# 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 Poll for the second consecutive year. With West Virginia falling off Cincinnati became the front runner to win the big east.

## Schedule

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

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | — | RV | 22 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 17 |
| Coaches Poll | RV | RV | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | RV | 22 | 20 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 17 |
| Harris | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | RV | 23 | 20 | 16 | 13 | 12 | Not released |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | — | 22 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 12 | Not released |

## Game summaries
### Eastern Kentucky

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

### Oklahoma

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

### Miami

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

### Akron

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

### Marshall

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

### Rutgers

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

### Connecticut

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

### South Florida

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

### West Virginia

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

### Louisville

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

### Pittsburgh

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

### 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
* Coach of the Year: Brian Kelly

#### Offensive player of the week

* Week 1: Dustin Grutza

#### Defensive player of the week

* Week 10: Aaron Webster

#### Special teams player of the week

* Week 2: Mardy Gilyard
* Week 6: Connor Barwin
* Week 7: Kevin Huber
* Week 10: Mardy Gillard
* Week 13: Jacob Rogers

#### Big East Conference All-Conference Second Team
## 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 |