The NCAA football rules committee proposed several rule changes for 2009.5 Before these rules were officially adopted, these proposals had to be approved by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel. The rule changes include the following:
If the home team wears colored jerseys, the visiting team may also wear colored jerseys; so long as the two teams have agreed to do so. This comes after a traditional USC-UCLA game where both teams wore their home uniforms. Previously, the visiting team would be charged a first-half timeout for illegal equipment.6
If the punter carries the ball outside of the tackle box, he is no longer protected under the roughing the kicker penalty.
Deliberately grabbing the chin strap is now included as part of the face mask penalty.
The edge of the tackle box is defined as being five yards to the left and right of the snapper, rather than two parallel lines from the position of the offensive tackles.
Periods will not be extended for plays that result in loss of down (i.e. illegal forward pass).
If a defensive player is injured, the play clock will be reset to 40 seconds. The play clock will be reset to 25 seconds for an injury to an offensive player.
Records
Brandon West of Western Michigan set the NCAA Division I FBS records for career all-purpose yards and career kick return yards. On November 14, West broke the record of 7,573 all-purpose yards set by DeAngelo Williams of Memphis.7 Against Michigan State on November 7, West broke the record of 2,945 return yards set by Jessie Henderson of SMU.8 West finished the season setting the records at 3,118 kick return yards and 7,764 total yards.910
Russell Wilson of North Carolina State set a new Division I record for most passes attempted without an interception, breaking the previous record of 325 set by André Woodson of Kentucky from 2006–07. Wilson broke the record in the third quarter of the Pack's 45–14 win over Gardner-Webb on September 19.11 The streak ended at 379 on October 3 against Wake Forest. Wilson's last interception had been in the third quarter of the Wolfpack's game against Clemson on September 13, 2008.12
Texas' Colt McCoy picked up his 43rd career win as a starting quarterback, breaking the previous FBS record of 42 by Georgia'sDavid Greene, with a 51–20 win over Kansas on November 21.13 The record was extended to 45 with wins over Texas A&M in the regular-season finale and Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship Game. However, his streak ended at the BCS Championship when he was injured early in the first quarter, and the Longhorns lost 37-21.
C. J. Spiller of Clemson set a new record for career kickoff return touchdowns on the opening kickoff of the Tigers' game against archrivalSouth Carolina on November 28. His seventh career TD return broke the previous record held by Anthony Davis of USC and Ashlan Davis of Tulsa.14
Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour set a new FBS record for most combined career touchdowns passing, rushing, and receiving in the MAC Championship Game against Ohio. His two TD passes in the game gave him a career total of 148, surpassing the previous record of 147 held by Colt Brennan of Hawaiʻi and Graham Harrell of Texas Tech. In the GMAC Bowl, he passed for a TD and ran for another, ending his career with a total of 150 TDs.
On December 12, 2009 against rivalArmy, Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs ran for his 24th rushing touchdown on the season, giving him the single-season record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.15
On December 30, 2009 in the Humanitarian Bowl against Idaho, Bowling Green wide receiver Freddie Barnes broke the single-season record for receptions, accumulating 155 total receptions on the year.
New stadiums
Two FBS teams opened new stadiums on September 12:
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.18
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.20
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 23-13.21
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 24.25
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.26
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.27
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.29
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.30
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.33
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.35
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.36
#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.37
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.38
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.41
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.46
#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.47
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.49
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.50
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.51
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.52
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.53
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.54
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.58
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.59
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.60
North Carolina vacated 8 wins, including 4 ACC wins.
Also, Georgia Tech's ACC Championship Game victory was vacated by the NCAA on July 14, 2011.
Rankings from AP Poll
One unusual aspect of this season was that every conference in Division I FBS, even those that did not contest a championship game, had an undisputed champion. This last happened in 1983.
In July 2011, the NCAA released its findings in a 2 year investigation into allegations of a Georgia Tech player receiving $321 of clothing from a runner for an agent. While, no conclusive evidence was brought against the player, actions taken by the GT athletic department were perceived as an attempt to hinder the NCAA investigation into this offense. Despite requesting the investigation be kept a secret, the Georgia Tech AD informed Coach Paul Johnson of the investigation and the players in question found out as well. The NCAA determined that the Player should have been declared ineligible for the final three games of GT 2009 season. To punish Georgia Tech for an accused "Lack of Cooperation" and hindering the investigation, they were required to vacate the ACC Championship game win, along with other penalties. As such, there is currently no official 2009 ACC Champion. GT plans to appeal the decision.61
^Navy won seven games to be bowl-eligible, as they are playing a 13-game schedule. They secured the bid on November 7 with a 23–21 win over Notre Dame.
Bowl Challenge Cup standings
Conference
Wins
Losses
Games
left
Pct.
Division I FBS Independents *
1
0
0
1.000
MWC
4
1
0
.800
Big East
4
2
0
.667
SEC
6
4
0
.600
Big Ten
4
3
0
.571
Big 12
4
4
0
.500
WAC
2
2
0
.500
Sun Belt *
1
1
0
.500
ACC
3
4
0
.429
C-USA
2
4
0
.333
Pac-10
2
5
0
.286
MAC
1
4
0
.200
* Does not meet minimum game requirement of three teams needed for a conference to be eligible. (In any case, "Independent" is not a conference, rather, it is the lack of one.)
Heisman Trophy voting
The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player
On December 26, Florida head coach Urban Meyer announced his resignation due to health concerns, effective after the Gators' Sugar Bowl appearance.125 However, Meyer had a change of heart and announced the following day that he would instead take an indefinite leave of absence, and expected to be back coaching by the start of the 2010 season. Offensive coordinator Steve Addazio took over Meyer's duties in his absence.126 Meyer returned from his self-imposed leave in time for Florida's 2010 spring practice.127
^ ab"Plenty Of Reasons For Hope" (Press release). Purdue University Athletics Department. 2008-01-11. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
^"Sanford Won't Return In 2010" (Press release). UNLV Athletics Department. 2009-11-15. Archived from the original on 20 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
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