# 2009 Conference USA football season

The 2009 Conference USA football season was the 15th season of the conference's existence.

## Previous season

East Carolina won the conference championship.

## C-USA vs. BCS matchups

| Date | Visitor | Home | Winner |
| September 6 | Memphis | Mississippi | Ole Miss, 45–14 |
| September 12 | East Carolina | West Virginia | West Virginia, 35–20 |
| September 12 | Houston | Oklahoma State | Houston, 45–35 |
| September 12 | Marshall | Virginia Tech | Virginia Tech, 52–10 |
| September 12 | Rice | Texas Tech | Texas Tech, 55–10 |
| September 12 | Kansas | UTEP | Kansas, 34–7 |
| September 19 | East Carolina | North Carolina | North Carolina, 31–17 |
| September 19 | SMU | Washington State | Washington State, 30–27 (OT) |
| September 19 | Virginia | Southern Miss | Southern Miss, 37–34 |
| September 19 | Rice | Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State, 41–24 |
| September 19 | Tulsa | Oklahoma | Oklahoma, 45–0 |
| September 26 | Texas Tech | Houston | Houston, 29–28 |
| September 26 | Southern Miss | Kansas | Kansas, 35–28 |
| September 26 | Vanderbilt | Tulane | Vanderbilt, 36–17 |
| September 26 | UAB | Texas A&M | Texas A&M, 56–19 |
| September 26 | UTEP | Texas | Texas, 64–7 |
| October 10 | Houston | Mississippi State | Houston, 31-24 |
| October 17 | Marshall | West Virginia | West Virginia, 24–7 |
| October 17 | UAB | Mississippi | Ole Miss, 48–13 |
| October 17 | Miami | UCF | Miami, 7–27 |
| October 31 | Tulane | LSU | LSU, 42-0 |
| November 7 | Memphis | Tennessee | Tennessee, 56-28 |
| November 7 | UCF | Texas | Texas, 35-3 |

## Regular season

* Index to colors and formatting
* Conference USA member won
* Conference USA member lost
* Conference USA teams in bold

### Week one

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 5 | 11 a.m. | #1 (FCS) Appalachian State | East Carolina | Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, North Carolina | MASN/WITN-TV | W 29-24 | 43,279 |
| September 5 | 3:30 p.m. | Southern Illinois | Marshall | Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, West Virginia | | W 31-28 | 24,012 |
| September 5 | 6 p.m. | Northwestern State | Houston | Robertson Stadium • Houston, Texas | | W 55-7 | 22,043 |
| September 5 | 6:30 p.m. | Samford | UCF | Bright House Networks Stadium • Orlando, Florida | BHSN | W 28-24 | 34,486 |
| September 5 | 6 p.m. | Alcorn State | Southern Miss | M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, Mississippi | | W 52-0 | 36,232 |
| September 5 | 8 p.m. | Buffalo | UTEP | Sun Bowl Stadium • El Paso, Texas | CBS CS | L 23-17 | 35,213 |
| September 5 | 7 p.m. | Stephen F. Austin | SMU | Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, Texas | | W 31-23 | 34.749 |
| September 6 | 12 p.m. | #8 Mississippi | Memphis | Liberty Bowl Stadium • Memphis, Tennessee | ESPN | L 45-14 | 45,207 |

### Week two

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 12 | 12:30 p.m. | Marshall | #14 Virginia Tech | Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, Virginia | ESPN360 | L 52-10 | 66,233 |
| September 12 | 2:30 p.m. | East Carolina | West Virginia | Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, West Virginia | ESPN360 | L 35-20 | 59,216 |
| September 12 | 2:30 p.m. | Houston | #5 Oklahoma State | Boone Pickens Stadium • Stillwater, Oklahoma | FSN | W 45-35 | 50,875 |
| September 12 | 2:30 p.m. | #9 BYU | Tulane | Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, Louisiana | ESPN2 | L 54-3 | 26,224 |
| September 12 | 6 p.m. | Memphis | Middle Tennessee | Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, Tennessee | CSS | L 31-14 | 28,105 |
| September 12 | 6 p.m. | Rice | Texas Tech | Jones AT&T Stadium • Lubbock, Texas | | L 55-10 | 48,124 |
| September 12 | 6:30 p.m. | #24 Kansas | UTEP | Sun Bowl Stadium • El Paso, Texas | CBS CS | L 34-7 | 31,885 |
| September 12 | 7 p.m. | Tulsa | New Mexico | University Stadium • Albuquerque, New Mexico | The Mtn. | W 44-10 | 30,051 |

