# 2009 BYU Cougars football team

The 2009 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars were led by head coach Bronco Mendenhall and played their home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
The Cougars finished the season with a record of 11–2, 7–1 in Mountain West play and won the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas 44–20 over Oregon State.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 5 | 6:00 pm | vs. No. 3 Oklahoma* | No. 20 | Cowboys StadiumArlington, TX (Cowboys Classic) | ESPN | W 14–13 | 75,437 |
| September 12 | 2:30 pm | at Tulane* | No. 9 | Louisiana SuperdomeNew Orleans, LA | ESPN2 | W 54–3 | 26,224 |
| September 19 | 5:00 pm | Florida State* | No. 7 | LaVell Edwards StadiumProvo, UT | Versus | L 28–54 | 64,209 |
| September 26 | 4:00 pm | Colorado State | No. 19 | LaVell Edwards StadiumProvo, UT | mtn. | W 42–23 | 64,091 |
| October 2 | 7:00 pm | Utah State* | No. 20 | LaVell Edwards StadiumProvo, UT (Old Wagon Wheel) | mtn. | W 35–17 | 64,103 |
| October 10 | 7:00 pm | at UNLV | No. 18 | Sam Boyd StadiumLas Vegas, NV | mtn. | W 59–21 | 25,597 |
| October 17 | 3:00 pm | at San Diego State | No. 18 | Qualcomm StadiumSan Diego, CA | mtn. | W 38–28 | 30,258 |
| October 24 | 5:30 pm | No. 10 TCU | No. 16 | LaVell Edwards StadiumProvo, UT | Versus | L 7–38 | 64,641 |
| November 7 | 12:00 pm | at Wyoming | No. 25 | War Memorial StadiumLaramie, WY | mtn. | W 52–0 | 19,201 |
| November 14 | 12:00 pm | at New Mexico | No. 22 | University StadiumAlbuquerque, NM | mtn. | W 24–19 | 24,344 |
| November 21 | 1:30 pm | Air Force | No. 19 | LaVell Edwards StadiumProvo, UT | CBS CS | W 38–21 | 64,071 |
| November 28 | 3:00 pm | No. 22 Utah | No. 18 | LaVell Edwards StadiumProvo, UT (Holy War) | mtn./CBSCS | W 26–23 $^{OT}$ | 64,301 |
| December 22 | 5:00 pm | vs. No. 16 Oregon State* | No. 15 | Sam Boyd StadiumWhitney, NV (Maaco Bowl Las Vegas) | ESPN | W 44–20 | 40,018 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in local to gamesite 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 |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | 20 | 9 | 7 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 16 | RV | 25 | 22 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 12 |
| Coaches Poll | 24 | 12 | 9 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 16 | RV | 25 | 22 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 12 |
| Harris | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 19 | 17 | 17 | 16 | RV | 25 | 22 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 14 | Not released |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 16 | — | — | 22 | 22 | 19 | 14 | 14 | Not released |

## Game summaries
### Oklahoma

BYU would enter the 2009 Cowboy Classic with a 14-22 record against the Big XII. However BYU was 1-0 against the Sooners. The only previously meeting was the 1994 Copper Bowl, where BYU won 31-6.
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cougars | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Sooners | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 |

### Tulane

BYU headed back down South for their second game of the season. The Green Wave would be their featured opponent. BYU and Tulane came into the contest with a 1-1 record against each other. The last meeting between the two was back in 2001, when BYU defeated the Green Wave 70-35 in Provo.
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cougars | 3 | 17 | 14 | 20 | 54 |
| Green Wave | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |

### Florida State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Seminoles | 7 | 23 | 14 | 10 | 54 |
| Cougars | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 28 |

### Colorado State

BYU would try and bounce back after the loss to FSU. The loss to FSU ended a winning streak the Cougs had had at home since 2004. With a 37-27-3 record against the Rams, things looked good for BYU.
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rams | 0 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 23 |
| • Cougars | 21 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 42 |

### Utah State

The 2009 Beehive Boot began with the Battle for the Old Wagon Wheel as Utah State visited the Cougars. With a 42-23-3 record in one of the longest rivalries in the nation, BYU looked to try to continue to show the FSU game was a fluke.
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 7 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| • Cougars | 7 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 35 |

### UNLV

After the Conference Weekend showdown, the Cougs headed on the road for their second road game of the year against a team they have thoroughly dominated, UNLV. Going into the 2009 season, the Cougars found themselves 13-3 against the Rebels lifetime.
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cougars | 10 | 14 | 21 | 14 | 59 |
| Rebels | 7 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 35 |

### San Diego State

Back-to-back road games would be the norm most of the season, as was this case with Vegas and then San Diego. BYU would challenge the Aztecs with a 25–7–1 record against them intact.
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cougars | 7 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 38 |
| Aztecs | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |

### TCU

Heading into Homecoming BYU looked to get back on the winning track against TCU. The Cougars had won 5 of the first 7 meetings against TCU, but the Horned Frogs took the win in 2008 to get their 3rd win against the Cougars.
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Horned Frogs | 14 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 38 |
| Cougars | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### Wyoming

BYU hit the road for the final back-to-back road trip of the year. Their first stop would be in Laramie. The Cougars came into the game with a 42-30-3 record against the Cowboys.
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cougars | 14 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 38 |
| Cowboys | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### New Mexico

The final road game on the back-to-back road trip took the Cougars to Albuquerque for their regular showdown with the Lobos. The Cougars came into the game with a 43-13-3 record against the Lobos.
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cougars | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Lobos | 7 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 19 |

### Air Force

The final home stretch began with an old match-up against everybodies favorite run-and-gun squad, the Air Force Falcons. The Cougars came into the game with a 23-6 record against the Falcons.
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| • Cougars | 3 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 38 |

### Utah

The regular season ended with the third edition of the Deseret First Duel. The winner would take a 2-1 lead in head-to-head football since the Holy War became sponsored by Deseret First Credit Union. The Cougars came into the game with a 30-50-4 against the Utes. With both teams at 6-1 in conference play, and with TCU likely headed to a BCS game, BYU and Utah came in knowing the winner would be getting a berth in the Las Vegas Bowl.
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Utes | 6 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 23 |
| • Cougars | 0 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 26 |

### Las Vegas Bowl

The fifth consecutive trip to the Las Vegas Bowl awaited BYU after their win over the Utes. Their opponent would be Bronco Mendenhall's alumni school- Oregon State, his first meeting against them with BYU. It was the first ever top 25 showdown in Vegas Bowl history. It also would feature a match of runner-up's as Oregon State was one of three teams tied for second in the Pac-10. BYU would go into the game with a 3-5 record lifetime against the Beavers. After going 19-for-30 for 192 yards with 3 touchdowns, Max Hall would win the MVP honor. Hall would leave as the most winning quarterback in BYU history at 43-9. His running back, Harvey Unga, would leave the school as the all-time leading rusher.
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Beavers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 20 |
| • Cougars | 14 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 44 |