Key Matchups & Upsets of 2009
| Date | Visitor | Home | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 5 | #20 BYU 14 | #3 Oklahoma 13 | In the first Cowboys Classic, #3 Oklahoma lost to BYU as well as had Sam Bradford, their Heisman-winning QB, injured at the end of the first half. |
| September 12 | Houston 45 | #5 Oklahoma State 35 | Oklahoma State rose to #5 after they beat #13 Georgia, but had no answer for Houston Quarterback Case Keenum, who passed for 366 yards as they beat Oklahoma State in Stillwater. |
| September 17 | #14 Georgia Tech 17 | #20 Miami (FL) 33 | In this early-season ACC Matchup, Miami upsets eventual-ACC Champion Georgia Tech to stay unbeaten and 2-0 in the ACC. |
| September 19 | Florida State 54 | #7 BYU 28 | With both teams heading in opposite directions- BYU in the BCS Mix, and Florida State losing to Miami and a 10-point win over Jacksonville State- the Seminoles pull a major upset in Provo and hand BYU its first loss. |
| September 19 | Tennessee 13 | #1 Florida 23 | After much trash-talking earlier that year by Lane Kiffin, the then-Head Coach, about "Singing Rocky Top" after a victory in The Swamp, the Gators beat the Vols 23-13. |
| September 19 | #3 USC 13 | Washington 16 | Washington upsets USC on a last-second field goal to give USC its first loss of their season. |
| September 19 | #19 Nebraska 15 | #13 Virginia Tech 16 | In Blacksburg, Virginia Tech scored the games second touchdown with 21 Seconds left to take the lead and win by 1 over Nebraska. |
| September 24 | #4 Ole Miss 10 | South Carolina 16 | #4 Ole Miss, undefeated and in the BCS Title mix, lost their first game in Columbia to the Gamecocks by 6. |
| September 26 | #9 Miami (FL) 7 | #11 Virginia Tech 31 | In Blacksburg, Miami suffered its first loss in Blacksburg, as Virginia Tech climbs into the Top Ten and remains undefeated in ACC games, as the Hurricanes lose by 24. |
| September 26 | Iowa 21 | #5 Penn State 10 | In a matchup of unbeaten Big Ten teams, Penn State jumps out to a 10-0 lead after the 1st Quarter, but Iowa scores 21 consecutive points- including 16 Fourth-Quarter points- to win 21-10 and stay undefeated. |
| October 3 | #4 LSU 20 | #18 Georgia 13 | In a SEC matchup in Athens, Georgia takes a 13-12 lead with only 1:09 to go. LSU scored with 46 seconds left to take the lead and win 20-13 and remain undefeated. |
| October 3 | #8 Oklahoma 20 | #17 Miami (FL) 21 | In a mid-season non-conference matchup, Miami upsets Oklahoma 21-20 to remain one-loss and on the outside shot at BCS Title Contention. |
| October 8 | #21 Nebraska 27 | #24 Missouri 12 | In a Big 12 North rivalry, Missouri was up 12-0 heading into the 4th Quarter, but Nebraska exploded for 27 4th Quarter points to hand Missouri its first loss as Nebraska stays unbeaten in Big 12 play. |
| October 10 | #3 Alabama 22 | #22 Ole Miss 3 | In a critical SEC West game in Oxford, #3 Alabama beats Ole Miss primarily due to Alabama Kicker Leigh Tiffin's 5 Field Goals and Ole Miss Quarterback Jevan Snead's four interceptions. |
| October 10 | #10 TCU 20 | Air Force 17 | TCU narrowly beats Air Force in Colorado Springs to keep its undefeated season and BCS At-Large hopes alive as they win by 3. |
| October 10 | #1 Florida 13 | #4 LSU 3 | In this SEC powerhouse battle in Baton Rouge, Florida takes down LSU in Tiger Stadium and stays undefeated. |
| October 17 | #20 Oklahoma 13 | #3 Texas 16 | In the Red River Rivalry, #3 Texas defeats Oklahoma for the second consecutive year to remain unbeaten and Oklahoma's QB Sam Bradford is injured again. |
| October 17 | #7 Ohio State 18 | Purdue 26 | Purdue beats Ohio State to snap Ohio State 17-Game Road Winning Streak and hand the Buckeyes their first Big Ten defeat of 2009. |
| October 17 | Arkansas 20 | #1 Florida 23 | In The Swamp, the #1 Gators edge Arkansas 23-20 with the difference being Florida Kicker Caleb Sturgis Field Goal with 9 seconds left in the game to remain undefeated. |
| October 17 | #4 Virginia Tech 23 | #19 Georgia Tech 28 | In an ACC Coastal battle with ACC Championship implications, #19 Georgia Tech upsets #4 Virginia Tech 28-23, which knocked Virginia Tech out of BCS Title contention and gave them their first ACC loss. |
| October 24 | Connecticut 24 | #23 West Virginia 28 | #23 West Virginia pulled out a close victory over Connecticut, while both teams and the fans in Morgantown remembered Jasper Howard, the Connecticut Cornerback who was killed earlier that week, as both teams wore stickers on their helmets honoring Howard. |
| October 24 | Tennessee 10 | #2 Alabama 12 | In what became known as "The Block" or "Rocky Block", Alabama led 12-10. Tennessee lined up for a 44-yard Field Goal with 4 seconds remaining for the lead. Alabama's Terrence "Mount" Cody blocked the field goal for the Crimson Tide to remain undefeated. |
| October 24 | #4 Iowa 15 | Michigan State 13 | #4 Iowa remained unbeaten with a touchdown pass as time expired to win by 2 and remain right in the BCS Title mix. |
| October 31 | #5 USC 20 | #10 Oregon 47 | The Ducks hand the Trojans their worst loss since 1997 and knock USC out of the BCS Title race as the Ducks rise to the tops of the Pac-10. |
| November 7 | Northwestern 17 | #4 Iowa 10 | After Ricki Stanzi was injured in the 2nd Quarter, Northwestern goes onto upset Iowa. The loss knocked Iowa from outright top of the Big Ten into a tie with Ohio State. |