### Week three

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 19 | 11 a.m. | East Carolina | #24 North Carolina | Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, North Carolina | ESPN2 | L 31-17 | 58,000 |
| September 19 | 2:30 p.m. | Virginia | Southern Miss | M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, Mississippi | CBS CS | W 37-34 | 31,170 |
| September 19 | 2:30 p.m. | Tulsa | #12 Oklahoma | Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma | FSN | L 45-0 | 84,803 |
| September 19 | 2:30 p.m. | UAB | Troy | Movie Gallery Stadium • Troy, Alabama | CSS/WABM | L 27-14 | 21,182 |
| September 19 | 4 p.m. | SMU | Washington State | Martin Stadium • Pullman, Washington | | L 30-27 OT | 22,319 |
| September 19 | 6 p.m. | Bowling Green | Marshall | Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, West Virginia | WSAZ-TV | W 17-10 | 23,029 |
| September 19 | 6 p.m. | #16 Oklahoma State | Rice | Boone Pickens Stadium • Stillwater, Oklahoma | | L 41-24 | 51,803 |
| September 19 | 6:30 p.m. | Buffalo | UCF | Bright House Networks Stadium • Orlando, Florida | BHSN | W 23-17 | 33,689 |
| September 19 | 7 p.m. | UTEP | New Mexico State | Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, New Mexico | ESPN360 | W 38-12 | 20,439 |
| September 19 | 7:30 p.m. | UT Martin | Memphis | Liberty Bowl Stadium • Memphis, Tennessee | | W 41-14 | 21,428 |

### Week four

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 26 | 11:30 a.m. | Southern Miss | #20 Kansas | Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, Kansas | FSN | L 35-28 | 50,025 |
| September 26 | 2:30 p.m. | McNeese State | Tulane | Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, Louisiana | | W 42-32 | 29,028 |
| September 26 | 2:30 p.m. | UTEP | #2 Texas | Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, Texas | | L 64-7 | 101,144 |
| September 26 | 6 p.m. | Sam Houston State | Tulsa | Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, Oklahoma | | W 56-3 | 26,048 |
| September 26 | 6 p.m. | UAB | Texas A&M | Kyle Field • College Station, Texas | | L 56-19 | 74,656 |
| September 26 | 7 p.m. | Vanderbilt | Rice | Rice Stadium • Houston, Texas | CSS | L 36-17 | 19,753 |
| September 26 | 8:15 p.m. | Texas Tech | #17 Houston | Robertson Stadium • Houston, Texas | ESPN2 | W 29-28 | 32,114 |

### Week five

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| October 3 | 11 a.m. | Tulane | Army | Michie Stadium • West Point, New York | CBS CS | W 17-16 | 26,076 |
| October 3 | 7 p.m. | SMU | #11 TCU | Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, Texas | The Mtn. | L 39-14 | 37,130 |

### Week six

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| October 10 | 11:30 a.m. | Houston | Mississippi State | Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, Mississippi | ESPNU | W 31-24 | 48,019 |
| October 10 | 2:30 p.m. | Navy | Rice | Rice Stadium • Houston, Texas | CBS CS | L 63-14 | 15,096 |
| October 10 | 6:30 p.m. | Southern Miss | Louisville | Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, Kentucky | ESPNU | L 25-23 | 37,268 |

### Week seven

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| October 17 | 2:30 p.m. | Marshall | West Virginia | Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, West Virginia | ESPN+ | L 24-7 | 54,432 |
| October 17 | 6 p.m. | UAB | Ole Miss | Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, Mississippi | FSN | L 48-13 | 47,612 |
| October 17 | 6 p.m. | #9 Miami | UCF | Bright House Networks Stadium • Orlando, Florida | CBS CS | L 27-7 | 48,453 |
| October 17 | 7 p.m. | Navy | SMU | Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, Texas | | L 38-35 OT | 22,203 |

