABC	L 26–52	84,476
September 20	7:30 pm	Miami (OH)*		Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH (Battle for the Victory Bell)	ESPN360	W 45–20	31,629
September 27	7:30 pm	at Akron*		Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	FSN Ohio	W 17–15	16,927
October 3	8:00 pm	at Marshall*		Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV	ESPN	W 33–10	29,237
October 11	12:00 pm	Rutgers		Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH	Big East Network	W 13–10	32,370
October 25	12:00 pm	at Connecticut		Rentschler Field East Hartford, CT	Big East Network	L 16–40	40,000
October 30	7:45 pm	No. 23 South Florida		Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH	ESPN	W 24–10	31,175
November 8	7:00 pm	at No. 20 West Virginia		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	ESPNU	W 26–23 ^OT	59,834
November 14	8:00 pm	at Louisville	No. 22	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY (Battle for the Keg of Nails)	ESPN2	W 28–20	37,822
November 22	7:15 pm	No. 20 Pittsburgh	No. 19	Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH (River City Rivalry)	ESPN2	W 28–21	35,098
November 29	12:00 pm	Syracuse	No. 16	Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH	Big East Network	W 30–10	34,603
December 6	11:30 pm	at Hawaiʻi*	No. 13	Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI	ESPN2	W 29–24	40,549
January 1	8:00 pm	No. 19 Virginia Tech*	No. 12	Dolphin Stadium Miami Gardens, FL (2009 FedEx Orange Bowl)	FOX	L 7–20	73,602
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Schedule Source: 2008 Cincinnati Bearcats football schedule

Game summaries

Eastern Kentucky

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eastern Kentucky	0	0	7	0	7
Cincinnati	6	20	14	0	40

[1]

Oklahoma

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cincinnati	0	13	7	6	26
#4 Oklahoma	14	7	21	10	52

[2]

Miami

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miami	0	13	7	0	20
Cincinnati	10	14	14	7	45

[3]

Akron

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cincinnati	7	0	7	3	17
Akron	3	6	0	6	15

[4]

Marshall

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cincinnati	2	14	10	7	33
Marshall	0	3	7	0	10

[5]

Rutgers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rutgers	0	0	10	0	10
Cincinnati	3	7	3	0	13

[6]

Connecticut

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cincinnati	10	3	3	0	16
Connecticut	10	0	10	20	40

[7]

South Florida

	1	2	3	4	Total
#23 South Florida	7	0	3	0	10
Cincinnati	10	7	0	7	24

[8]

West Virginia

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Cincinnati	13	7	0	0	6	26
#20 West Virginia	7	0	0	13	3	23

[9]

Louisville

	1	2	3	4	Total
#22 Cincinnati	7	7	7	7	28
Louisville	7	10	3	0	20

[10]

Pittsburgh

	1	2	3	4	Total
#20 Pittsburgh	7	0	0	14	21
#19 Cincinnati	0	14	7	7	28

[11]

Syracuse

	1	2	3	4	Total
Syracuse	0	3	0	7	10
#16 Cincinnati	7	6	10	7	30

Hawaii

	1	2	3	4	Total
#13 Cincinnati	3	7	0	19	29
Hawaii	0	3	14	7	24

Virginia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
#12 Cincinnati	7	0	0	0	7
#21 Virginia Tech	0	10	3	7	20

Awards and milestones

All-Americans

• Kevin Huber, P

Post-season finalists and winners

• Ray Guy Award: Punter of the Year - Kevin Huber (finalist)

Big East Conference honors

• Special Teams Player of the Year: Mardy Gilyard[12]
• Coach of the Year: Brian Kelly[12]

Offensive player of the week

• Week 1: Dustin Grutza[12]

Defensive player of the week

• Week 10: Aaron Webster[12]

Special teams player of the week

• Week 2: Mardy Gilyard[12]
• Week 6: Connor Barwin[12]
• Week 7: Kevin Huber[12]
• Week 10: Mardy Gillard[12]
• Week 13: Jacob Rogers[12]

Big East Conference All-Conference First Team

Mardy Gilyard, WR Mardy Gilyard, KR

Connor Barwin, DL Mike Mickens, DB Brandon Underwood, DB Kevin Huber, P

[12]

Big East Conference All-Conference Second Team

Dominick Goodman, WR Trevor Canfield, OL Tony Pike, QB

Terrill Byrd, DL

[12]

Players in the 2009 NFL Draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
Connor Barwin	DE	2	46	Houston Texans
Kevin Huber	P	5	142	Cincinnati Bengals
DeAngelo Smith	CB	5	143	Dallas Cowboys
Brandon Underwood	S	6	187	Green Bay Packers
Mike Mickens	CB	7	227	Dallas Cowboys
Trevor Canfield	G	7	254	Arizona Cardinals

References

1. "Eastern Kentucky vs Cincinnati (Aug 28, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
2. "Oklahoma vs Cincinnati (Sept 6, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
3. "Miami vs Cincinnati (Sept 17, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
4. "Akron vs Cincinnati (Sept 27, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Archived from the original on September 29, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
5. "Marshall vs Cincinnati (Oct 3, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
6. "Cincinnati vs Rutgers (Oct 11, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Archived from the original on October 16, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
7. "Connecticut vs Cincinnati (Oct 25, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Archived from the original on October 30, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
8. "Cincinnati vs South Florida (Oct 30, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
9. "West Virginia vs Cincinnati (Nov 7, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
10. "Louisville vs Cincinnati (Nov 14, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Retrieved November 23, 2008.
11. "Pittsburgh vs Cincinnati (Nov 22, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Retrieved November 23, 2008.
12. "2011 Cincinnati Media Guide" (PDF). University of Cincinnati Athletics. Retrieved December 22, 2018.