# 2008–09 NCAA football bowl games

The 2008–09 NCAA football bowl games, which concluded the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, contained a record number of bowl games scheduled in college football history. A total of 37 bowl games, 34 team-competitive games and three all-star games, were played starting on December 20, 2008, with four contests and concluding with the Texas vs. The Nation Game in El Paso, Texas, played on January 31, 2009, at Sun Bowl Stadium. For the first time in 62 years, however, the Hula Bowl was not a part of the post-season as it was cancelled indefinitely.
A new record of 34 team-competitive bowls, plus three all-star games, were played, including the inaugural St. Petersburg Bowl and EagleBank Bowl. While bowl games had been the purview of only the very best teams for nearly a century, this was the third consecutive year that teams with non-winning seasons participated in bowl games. To fill the 68 available team-competitive bowl slots, a new record total of 9 teams (13% of all participants) with non-winning seasons participated in bowl games—all 9 had a .500 (6-6) season.

## Selection of the teams

NCAA bylaws say that a school with a record of 6–6 in regular season play and at least 5 wins over FBS teams are eligible only after conferences cannot fill out available positions for bowl games with teams having seven (or more) wins automatically eligible, excluding games played in Hawaii and conference championship games in the ACC, Big 12, Conference USA, MAC and the SEC.
After the final regular-season games on December 7, 2008, four conferences — the Pac-10, the SEC, the Big 12, and the Big Ten — did not have enough teams to fill their bowl game allotments. The Pac-10 had seven contracted bowl slots with only five teams eligible. The last two bowls in the Pac-10 pecking order—the Hawaiʻi Bowl (sixth) and Poinsettia Bowl (seventh)—had contingency contracts with other conferences, respectively Conference USA and the WAC, to select one of the secondary conference's teams should the Pac-10 fail to supply enough eligible teams to supply that bowl. However, because C-USA had only six bowl-eligible teams to fill its six primary bowl slots, the Pac-10/C-USA slot in the Hawaiʻi Bowl became an at-large spot, and was awarded to independent Notre Dame. The SEC and Big 12 failed to produce enough teams to fill their requirements even before both conferences had two teams selected to BCS games, while the Big Ten was unable to fill its requirements once a second team from that conference (Ohio State) was selected to a BCS game. The Atlantic Coast Conference sent an NCAA-record ten teams to bowl games this season. Since 72 teams were bowl-eligible, but only 68 bowl slots were available, four teams were left out of bowl games. Unlike in 2007, when an eight-win Troy team was left home for the postseason, no team with seven or more wins went without a bowl bid this year. All four uninvited teams — Arkansas State, Bowling Green, Louisiana-Lafayette, and San José State — had six wins.

## Results

NOTE: Rankings from final regular-season AP Poll of December 7, 2008.