| November 7 | #9 LSU 15 | #2 Alabama 24 | In "Saban Bowl III", Alabama scored 14-Fourth Quarter points to beat LSU 24-15. This win clinched Alabama a spot in the SEC Title game. |
| November 7 | #8 Oregon 42 | Stanford 51 | Stanford gave Oregon its first Pac-10 loss by winning by 9. The win also loosened Oregons control of the Pac-10 title race. |
| November 7 | #16 Ohio State 24 | #11 Penn State 7 | In a Big Ten game with BCS implications, Ohio State dominated Penn State in Happy Valley to seize control of the Big Ten Title race. |
| November 13 | #25 West Virginia 21 | #5 Cincinnati 24 | In a Big East matchup with the Big East race impact, Cincinnati beats West Virginia and stays undefeated. |
| November 14 | #25 Stanford 55 | #9 USC 21 | Stanford beat-down USC in the Coliseum for USC worst loss since 1966 and the most points a USC team has ever allowed. The loss destroyed USC's Pac-10 hopes as well as any BCS hopes. |
| November 14 | #1 Florida 24 | South Carolina 14 | #1 Florida defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia to remain unbeaten. The win clinched Florida's SEC East title and a SEC Championship vs. Alabama. |
| November 14 | #10 Iowa 24 | #11 Ohio State 27 (OT) | Ohio State beat Iowa, 27-24 in Overtime, to secure a share of the Big Ten title. The win also clinched a Rose Bowl berth for Ohio State. |
| November 14 | #16 Utah 28 | #4 TCU 55 | TCU beat Utah in Fort Worth to control the Mountain West Title race, remain undefeated and keep their BCS hopes alive. |
| November 14 | #12 Houston 32 | UCF 37 | UCF beat a ranked opponent for the first time in program history when they downed #12 ranked Houston 37-32. They came into a game a six point underdog, but with 241 yards through the air and another 152 on the ground, they forced 3 turnovers to pull out the huge win on homecoming. |
| November 21 | #25 California 34 | #17 Stanford 28 | In The Big Game, California destroyed Stanford's Pac-10 title hopes and narrowly beat Stanford by 6 after Mike Mohamed intercepted Andrew Luck's pass with 1:36 left in the game. |
| November 21 | #11 Oregon 44 | #17 Arizona 41 (2OT) | Oregon escapes Tucson with a Double-Overtime 3-point victory over Arizona. The win gives Oregon a share of the Pac-10 title, and with a win over Oregon State, they could have a Rose Bowl berth and an outright title. |
| November 26 | #3 Texas 49 | Texas A&M 39 | In the Lone Star Showdown, #3 Texas remained undefeated with a 49-39 Shootout victory over their archrivals. With the win, and a win next week in the Big 12 Championship vs. Nebraska, they would be in the BCS Title game in Pasadena. |
| November 26 | #2 Alabama 26 | Auburn 21 | In the Iron Bowl, Alabama fought back from a 14-0 deficit in the 1st Quarter to trail 21-20 Mid-4th Quarter. Then, what was dubbed as "The Drive", Alabama scored the game winning touchdown with 1:24 remaining to beat Auburn in Jordan-Hare by 5, and stay in the National Title race. |
| November 26 | #9 Pittsburgh 16 | West Virginia 19 | In the Backyard Brawl, West Virginia upsets Pittsburgh to avenge their bitter defeat 2 years ago and destroy Pittsburgh's hopes of a BCS at-large bid. |
| November 26 | Nevada 33 | #9 Boise State 44 | Boise State beats Nevada, 44-33, to win the WAC Title and stay in contention for a BCS bowl berth. |
| November 27 | Florida State 10 | #1 Florida 37 | Florida beats its rival Florida State to remain #1 and, with a win over Alabama in the SEC Title, would clinch a National Title berth. |
| December 3 | #16 Oregon State 33 | #7 Oregon 37 | In the Civil War rivalry, the Ducks beat the Beavers, 37-33 to clinch the outright Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl berth. |
| December 5 | #5 Cincinnati 45 | #15 Pittsburgh 44 | In what was an unofficial Big East Championship, #5 Cincinnati made a miracle comeback from 21 down to win with a TD with 33 seconds left, to remain unbeaten, clinch a BCS berth, and have an outside shot at the National Title game. |
| December 5 | #1 Florida 13 | #2 Alabama 32 | Alabama won their 22nd SEC Championship after beating the top-ranked Florida Gators, 32-13. Their win clinched them a spot in the National Title game. |
| December 5 | #3 Texas 13 | #22 Nebraska 12 | In the Big 12 Championship, Texas edged out Nebraska 13-12, after an extra second was added on the clock which resulted in Texas being able to kick a game-winning field goal. Texas clinched a berth in the national title with a win. |
Read more about this topic: 2009 NCAA Division I FBS Football Season
Famous quotes containing the words key and/or upsets:
“They have thrown away her electric toothbrush, someone else slips
The key into the lock of her safety-deposit box
At the Crocker-Anglo Bank; her seat at the cricket matches
Is warmed by buttocks less delectable than hers.”
—Randall Jarrell (1914–1965)
“Americans are very friendly and very suspicious, that is
what Americans are and that is what always upsets the
foreigner, who deals with them, they are so friendly
how can they be so suspicious and they are so
suspicious how can they be so friendly but they just
are and that certainly has something to do with their
having tucked their capital, their capitals away.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)