## Players of the week

| Week | Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Special teams | Special teams |
| Week | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| 1 – Sep. 7 | Joe Webb, QB | UAB | Rock Dennis, DB | SMU | Damaris Johnson, KR/PR | Tulsa |
| 2 – Sep. 14 | Case Keenum, QB | Houston | Jamal Robinson, CB | Houston | Michael Such, P | Tulsa |
| 3 – Sep. 21 | Emmanuel Sanders, WR | SMU | Albert McClellan, DE | Marshall | Freddie Parham, WR/KR | Southern Miss |
| 4 – Sep. 28 | Case Keenum, QB | Houston | David Hunter, DT | Houston | Peter Boehme, P | Southern Miss |
| 5 – Oct. 5 | Donald Buckram, RB | UTEP | Hiram Atwater, S | UAB | Damaris Johnson, KR/PR | Tulsa |
| 6 – Oct. 12 | Curtis Steele, RB | Memphis | Brandon Brinkley, CB | Houston | Margus Hunt, DE | SMU |
| 7 – Oct. 19 | Case Keenum, QB | Houston | DeAundre Brown, DB | Tulsa | Dwayne Harris, KR | East Carolina |
| 8 – Oct. 26 | Donald Buckram, RB | UTEP | C.J. Cavness, LB | Houston | Tyron Carrier, KR | Houston |
| 9 – Nov. 2 | Case Keenum, QB | Houston | Bruce Miller, DE | UCF | Fendi Onobun, TE | Houston |

## All-Conference players

Coaches All-Conference Selections
| Position | Player | Class | Team |
| First Team Offense (Coaches) ||||
| QB | Case Keenum | JR | Houston |
| RB | Curtis Steele | SR | Memphis |
| RB | Donald Buckman | JR | UTEP |
| OL | Sean Allen | SR | East Carolina |
| OL | Ryan Herbert | SR | Southern Miss |
| OL | Jake Seitz | SR | UAB |
| OL | Jah Reid | JR | UCF |
| OL | Mike Aguayo | JR | UTEP |
| TE | Cody Slate | SR | Marshall |
| WR | Dwayne Harris | JR | East Carolina |
| WR | James Cleveland | JR | Houston |
| WR | Emmanuel Sanders | SR | SMU |
| First Team Defense (Coaches) ||||
| DL | Linval Joseph | JR | East Carolina |
| DL | C. J. Wilson | SR | East Carolina |
| DL | Jarvis Geathers | SR | UCF |
| DL | Bruce Miller | JR | UCF |
| LB | Mario Harvey | SR | Marshall |
| LB | Chase Kennemer | SR | SMU |
| LB | Cory Hogue | SR | UCF |
| DB | Emanuel Davis | SO | East Carolina |
| DB | Van Eskridge | SR | East Carolina |
| DB | Eddie Hicks | SR | Southern Miss |
| DB | Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith | SR | UTEP |
| First Team Special Teams (Coaches) ||||
| K | Craig Ratanamorn | SR | Marshall |
| P | Matt Dodge | SR | East Carolina |
| KR | Tyron Carrier | SO | Houston |
| PR | Emmanuel Sanders | SR | SMU |
| LS | Sean McClellan | SR | Marshall |
| Position | Player | Class | Team |
| Second Team Offense (Coaches) ||||
| QB | Joe Webb | SR | UAB |
| RB | Darius Marshall | JR | Marshall |
| RB | Damion Fletcher | SR | Southern Miss |
| OL | Terence Campbell | SR | East Carolina |
| OL | Jarve Dean | JR | Houston |
| OL | Daniel Baldridge | SR | Marshall |
| OL | Scott Mitchell | JR | Rice |
| OL | Kelvin Beachum | SO | SMU |
| TE | Leroy Banks | SR | Southern Miss |
| WR | Patrick Edwards | SO | Houston |
| WR | Duke Calhoun | SR | Memphis |
| WR | DeAndre Brown | SO | Southern Miss |
| WR | Damaris Johnson | SO | Tulsa |
| Second Team Defense (Coaches) ||||
| DL | Tyrell Graham | SR | Houston |
| DL | Albert McClellan | SR | Marshall |
| DL | Scott Solomon | JR | Rice |
| DL | Torell Troup | SR | UCF |
| LB | Nick Johnson | SR | East Carolina |
| LB | Marcus McGraw | SO | Houston |
| LB | Korey Williams | SO | Southern Miss |
| DB | Brandon Brinkley | SR | Houston |
| DB | James Lockett | SR | Tulsa |
| DB | Hiram Atwater | JR | UAB |
| DB | Josh Robinson | FR | UCF |
| Second Team Special Teams (Coaches) ||||
| K | Ben Hartman | SR | East Carolina |
| P | Matt Reagan | SR | Memphis |
| KR | Dwayne Harris | JR | East Carolina |
| PR | Damaris Johnson | SO | Tulsa |
| LS | Cody Tawater | SR | Southern Miss |