2009 BCS National Championship Game

The 2009 FedEx BCS National Championship Game was an American football game played at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on January 8, 2009. It was the national championship game for the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and featured the second-ranked Florida Gators against the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. The two participants were determined by the BCS Rankings to decide the BCS National Championship. Television coverage in the United States was provided by Fox, and radio coverage by ESPN Radio. The game was the last BCS Championship to air on Fox; starting with the 2010 game, ABC or ESPN televised the championship.

Tim Tebow's two touchdown passes and Percy Harvin's two-yard touchdown run led the Florida Gators to their second BCS National Championship in three seasons. The Gators defeated the Oklahoma Sooners, 24–14, in front of a Dolphin Stadium record crowd of 78,468.^[4]

Road to the championship

University of Oklahoma

The Sooners, coached by Bob Stoops, lost one game during their regular season to Texas in the annual Red River Rivalry contest, 45–35 on October 11. During the regular season, quarterback Sam Bradford, winner of the 2008 Heisman Trophy, led the Sooners on offense to become the highest-scoring team in NCAA history (702 points) and the first team to score 60 or more points in five consecutive games.^[5] The game was Oklahoma's fourth BCS Championship appearance.

Scoring summary

Scoring

First quarter

No scoring

Second quarter

FLA — Louis Murphy 20-yard pass from Tim Tebow (Jonathan Phillips kick), 14:02 FLA 7 - OKLA 0 (12 plays, 86 yards in 1:20).
OKLA — Jermaine Gresham 6-yard pass from Sam Bradford (Jimmy Stevens kick), 11:49 FLA 7 - OKLA 7 (6 plays, 65 yards in 2:13).

Third quarter

FLA — Percy Harvin 2-yard rush (Jonathan Phillips kick), 4:21 FLA 14 - OKLA 7 (13 plays, 75 yds in 5:22).

Fourth quarter

OKLA — Jermaine Gresham 11-yard pass from Bradford (Jimmy Stevens kick), 12:13 FLA 14 - OKLA 14 (8 plays, 77 yds in 2:36).
FLA — Jonathan Phillips 27-yard field goal, 10:45 FLA 17 - OKLA 14 (6 plays, 68 yds in 1:28).
FLA — David Nelson 4-yard pass from Tim Tebow (Jonathan Phillips kick), 3:07 FLA 24 - OKLA 14 (11 plays, 76 yds in 6:52).

Statistics

Passing: Sam Bradford (#14, QB, OKLA) 256 yards
Rushing: Percy Harvin (#1, WR, FLA) 121 yards
Receiving: Jermaine Gresham (#18, TE, OKLA) 62 yards^[6]

Game notes

This was the first meeting between these two teams.
Both starting quarterbacks were Heisman Trophy recipients.
Despite both teams having potent offenses (the Gators had averaged over 45 points per game, while the Sooners averaged 54 points per game), neither team scored in the first quarter.
Quarterbacks Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford combined for four interceptions despite throwing for just eight combined over the course of the regular season.
The Gators thwarted two Sooners possessions that were inside the five-yard line: a stop on fourth and goal on the one-yard line in the second quarter, and an interception of Bradford's pass at Florida's three-yard line with 6 seconds to play in the first half.
Despite coming off an ankle injury and declaring himself at "90%", Percy Harvin had nine carries for 122 yards and a touchdown and five receptions for 49 yards. The injury was reported as a high ankle sprain, but Harvin later stated that it was in fact a hairline fracture.^[7]
Jimmy Stevens' 49-yard field goal attempt for the Sooners was blocked in the third quarter.
Florida was ranked #1 and Oklahoma was ranked #5 in the final AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll, released after the game.^[8]

References

^ "College Football Line Movements for Florida Gators at Oklahoma Sooners Line Movements by Las Vegas Casinos & Sportsbooks at VegasInsider.com, The Leader in Sportsbook and Gaming Information - College Football Las Vegas Line Movements, College Football Las Vegs Casino and Sportsbook odds and line changes". Archived from the original on January 16, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2009.
^ "FOX Sports on MSN - BCSFootball - BCS Bowl Facts". Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved December 22, 2008.
^ "Bowl TV ratings". January 12, 2009.
^ ESPN NCAA College Football
^ "Assistant’s Insight Shapes Record Season," The New York Times (January 5, 2009).
^ Florida rides Tebow, suffocating defense to another BCS title
^ "Harvin had a fractured ankle". PalmBeachPost.com. January 9, 2009. Archived from the original on January 14, 2009. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
^ Voters give Florida No. 1 ranking; perfect Utah is No. 2