### Non-BCS bowl games

| Date | Game | Site | Teams | Affiliations | Results |
| Dec. 20 | EagleBank Bowl | RFK Stadium Washington, D.C. | Wake Forest (7–5) Navy (8–4) | ACC Independents | Wake Forest 29 Navy 19 |
| Dec. 20 | New Mexico Bowl | University Stadium Albuquerque, New Mexico | Colorado State (6–6) Fresno State (7–5) | Mountain West WAC | Colorado State 40 Fresno State 35 |
| Dec. 20 | St. Petersburg Bowl | Tropicana Field St. Petersburg, Florida | South Florida (7–5) Memphis (6–6) | Big East C-USA | South Florida 41 Memphis 14 |
| Dec. 20 | Las Vegas Bowl | Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, Nevada | Arizona (7–5) #17 BYU (10–2) | Pac-10 Mountain West | Arizona 31 BYU 21 |
| Dec. 21 | New Orleans Bowl | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans | Southern Miss (6–6) Troy (8–4) | C-USA Sun Belt | Southern Miss 30 Troy 27 (OT) |
| Dec. 23 | Poinsettia Bowl | Qualcomm Stadium San Diego | #11 TCU (10–2) #9 Boise State (12–0) | Mountain West WAC | TCU 17 Boise State 16 |
| Dec. 24 | Hawaiʻi Bowl | Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI | Notre Dame (6–6) Hawaiʻi (7–6) | Independents WAC | Notre Dame 49 Hawaiʻi 21 |
| Dec. 26 | Motor City Bowl | Ford Field Detroit | Florida Atlantic (6–6) Central Michigan (8-4) | Sun Belt MAC | Florida Atlantic 24 Central Michigan 21 |
| Dec. 27 | Meineke Car Care Bowl | Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, North Carolina | West Virginia (8–4) North Carolina (8–4) | Big East ACC | West Virginia 31 North Carolina 30 |
| Dec. 27 | Champs Sports Bowl | Citrus Bowl Orlando, Florida | Florida State (9–3) Wisconsin (7–5) | ACC Big Ten | Florida State 42 Wisconsin 13 |
| Dec. 27 | Emerald Bowl | AT&T Park San Francisco | California (8–4) Miami (FL) (7–5) | Pac-10 ACC | California 24 Miami (FL) 17 |
| Dec. 28 | Independence Bowl | Independence Stadium Shreveport, Louisiana | Louisiana Tech (7–5) Northern Illinois (6–6) | WAC MAC | Louisiana Tech 17 Northern Illinois 10 |
| Dec. 29 | Papajohns.com Bowl | Legion Field Birmingham, Alabama | Rutgers (7–5) North Carolina State (6–6) | Big East ACC | Rutgers 29 NC State 23 |
| Dec. 29 | Alamo Bowl | Alamodome San Antonio | #25 Missouri (9–4) #22 Northwestern (9–3) | Big 12 Big Ten | Missouri 30 Northwestern 23 (OT) |
| Dec. 30 | Humanitarian Bowl | Bronco Stadium Boise, Idaho | Maryland (7–5) Nevada (7–5) | ACC WAC | Maryland 42 Nevada 35 |
| Dec. 30 | Holiday Bowl | Qualcomm Stadium San Diego | #15 Oregon (9–3) #13 Oklahoma State (9–3) | Pac-10 Big 12 | Oregon 42 Oklahoma State 31 |
| Dec. 30 | Texas Bowl | Reliant Stadium Houston | Rice (9–3) Western Michigan (9–3) | C-USA MAC | Rice 38 Western Michigan 14 |
| Dec. 31 | Armed Forces Bowl | Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, Texas | Houston (7–5) Air Force (8–4) | C-USA Mountain West | Houston 34 Air Force 28 |
| Dec. 31 | Sun Bowl | Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso, Texas | #24 Oregon State (8–4) #18 Pittsburgh (9–3) | Pac-10 Big East | Oregon State 3 Pittsburgh 0 |
| Dec. 31 | Music City Bowl | LP Field Nashville, Tennessee | Vanderbilt (6–6) Boston College (9–4) | SEC ACC | Vanderbilt 16 Boston College 14 |
| Dec. 31 | Insight Bowl | Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona | Kansas (7–5) Minnesota (7–5) | Big 12 Big Ten | Kansas 42 Minnesota 21 |
| Dec. 31 | Chick-fil-A Bowl | Georgia Dome Atlanta | LSU (7–5) #14 Georgia Tech (9–3) | SEC ACC | LSU 38 Georgia Tech 3 |
| Jan. 1 | Outback Bowl | Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida | Iowa (8–4) South Carolina (7–5) | Big Ten SEC | Iowa 31 South Carolina 10 |
| Jan. 1 | Gator Bowl | Jacksonville Municipal Stadium Jacksonville, Florida | Nebraska (8–4) Clemson (7–5) | Big 12 ACC | Nebraska 26 Clemson 21 |
| Jan. 1 | Capital One Bowl | Citrus Bowl Orlando, Florida | #16 Georgia (9–3) #19 Michigan State (9–3) | SEC Big Ten | Georgia 24 Michigan State 12 |
| Jan. 2 | Cotton Bowl Classic | Cotton Bowl, Fair Park Dallas, Texas | #20 Ole Miss (8–4) #8 Texas Tech (11–1) | SEC Big 12 | Ole Miss 47 Texas Tech 34 |
| Jan. 2 | Liberty Bowl | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, Tennessee | Kentucky (6–6) East Carolina (9–4) | SEC C-USA | Kentucky 25 East Carolina 19 |
| Jan. 3 | International Bowl | Rogers Centre Toronto | UConn (7–5) Buffalo (8–5) | Big East MAC | UConn 38 Buffalo 20 |
| Jan. 6 | GMAC Bowl | Ladd–Peebles Stadium Mobile, Alabama | Tulsa (10–3) #23 Ball State (12–1) | C-USA MAC | Tulsa 45 Ball State 13 |

