2008 Cincinnati Bearcats football team explained

Year:	2008
Team:	Cincinnati Bearcats
Sport:	football
Conference:	Big East Conference
Short Conf:	Big East
Coachrank:	17
Aprank:	17
Record:	11–3
Conf Record:	6–1
Head Coach:	Brian Kelly
Hc Year:	2nd
Off Coach:	Jeff Quinn
Oc Year:	2nd
Def Coach:	Joe Tresey
Dc Year:	2nd
Stadium:	Nippert Stadium
Champion:	Big East champion
Bowl:	Orange Bowl
Bowl Result:	L 7–20 vs Virginia Tech

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.

Rankings

See also: 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings.

Game summaries

Eastern Kentucky

^[1]

Oklahoma

See also: 2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team. ^[2]

Miami

See also: 2008 Miami RedHawks football team. ^[3]

Akron

See also: 2008 Akron Zips football team. ^[4]

Marshall

See also: 2008 Marshall Thundering Herd football team. ^[5]

Rutgers

See also: 2008 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team. ^[6]

Connecticut

See also: 2008 Connecticut Huskies football team. ^[7]

South Florida

See also: 2008 South Florida Bulls football team. ^[8]

West Virginia

See also: 2008 West Virginia Mountaineers football team. ^[9]

Louisville

See also: 2008 Louisville Cardinals football team. ^[10]

Pittsburgh

See also: 2008 Pittsburgh Panthers football team. ^[11]

Syracuse

See also: 2008 Syracuse Orange football team.

Hawaii

See also: 2008 Hawaii Warriors football team.

Virginia Tech

See main article: 2009 Orange Bowl.

See also: 2008 Virginia Tech Hokies football team.

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 First Team

• Mardy Gilyard, WR
• Mardy Gilyard, KR

• Connor Barwin, DL
• Mike Mickens, DB
• Brandon Underwood, DB
• Kevin Huber, P

^[12]

Big East Conference All-Conference Second Team

• Dominick Goodman, WR
• Trevor Canfield, OL
• Tony Pike, QB

• Terrill Byrd, DL

^[12]

Players in the 2009 NFL Draft

See also: 2009 NFL draft.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
		2	46
		5	142
		5	143	Dallas Cowboys
		6	187
		7	227
		7	254

Notes and References

1. Web site: Eastern Kentucky vs Cincinnati (Aug 28, 2008). University of Cincinnati Sports Information. November 9, 2008.
2. Web site: Oklahoma vs Cincinnati (Sept 6, 2008). University of Cincinnati Sports Information. November 9, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081002192239/http://gobearcats.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2008-2009/game-02.html. October 2, 2008 . live.
3. Web site: Miami vs Cincinnati (Sept 17, 2008). University of Cincinnati Sports Information. November 9, 2008.
4. Web site: Akron vs Cincinnati (Sept 27, 2008). University of Cincinnati Sports Information. November 9, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080929160635/http://gobearcats.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2008-2009/game5.html. September 29, 2008 . live.
5. Web site: Marshall vs Cincinnati (Oct 3, 2008). University of Cincinnati Sports Information. November 9, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081207055058/http://gobearcats.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2008-2009/game-05.html. December 7, 2008 . live.
6. Web site: Cincinnati vs Rutgers (Oct 11, 2008). University of Cincinnati Sports Information. November 9, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081016025704/http://gobearcats.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2008-2009/game-06.html. October 16, 2008 . live.
7. Web site: Connecticut vs Cincinnati (Oct 25, 2008). University of Cincinnati Sports Information. November 9, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081030031904/http://gobearcats.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2008-2009/game-07.html. October 30, 2008 . live.
8. Web site: Cincinnati vs South Florida (Oct 30, 2008). University of Cincinnati Sports Information. November 9, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081207025242/http://gobearcats.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2008-2009/game-08.html. December 7, 2008 . live.
9. Web site: West Virginia vs Cincinnati (Nov 7, 2008). University of Cincinnati Sports Information. November 9, 2008.
10. Web site: Louisville vs Cincinnati (Nov 14, 2008). University of Cincinnati Sports Information. November 23, 2008.
11. Web site: Pittsburgh vs Cincinnati (Nov 22, 2008). University of Cincinnati Sports Information. November 23, 2008.
12. News: 2011 Cincinnati Media Guide. University of Cincinnati Athletics. December 22, 2018.