2009 BCS National Championship Game
College football game
2009 FedEx BCS National Championship Game | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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BCS Bowl Game | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date | January 8, 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Season | 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Stadium | Dolphin Stadium | |||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Miami Gardens, Florida | |||||||||||||||||||||
MVP |
Offense: QB
Tim Tebow
(Florida)
Defense: DE Carlos Dunlap (Florida) |
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Favorite | Florida by 5½ [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||
National anthem | Yolanda Adams | |||||||||||||||||||||
Referee | Ron Cherry ( ACC ) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 78,468 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Payout | US$ 17,500,000 per team to each conference [2] | |||||||||||||||||||||
United States TV coverage | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Network | Fox | |||||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | Thom Brennaman , Charles Davis and Chris Myers | |||||||||||||||||||||
Nielsen ratings | 15.8 (26.8 million viewers) [3] | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2009 FedEx BCS National Championship Game was an American football game played at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida , on January 8, 2009. It was the national championship game for the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season , and featured the second-ranked Florida Gators against the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners . The two participants were determined by the BCS Rankings to decide the BCS National Championship . Television coverage in the United States was provided by Fox , and radio coverage by ESPN Radio . The game was the last BCS Championship to air on Fox; starting with the 2010 game , ABC or ESPN televised the championship.
Tim Tebow 's two touchdown passes and Percy Harvin 's two-yard touchdown run led the Florida Gators to their second BCS National Championship in three seasons. The Gators defeated the Oklahoma Sooners, 24–14, in front of a Dolphin Stadium record crowd of 78,468. [4]
Road to the championship
University of Oklahoma
The Sooners, coached by Bob Stoops , lost one game during their regular season to Texas in the annual Red River Rivalry contest, 45 – 35 on October 11. During the regular season, quarterback Sam Bradford , winner of the 2008 Heisman Trophy , led the Sooners on offense to become the highest-scoring team in NCAA history (702 points) and the first team to score 60 or more points in five consecutive games. [5] The game was Oklahoma's fourth BCS Championship appearance.
Scoring summary
Scoring
- First quarter
- No scoring
- Second quarter
- FLA — Louis Murphy 20-yard pass from Tim Tebow (Jonathan Phillips kick), 14:02 FLA 7 - OKLA 0 (12 plays, 86 yards in 1:20).
- OKLA — Jermaine Gresham 6-yard pass from Sam Bradford (Jimmy Stevens kick), 11:49 FLA 7 - OKLA 7 (6 plays, 65 yards in 2:13).
- Third quarter
- FLA — Percy Harvin 2-yard rush (Jonathan Phillips kick), 4:21 FLA 14 - OKLA 7 (13 plays, 75 yds in 5:22).
- Fourth quarter
- OKLA — Jermaine Gresham 11-yard pass from Bradford (Jimmy Stevens kick), 12:13 FLA 14 - OKLA 14 (8 plays, 77 yds in 2:36).
- FLA — Jonathan Phillips 27-yard field goal, 10:45 FLA 17 - OKLA 14 (6 plays, 68 yds in 1:28).
- FLA — David Nelson 4-yard pass from Tim Tebow (Jonathan Phillips kick), 3:07 FLA 24 - OKLA 14 (11 plays, 76 yds in 6:52).
Statistics
- Passing: Sam Bradford (#14, QB, OKLA) 256 yards
- Rushing: Percy Harvin (#1, WR, FLA) 121 yards
- Receiving: Jermaine Gresham (#18, TE, OKLA) 62 yards [6]
Team: | Florida | Oklahoma |
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1st Downs | 24 | 25 |
3rd down efficiency | 12 – 17 | 6 – 13 |
4th down efficiency | 0 – 0 | 0 – 2 |
Total Yards | 480 | 363 |
Passing | 316 | 256 |
Comp-Att | 18 – 30 | 26 – 41 |
Yards per pass | 7.7 | 6.0 |
Rushing | 249 |
107
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Rushing Attempts | 44 |
29
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Yards per rush | 5.7 |
3.7
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Penalties | 8 – 81 |
4
–
31
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Turnovers | 2 |
2
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Fumbles lost | 0 |
0
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Interceptions thrown | 2 |
2
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Possession | 34:57 |
25:03
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Game notes
- This was the first meeting between these two teams.
- Both starting quarterbacks were Heisman Trophy recipients.
- Despite both teams having potent offenses (the Gators had averaged over 45 points per game, while the Sooners averaged 54 points per game), neither team scored in the first quarter.
- Quarterbacks Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford combined for four interceptions despite throwing for just eight combined over the course of the regular season.
- The Gators thwarted two Sooners possessions that were inside the five-yard line: a stop on fourth and goal on the one-yard line in the second quarter, and an interception of Bradford's pass at Florida's three-yard line with 6 seconds to play in the first half.
- Despite coming off an ankle injury and declaring himself at "90%", Percy Harvin had nine carries for 122 yards and a touchdown and five receptions for 49 yards. The injury was reported as a high ankle sprain, but Harvin later stated that it was in fact a hairline fracture. [7]
- Jimmy Stevens' 49-yard field goal attempt for the Sooners was blocked in the third quarter.
- Florida was ranked #1 and Oklahoma was ranked #5 in the final AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll, released after the game. [8]
See also
References
- ↑ "College Football Line Movements for Florida Gators at Oklahoma Sooners Line Movements by Las Vegas Casinos & Sportsbooks at VegasInsider.com, The Leader in Sportsbook and Gaming Information - College Football Las Vegas Line Movements, College Football Las Vegs Casino and Sportsbook odds and line changes" . Archived from the original on January 16, 2009 . Retrieved March 22, 2009 .
- ↑ "FOX Sports on MSN - BCSFootball - BCS Bowl Facts" . Archived from the original on September 16, 2008 . Retrieved December 22, 2008 .
- ↑ "Bowl TV ratings" . January 12, 2009.
- ↑ ESPN NCAA College Football
- ↑ " Assistant’s Insight Shapes Record Season ," The New York Times (January 5, 2009).
- ↑ Florida rides Tebow, suffocating defense to another BCS title
- ↑ "Harvin had a fractured ankle" . PalmBeachPost.com. January 9, 2009. Archived from the original on January 14, 2009 . Retrieved January 9, 2009 .
- ↑ Voters give Florida No. 1 ranking; perfect Utah is No. 2
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Rotating bowl | |
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Game | |
2008–09 NCAA Division I championships
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