2008–09 NCAA football bowl games

Bowl sites by state

Season

2008

Regular season

August 28–December 6

Number of bowls

All-star games

Bowl games

December 20, 2008 –
January 31, 2009

National Championship

2009 BCS Championship

Location of Championship

Dolphin Stadium,
Miami Gardens, Florida

Champions

Florida Gators

Bowl Challenge Cup winner

Pac-10

Bowl record by conference
Conference	Bowls	Record	Final AP poll
ACC	10	4–6 (0.400)	2
SEC	8	6–2 (0.750)	4
Big 12	7	4–3 (0.571)	5
Big Ten	7	1–6 (0.143)	4
Big East	6	4–2 (0.667)	2
Conference USA	6	4–2 (0.667)	0
Pac-10	5	5–0 (1.000)	3
Mountain West	5	3–2 (0.600)	3
WAC	5	1–4 (0.200)	1
MAC	5	0–5 (0.000)	1
Independents	2	1–1 (0.500)	0
Sun Belt	2	1–1 (0.500)	0

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
	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
	St. Petersburg Bowl	Tropicana Field St. Petersburg, Florida	South Florida (7–5) Memphis (6–6)	Big East C-USA	South Florida 41 Memphis 14
	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
	Champs Sports Bowl	Citrus Bowl Orlando, Florida	Florida State (9–3) Wisconsin (7–5)	ACC Big Ten	Florida State 42 Wisconsin 13
	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
	Holiday Bowl	Qualcomm Stadium San Diego	#15 Oregon (9–3) #13 Oklahoma State (9–3)	Pac-10 Big 12	Oregon 42 Oklahoma State 31
	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
	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
	Music City Bowl	LP Field Nashville, Tennessee	Vanderbilt (6–6) Boston College (9–4)	SEC ACC	Vanderbilt 16 Boston College 14
	Insight Bowl	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona	Kansas (7–5) Minnesota (7–5)	Big 12 Big Ten	Kansas 42 Minnesota 21
	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
	Gator Bowl	Jacksonville Municipal Stadium Jacksonville, Florida	Nebraska (8–4) Clemson (7–5)	Big 12 ACC	Nebraska 26 Clemson 21
	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						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
							Oregon	#10	#9	#17
							Oregon State	#18	#19	NR
							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
							Alabama	#6	#6	#4
							Georgia	#13	#10	#15
							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
							West Virginia	#23	NR	NR
							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
							Oklahoma	#5	#6	#1
							Texas Tech	#12	#12	#7
							Oklahoma State	#16	#18	#13
							Missouri	#19	#16	#21

Conference USA	6	4–2	0.667	Southern Mississippi Rice Houston Tulsa	Memphis East Carolina	0	none
Conference USA	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
							TCU	#7	#7	#11
							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
Independents	Notre Dame won first bowl game since 1994 Cotton Bowl Classic.
Sun Belt	2	1–1	0.500	Florida Atlantic	Troy	0	none
Sun Belt	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
							Georgia Tech	#22	#22	#14
							Florida State	#21	#23	NR
							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
Western Athletic
Big Ten	7	1–6	0.143	Iowa	Penn State Ohio State Michigan State Northwestern Minnesota Wisconsin	5	Penn State	#8	#8	#8
							Ohio State	#9	#11	#10
							Iowa	#20	#20	NR
							Michigan State	#24	#24	#18
							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
Mid-American	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

References

"Unbeaten Boise State heads Poinsettia; ACC slots 10". The Sporting News. The Sporting News. December 7, 2008. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
http://www.shrinegame.com/press_release/84_game/EWSG_Player_Alert_12-3-08.pdf
"Archived copy" (PDF). www.seniorbowl.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 3, 2009. Retrieved January 17, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
"Official Website of the Senior Bowl". Archived from the original on December 22, 2008. Retrieved January 1, 2009.
"Texas vs. The Nation". Archived from the original on December 20, 2008. Retrieved January 1, 2009.

v t e 2008–09 NCAA football bowl game season
EagleBank (Dec. 20) New Mexico (Dec. 20) St. Petersburg (Dec. 20) Las Vegas (Dec. 20) New Orleans (Dec. 21) Poinsettia (Dec. 23) Hawaii (Dec. 24) Motor City (Dec. 26) Meineke Car Care (Dec. 27) Champs Sports (Dec. 27) Emerald (Dec. 27) Independence (Dec. 28) PapaJohns.com (Dec. 29) Alamo (Dec. 29) Humanitarian (Dec. 30) Holiday (Dec. 30) Texas (Dec. 30) Armed Forces (Dec. 31) Sun (Dec. 31) Music City (Dec. 31) Insight (Dec. 31) Chick-fil-A (Dec. 31) Outback (Jan. 1) Gator (Jan. 1) Capital One (Jan. 1) Cotton (Jan. 2) Liberty (Jan. 2) International (Jan. 3) GMAC (Jan. 6)
Bowl Championship Series games: Rose (Jan. 1) Orange (Jan. 1) Sugar (Jan. 2) Fiesta (Jan. 5) BCS National Championship (Jan. 8)
All-Star Games: East–West Shrine Game (Jan. 17) Senior Bowl (Jan. 24) Texas vs. The Nation Game (Jan. 31)

v t e 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season
Conference seasons	ACC Big 12 Big East Big Ten Conference USA Mid-American Mountain West Pac-10 SEC Sun Belt WAC
Inter-conference	Bowl games Rankings
All-Americans	2008 College Football All-America Team

v t e NCAA football bowl seasons
1901–02 1902–14 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

NCAA football bowl seasons

1901–02
1902–14
1915–16
1916–17
1917–18
1918–19
1919–20
1920–21
1921–22
1922–23
1923–24
1924–25
1925–26
1926–27
1927–28
1928–29
1929–30
1930–31
1931–32
1932–33
1933–34
1934–35
1935–36
1936–37
1937–38
1938–39
1939–40
1940–41
1941–42
1942–43
1943–44
1944–45
1945–46
1946–47
1947–48
1948–49
1949–50
1950–51
1951–52
1952–53
1953–54
1954–55
1955–56
1956–57
1957–58
1958–59
1959–60
1960–61
1961–62
1962–63
1963–64
1964–65
1965–66
1966–67
1967–68
1968–69
1969–70
1970–71
1971–72
1972–73
1973–74
1974–75
1975–76
1976–77
1977–78
1978–79
1979–80
1980–81
1981–82
1982–83
1983–84
1984–85
1985–86
1986–87
1987–88
1988–89
1989–90
1990–91
1991–92
1992–93
1993–94
1994–95
1995–96
1996–97
1997–98
1998–99
1999–2000
2000–01
2001–02
2002–03
2003–04
2004–05
2005–06
2006–07
2007–08
2008–09
2009–10
2010–11
2011–12
2012–13
2013–14
2014–15
2015–16
2016–17
2017–18
2018–19
2019–20
2020–21
2021–22
2022–23
2023–24
2024–25

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