2009 St. Petersburg Bowl
Encyclopedia
The 2009 St. Petersburg Bowl presented by Beef 'O' Brady's, formerly known as the St. Petersburg Bowl, was the second edition of the college football
bowl game
and was played at Tropicana Field
in St. Petersburg, Florida
. The game began at 8:00 PM US EST
on Saturday, December 19, 2009
, was telecast on ESPN
and featured the UCF
of Conference USA
and Rutgers
of the Big East. Rutgers defeated UCF 45–24 in a game where Mohamed Sanu
, the game's MVP, caught 4 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown in addition to rushing 14 times for 47 yards and two touchdowns.
The game marked the Scarlet Knights' fifth consecutive bowl appearance, and their fourth consecutive victory, after not playing in a bowl game from 1979 to 2005. Rutgers was one of nine BCS teams to win a bowl game in each of the last three seasons. This was UCF's third bowl game, the last one was in the 2007 Liberty Bowl
. With the loss, Central Florida dropped to 0–3 in the postseason. The bowl game marked the first ever meeting between Rutgers and UCF.
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
and was played at Tropicana Field
Tropicana Field
Tropicana Field is a domed stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida, which has been the home of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays since the team's inaugural season in 1998, when they were the Devil Rays. It has also served as the host stadium for the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl, an NCAA-sanctioned college...
in St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
. The game began at 8:00 PM US EST
North American Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
on Saturday, December 19, 2009
2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on September 2, 2009, progressed through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game in Pasadena, California on January 7, 2010, featuring the...
, was telecast on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
and featured the UCF
2009 UCF Knights football team
The 2009 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Their head coach was George O'Leary, in his sixth season with the team. Coaching changes included new offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe...
of Conference USA
Conference USA
Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
and Rutgers
2009 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team
The 2009 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represented Rutgers University in the 2009 college football season. Their head coach was Greg Schiano and they played their home games at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey. The Scarlet Knights finished the season 9–4, 3–4 in Big East play and...
of the Big East. Rutgers defeated UCF 45–24 in a game where Mohamed Sanu
Mohamed Sanu
Mohamed Sanu is an American football wide receiver for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.After shuffling between New Jersey and his parents' native Sierra Leone as a child, Sanu eventually settled in and starred at South Brunswick High School before enrolling at Rutgers University in 2009...
, the game's MVP, caught 4 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown in addition to rushing 14 times for 47 yards and two touchdowns.
The game marked the Scarlet Knights' fifth consecutive bowl appearance, and their fourth consecutive victory, after not playing in a bowl game from 1979 to 2005. Rutgers was one of nine BCS teams to win a bowl game in each of the last three seasons. This was UCF's third bowl game, the last one was in the 2007 Liberty Bowl
2007 Liberty Bowl
The 2007 AutoZone Liberty Bowl, part of the 2007-08 NCAA football bowl games season, was played on December 29, 2007 at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee....
. With the loss, Central Florida dropped to 0–3 in the postseason. The bowl game marked the first ever meeting between Rutgers and UCF.
Scoring summary
| Scoring Play | Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Quarter | |||
| Rutgers - Mohamed Sanu 5 Yd Run (San San Te Kick), 8:37 | Rutgers 7–0 | ||
| UCF - Kamar Aiken 7 Yd Pass From Brett Hodges (Nick Cattoi Kick), 4:31 | Tie 7–7 | ||
| Rutgers - Tim Brown 65 Yd Pass From Tom Savage (San San Te Kick), 3:54 | Rutgers 14–7 | ||
| 2nd Quarter | |||
| UCF - Nick Cattoi 25 Yd FG, 14:56 | Rutgers 14–10 | ||
| Rutgers - Mohamed Sanu 1 Yd Run (San San Te Kick), 5:50 | Rutgers 21–10 | ||
| UCF - Kamar Aiken 34 Yd Pass From Brett Hodges (Nick Cattoi Kick), 2:32 | Rutgers 21–17 | ||
| Rutgers - Billy Anderson 19 Yd Interception Return (San San Te Kick), 1:38 | Rutgers 28–17 | ||
| 3rd Quarter | |||
| Rutgers - Mohamed Sanu 11 Yd Pass From Tom Savage (San San Te Kick), 12:37 | Rutgers 35–17 | ||
| Rutgers - San San Te 43 Yd, 8:09 | Rutgers 38–17 | ||
| 4th Quarter | |||
| UCF - Jonathan Davis 2 Yd Run (Nick Cattoi Kick), 2:23 | Rutgers 38–24 | ||
| Rutgers - Damaso Munoz 35 Yd Kickoff Return (San San Te Kick), 2:16 | Rutgers 45–24 | ||