### BCS bowl games

| Date | Game | Site | Teams | Affiliations | Results |
| Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl | Rose Bowl Stadium Pasadena, California | #5 USC (11–1) #6 Penn State (11–1) | Pac-10 Big Ten | USC 38 Penn State 24 |
| Jan. 1 | Orange Bowl | Dolphin Stadium Miami Gardens, Florida | #21 Virginia Tech (9–4) #12 Cincinnati (11–2) | ACC Big East | Virginia Tech 20 Cincinnati 7 |
| Jan. 2 | Sugar Bowl | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans | #7 Utah (12-0) #4 Alabama (12-1) | Mountain West SEC | Utah 31 Alabama 17 |
| Jan. 5 | Fiesta Bowl | University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, Arizona | #3 Texas (11-1) #10 Ohio State (10-2) | Big 12 Big Ten | Texas 24 Ohio State 21 |
| Jan. 8 | BCS National Championship Game | Dolphin Stadium Miami Gardens, Florida | #1 Florida (12-1) #2 Oklahoma (12-1) | SEC Big 12 | Florida 24 Oklahoma 14 |

## Conference bowl representation

| Bowl Appearances | Bowl Appearances | Bowl Appearances | Bowl Appearances | Bowl Appearances | Bowl Appearances | Final Rankings | Final Rankings | Final Rankings | Final Rankings | Final Rankings |
| Conference | No. of Teams | Record | Pct. | Winners | Losers | Ranked Teams | Team | AP (1/9/09) | Coaches (1/9/09) | BCS (12/7/08) |
| Pac-10 | 5 | 5–0 | 1.000 | USC Oregon Oregon State California Arizona | | 4 | USC | #3(1) | #2 | #5 |
| Pac-10 | 5 | 5–0 | 1.000 | USC Oregon Oregon State California Arizona | | 4 | Oregon | #10 | #9 | #17 |
| Pac-10 | 5 | 5–0 | 1.000 | USC Oregon Oregon State California Arizona | | 4 | Oregon State | #18 | #19 | NR |
| Pac-10 | 5 | 5–0 | 1.000 | USC Oregon Oregon State California Arizona | | 4 | California | NR | #25 | NR |
| Winners of 2008–09 Bowl Challenge Cup with perfect record. ||||||||||
| SEC | 8 | 6–2 | 0.750 | Florida Georgia Ole Miss Vanderbilt LSU Kentucky | Alabama South Carolina | 4 | Florida | #1(48) | #1(60) | #2 |
| SEC | 8 | 6–2 | 0.750 | Florida Georgia Ole Miss Vanderbilt LSU Kentucky | Alabama South Carolina | 4 | Alabama | #6 | #6 | #4 |
| SEC | 8 | 6–2 | 0.750 | Florida Georgia Ole Miss Vanderbilt LSU Kentucky | Alabama South Carolina | 4 | Georgia | #13 | #10 | #15 |
| SEC | 8 | 6–2 | 0.750 | Florida Georgia Ole Miss Vanderbilt LSU Kentucky | Alabama South Carolina | 4 | Ole Miss | #14 | #15 | #25 |
| Florida won the National Championship. Vanderbilt won in a bowl for the first time since 1955. Kentucky won a bowl for the third straight season, a first in school history. ||||||||||
| Big East | 6 | 4–2 | 0.667 | West Virginia South Florida Rutgers Connecticut | Cincinnati Pittsburgh | 3 | Cincinnati | #17 | #17 | #12 |
| Big East | 6 | 4–2 | 0.667 | West Virginia South Florida Rutgers Connecticut | Cincinnati Pittsburgh | 3 | West Virginia | #23 | NR | NR |
| Big East | 6 | 4–2 | 0.667 | West Virginia South Florida Rutgers Connecticut | Cincinnati Pittsburgh | 3 | Pittsburgh | NR | NR | #20 |
| Both of the Big East's BCS-ranked teams lost their games. ||||||||||
| Big 12 | 7 | 4–3 | 0.571 | Texas Missouri Kansas Nebraska | Oklahoma Texas Tech Oklahoma State | 5 | Texas | #4 | #3 | #3 |
| Big 12 | 7 | 4–3 | 0.571 | Texas Missouri Kansas Nebraska | Oklahoma Texas Tech Oklahoma State | 5 | Oklahoma | #5 | #6 | #1 |
| Big 12 | 7 | 4–3 | 0.571 | Texas Missouri Kansas Nebraska | Oklahoma Texas Tech Oklahoma State | 5 | Texas Tech | #12 | #12 | #7 |
| Big 12 | 7 | 4–3 | 0.571 | Texas Missouri Kansas Nebraska | Oklahoma Texas Tech Oklahoma State | 5 | Oklahoma State | #16 | #18 | #13 |
| Big 12 | 7 | 4–3 | 0.571 | Texas Missouri Kansas Nebraska | Oklahoma Texas Tech Oklahoma State | 5 | Missouri | #19 | #16 | #21 |
