2008 Cincinnati Bearcats football team

2008 Cincinnati Bearcats football
Big East Champions
2009 Orange Bowl vs Virginia Tech, Lost 20-7
Conference	Big East
Ranking
Coaches	#17
AP	#17
2008 record	11–3 (6–1 Big East)
Head coach	Brian Kelly
Offensive coordinator	Jeff Quinn
Defensive coordinator	Joe Tresey
Home stadium	Nippert Stadium (Capacity: 35,097)

2008 Big East football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#17 Cincinnati $		6	–	1					11	–	3
Pittsburgh		5	–	2					9	–	4
#23 West Virginia		5	–	2					9	–	4
Rutgers		5	–	2					8	–	5
Connecticut		3	–	4					8	–	5
South Florida		2	–	5					8	–	5
Louisville		1	–	6					5	–	7
Syracuse		1	–	6					3	–	9
$ – BCS representative as conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2008 NCAA Division I-BS 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 Top 25 for the second consecutive year.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 28	7:30 PM	Eastern Kentucky*		Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH		W 40–7	26,913
September 6	3:30 PM	at #4 Oklahoma*		Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK	ABC	L 26–52	84,476
September 20	7:30 PM	Miami (OH)*		Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH (Battle for the Victory Bell)	ESPN360	W 45–20	31,629
September 27	7:30 PM	at Akron*		Rubber Bowl • Akron, OH	FSN Ohio	W 17–15	16,927
October 3	8:00 PM	at Marshall*		Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV	ESPN	W 33–10	29,237
October 11	12:00 PM	Rutgers		Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH	Big East Network	W 13–10	32,370
October 25	12:00 PM	at Connecticut		Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT	Big East Network	L 16–40	40,000
October 30	7:45 PM	#23 South Florida		Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH	ESPN	W 24–10	31,175
November 8	7:00 PM	at #20 West Virginia		Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV	ESPNU	W 26–23 ^OT	59,834
November 14	8:00 PM	at Louisville	#22	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY (Battle for the Keg of Nails)	ESPN2	W 28–20	37,822
November 22	7:15 PM	#20 Pittsburgh	#19	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH (River City Rivalry)	ESPN2	W 28–21	35,098
November 29	12:00 PM	Syracuse	#16	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH	Big East Network	W 30–10	34,603
December 6	11:30 PM	at Hawaiʻi*	#13	Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI	ESPN2	W 29–24	40,549
January 1	8:00 PM	#19 Virginia Tech*	#12	Dolphin Stadium • Miami Gardens, FL (2009 FedEx Orange Bowl)	FOX	L 7–20	73,602
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

Schedule Source: 2008 Cincinnati Bearcats football schedule

Game summaries

Eastern Kentucky

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eastern Kentucky	0	0	7	0	7
Cincinnati	6	20	14	0	40

^[1]

Oklahoma

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cincinnati	0	13	7	6	26
#4 Oklahoma	14	7	21	10	52

^[2]

Miami

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miami	0	13	7	0	20
Cincinnati	10	14	14	7	45

^[3]

Akron

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cincinnati	7	0	7	3	17
Akron	3	6	0	6	15

^[4]

Marshall

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cincinnati	2	14	10	7	33
Marshall	0	3	7	0	10

^[5]

Rutgers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rutgers	0	0	10	0	10
Cincinnati	3	7	3	0	13

^[6]

Connecticut

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cincinnati	10	3	3	0	16
Connecticut	10	0	10	20	40

^[7]

South Florida

	1	2	3	4	Total
#23 South Florida	7	0	3	0	10
Cincinnati	10	7	0	7	24

^[8]

West Virginia

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Cincinnati	13	7	0	0	6	26
#20 West Virginia	7	0	0	13	3	23

^[9]

Louisville

	1	2	3	4	Total
#22 Cincinnati	7	7	7	7	28
Louisville	7	10	3	0	20

^[10]

Pittsburgh

	1	2	3	4	Total
#20 Pittsburgh	7	0	0	14	21
#19 Cincinnati	0	14	7	7	28

^[11]

Syracuse

	1	2	3	4	Total
Syracuse	0	3	0	7	10
#16 Cincinnati	7	6	10	7	30

Hawaii

	1	2	3	4	Total
#13 Cincinnati	3	7	0	19	29
Hawaii	0	3	14	7	24

Virginia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
#12 Cincinnati	7	0	0	0	7
#21 Virginia Tech	0	10	3	7	20

References

1. "Eastern Kentucky vs Cincinnati (Aug 28, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
2. "Oklahoma vs Cincinnati (Sept 6, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
3. "Miami vs Cincinnati (Sept 17, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
4. "Akron vs Cincinnati (Sept 27, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Archived from the original on September 29, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
5. "Marshall vs Cincinnati (Oct 3, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
6. "Cincinnati vs Rutgers (Oct 11, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Archived from the original on October 16, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
7. "Connecticut vs Cincinnati (Oct 25, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Archived from the original on October 30, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
8. "Cincinnati vs South Florida (Oct 30, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
9. "West Virginia vs Cincinnati (Nov 7, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
10. "Louisville vs Cincinnati (Nov 14, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Retrieved November 23, 2008.
11. "Pittsburgh vs Cincinnati (Nov 22, 2008)". University of Cincinnati Sports Information. Retrieved November 23, 2008.