2009 Kentucky Wildcats football team The 2009 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The team was coached by Rich Brooks , in his seventh and ultimately final season at Kentucky , and played its home games at Commonwealth Stadium . The Wildcats competed in the Southeastern Conference in its eastern division . They finished the season with a record of 7 – 6 and 3 – 5 in conference play , and were defeated by Clemson 21 – 13 in the Music City Bowl . Several days after the Cats ' bowl appearance , Brooks retired from coaching . He was immediately replaced by offensive coordinator Joker Phillips , who had agreed in 2008 to be Brooks ' designated successor . Preseason and Postseason Awards . Pre - season SEC Picks . Coaches : 6th ( East ) < br > AP : 6th ( East ) Pre - season Polls . USA Today / Coaches : 42nd Current Depth Chart . As of November 18 , 2009 Game notes . Miami ( Ohio ) . Pregame Line : - 16 . 5 Randall Cobb scored a touchdown early in the second quarter Mike Hartline threw two touchdowns to receiver Randall Cobb and led Kentucky to a 42 – 0 victory . Hartline had a great first game of the season , throwing 18 of 27 for 222 yards . Cobb caught a 27 - yard pass for Kentucky ' s first touchdown . He also took a direct snap from center and ran 11 yards for a third - quarter touchdown . The versatile sophomore had seven catches for 96 yards . Kentucky ' s defense also performed very well , picking off Miami twice and holding the Redhawks to under 200 yards of total offense . All - American cornerback Trevard Lindley intercepted a pass in the 3rd quarter and returned it for a 25 yard touchdown . That was Lindley ' s tenth career interception and his second returned for a touchdown . The pass intercepted was in the second quarter by senior safety Calvin Harrison . Another star of the game was the debut of junior receiver Chris Matthews . Matthews caught a touchdown pass from Hartline late in the 2nd quarter . This was Kentucky ' s first shut out since 1996 when they shut out Vanderbilt . Week 1 SEC Defensive Player of the Week : Louisville . Pregame Line : - 14 Kentucky wins the 2009 Governor ' s Cup trophy for the third straight year For the third straight season the Kentucky Wildcats defeated the Louisville Cardinals and won the Governor ' s Cup . This is Kentucky ' s longest streak since the rivalry was renewed in 1994 . Derrick Locke returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and ran for another . A fumbled kickoff return set up Kentucky ' s final score late in the 4th quarter , a 12 - yard pass from Mike Hartline to a leaping Randall Cobb — his former rival for the starting quarterback job . Prior to that , Louisville ( 1 – 1 ) had taken the lead by forcing three consecutive Wildcats turnovers . This back - and - forth battle for the Governor ' s Cup wasn ' t won until the final 2 minutes when Louisville quarterback Justin Burke was driving for a potential game - winning score , only to have a pass tipped by Corey Peters and picked off by Sam Maxwell . Kentucky had to punt the ball back to Louisville , but Burke ' s last - second Hail Mary was incomplete . For the 9th straight season , the team that rushes for the most yards went on to win the game . Kentucky out gained Louisville running for 168 yards to 133 yards . Week 3 SEC Special Teams Player of the Week : Florida . Pregame Line : + 21 . 5 Alabama . Pregame Line : South Carolina . Pregame Line : Auburn . Pregame Line : Louisiana - Monroe . Pregame Line : Mississippi State . Pregame Line : Eastern Kentucky . Pregame Line : Vanderbilt . Pregame Line : Georgia . Pregame Line : Georgia by 7 . 5 Kentucky entered the game not having won at Georgia since 1977 . Kentucky jumped out to a 6 – 0 lead on a 20 yard touchdown pass from Morgan Newton to Derrick Locke ( the conversion failed ) but Georgia held a 20 – 6 lead at halftime . In the third quarter , Randall Cobb scored on a 12 yard touchdown run and LaRod King caught a 21 yard touchdown pass from Newton to draw Kentucky to within 27 – 20 . Kentucky shut out Georgia in the fourth quarter and scored two touchdowns on Derrick Locke ' s 60 yard pass reception from Newton and Cobb ' s 1 yard run to give Kentucky the 34 – 27 win . Newton finished with 137 yards and 3 touchdowns passing , completing 9 of 17 attempts . Locke had 80 yards rushing and 2 receptions for 80 yards and two touchdowns . Cobb had 40 yards and 2 touchdowns rushing and one reception for 19 yards . The Kentucky defense played a huge role in securing the victory late in the game . Kentucky defensive lineman Shane McCord intercepted a Georgia pass with just under ten minutes remaining in the game . With five and a half minutes left in the game a Georgia quarterback and running back fumbled an exchange at the Kentucky 2 yard line and Kentucky linebacker Danny Trevathan recovered . Kentucky had to punt but linebacker Sam Maxwell intercepted a Georgia pass with 1 : 45 remaining to seal the win . Tennessee . Pregame Line : Roster . Roster .