| Conference USA | 6 | 4–2 | 0.667 | Southern Mississippi Rice Houston Tulsa | Memphis East Carolina | 0 | none | none | none | none |
| Rice ended a 54-year winless streak in bowls, Houston ended theirs at 28. ||||||||||
| Mountain West | 5 | 3–2 | 0.600 | Utah TCU Colorado State | Brigham Young Air Force | 3 | Utah | #2(16) | #4(1) | #6 |
| Mountain West | 5 | 3–2 | 0.600 | Utah TCU Colorado State | Brigham Young Air Force | 3 | TCU | #7 | #7 | #11 |
| Mountain West | 5 | 3–2 | 0.600 | Utah TCU Colorado State | Brigham Young Air Force | 3 | Brigham Young | #25 | #21 | #16 |
| Utes became first BCS outsider to win two BCS games; their other was the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. The Utes also won their eighth straight bowl game. ||||||||||
| Independents | 2 | 1–1 | 0.500 | Notre Dame | Navy | 0 | none | none | none | none |
| Notre Dame won first bowl game since 1994 Cotton Bowl Classic. ||||||||||
| Sun Belt | 2 | 1–1 | 0.500 | Florida Atlantic | Troy | 0 | none | none | none | none |
| Only conference ineligible for 2008–09 Bowl Challenge Cup. ||||||||||
| ACC | 10 | 4–6 | 0.400 | Virginia Tech Florida State Maryland Wake Forest | Georgia Tech Boston College North Carolina Miami (FL) NC State Clemson | 4 | Virginia Tech | #15 | #14 | #19 |
| ACC | 10 | 4–6 | 0.400 | Virginia Tech Florida State Maryland Wake Forest | Georgia Tech Boston College North Carolina Miami (FL) NC State Clemson | 4 | Georgia Tech | #22 | #22 | #14 |
| ACC | 10 | 4–6 | 0.400 | Virginia Tech Florida State Maryland Wake Forest | Georgia Tech Boston College North Carolina Miami (FL) NC State Clemson | 4 | Florida State | #21 | #23 | NR |
| ACC | 10 | 4–6 | 0.400 | Virginia Tech Florida State Maryland Wake Forest | Georgia Tech Boston College North Carolina Miami (FL) NC State Clemson | 4 | Boston College | NR | NR | #24 |
| The ACC's ten teams in postseason is a new NCAA record. Boston College's streak of bowl wins in eight consecutive seasons ended. ||||||||||
| Western Athletic | 5 | 1–4 | 0.200 | Louisiana Tech | Boise State Fresno State Hawaiʻi Nevada | 1 | Boise State | #11 | #13 | #9 |
| Big Ten | 7 | 1–6 | 0.143 | Iowa | Penn State Ohio State Michigan State Northwestern Minnesota Wisconsin | 5 | Penn State | #8 | #8 | #8 |
| Big Ten | 7 | 1–6 | 0.143 | Iowa | Penn State Ohio State Michigan State Northwestern Minnesota Wisconsin | 5 | Ohio State | #9 | #11 | #10 |
| Big Ten | 7 | 1–6 | 0.143 | Iowa | Penn State Ohio State Michigan State Northwestern Minnesota Wisconsin | 5 | Iowa | #20 | #20 | NR |
| Big Ten | 7 | 1–6 | 0.143 | Iowa | Penn State Ohio State Michigan State Northwestern Minnesota Wisconsin | 5 | Michigan State | #24 | #24 | #18 |
| Big Ten | 7 | 1–6 | 0.143 | Iowa | Penn State Ohio State Michigan State Northwestern Minnesota Wisconsin | 5 | Northwestern | NR | #NR | #23 |
| Iowa's win in Outback Bowl avoided a total shutout. ||||||||||
| Mid-American | 5 | 0–5 | 0.000 | | Ball State Central Michigan NIU Western Michigan Buffalo | 1 | Ball State | NR | NR | #22 |
| Only winless conference in bowl season. ||||||||||
NOTE: BCS bowl participants are listed in italics.

## Post-BCS All-Star Games

| All-Star Game | Date | Location | Television | Result |
| East–West Shrine Game | January 17, 2009 | Robertson Stadium University of Houston Houston, Texas | ESPN2 | East 24, West 19 |
| Senior Bowl | January 24, 2009 | Ladd–Peebles Stadium Mobile, Alabama | NFL Network | South 35, North 18 |
| Texas vs The Nation | January 31, 2009 | Sun Bowl Stadium University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, Texas | CBS College Sports Network | The Nation 27, Texas 24 |