The 2009 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...
during the
2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
. The team was coached by
Rich Brooks
Richard Llewellyn Brooks (born August 20, 1941) is a retired American football player and coach. He was the head coach at the University of OregonMcCann, Michael C. (1995). Oregon Ducks Football: 100 Years of Glory. Eugene, Oregon: McCann Communic ...
, in his seventh and ultimately final season at Kentucky, and played its home games at
Commonwealth Stadium
Commonwealth Stadium is an open-air, multipurpose stadium located in the McCauley neighbourhood of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It has a seating capacity of 56,302, making it the largest open-air stadium in Canada. Primarily used for Canadian fo ...
. The Wildcats competed in the
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
in its eastern division. They finished the season with a record of 7–6 and 3–5 in conference play, and were defeated by
Clemson 21–13 in the
Music City Bowl
The Music City Bowl is a post-season American college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played in Nashville, Tennessee, since 1998. Since 2020, it has been sponsored by TransPerfect and is officially known as the ''TransPer ...
.
Several days after the Cats' bowl appearance, Brooks retired from coaching. He was immediately replaced by offensive coordinator
Joker Phillips
Joe "Joker" Phillips Jr. (born May 12, 1963) is an American football coach and former player. He is the assistant head football coach and wide receivers coach at North Carolina State University, a position he had held since the 2021 season. Philli ...
, who had agreed in 2008 to be Brooks' designated successor.
Preseason and postseason awards
PFW All-American
;2009 ''
Pro Football Weekly
''Pro Football Weekly'' (sometimes shortened to ''PFW'') is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, and website that covers the National Football League (NFL). It was owned by Pro Football Weekly LLC and headquartered in Riverwoods, Illinoi ...
'' All-American First Team:
AP All-SEC
;2009 AP All-SEC First Team:
;2009 AP All-SEC Second Team:
Preseason SEC picks
Coaches: 6th (East)
AP: 6th (East)
Preseason polls
USA Today/Coaches: 42nd
Preseason All-SEC
;2009 All-SEC First Team:
*Trevard Lindley, DB
;2009 All-SEC Second Team:
*Micah Johnson, LB
;2009 All-SEC Third Team:
*Zipp Duncan, OT
*Jorge Gonzalez, C
*Mike Hartline, QB
*Corey Peters, DT
Current depth chart
As of November 18, 2009
Schedule
Game summaries
Miami (Ohio)
Pregame Line:
-16.5
''Randall Cobb scored a touchdown early in the second quarter''
Mike Hartline threw two touchdowns to receiver Randall Cobb and led Kentucky to a 42–0 victory. Hartline had a great first game of the season, throwing 18 of 27 for 222 yards. Cobb caught a 27-yard pass for Kentucky's first touchdown. He also took a direct snap from center and ran 11 yards for a third-quarter touchdown. The versatile sophomore had seven catches for 96 yards. Kentucky's defense also performed very well, picking off Miami twice and holding the Redhawks to under 200 yards of total offense. All-American cornerback Trevard Lindley intercepted a pass in the 3rd quarter and returned it for a 25-yard touchdown. That was Lindley's tenth career interception and his second returned for a touchdown. The pass intercepted was in the second quarter by senior safety Calvin Harrison. Another star of the game was the debut of junior receiver Chris Matthews. Matthews caught a touchdown pass from Hartline late in the 2nd quarter. This was Kentucky's first shut out since 1996 when they shut out Vanderbilt.
Week 1 SEC Defensive Player of the Week:
Trevard Lindley was named SEC defensive player of the week after intercepting a pass, scoring a touchdown, and breaking up three passes.
Louisville
Pregame Line:
-14
''Kentucky wins the 2009 Governor's Cup trophy for the third straight year''
For the third straight season the Kentucky Wildcats defeated the Louisville Cardinals and won the
Governor's Cup. This is Kentucky's longest streak since the rivalry was renewed in 1994. Derrick Locke returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and ran for another. A fumbled kickoff return set up Kentucky's final score late in the 4th quarter, a 12-yard pass from Mike Hartline to a leaping Randall Cobb—his former rival for the starting quarterback job. Prior to that, Louisville (1–1) had taken the lead by forcing three consecutive Wildcats turnovers.
This back-and-forth battle for the Governor's Cup wasn't won until the final 2 minutes when Louisville quarterback Justin Burke was driving for a potential game-winning score, only to have a pass tipped by Corey Peters and picked off by Sam Maxwell. Kentucky had to punt the ball back to Louisville, but Burke's last-second Hail Mary was incomplete.
For the 9th straight season, the team that rushes for the most yards went on to win the game. Kentucky out gained Louisville running for 168 yards to 133 yards.
Week 3 SEC Special Teams Player of the Week:
Derrick Locke was named SEC special teams player of the week after returning a kickoff in the first quarter 100 yards for a touchdown.
Florida
Pregame Line:
+21.5
Alabama
Pregame Line:
South Carolina
Pregame Line:
Auburn
Pregame Line:
Louisiana-Monroe
Pregame Line:
Mississippi State
Pregame Line:
Eastern Kentucky
Pregame Line:
Vanderbilt
Pregame Line:
Georgia
Pregame Line: Georgia by 7.5
Kentucky entered the game not having won at Georgia since 1977. Kentucky jumped out to a 6–0 lead on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Morgan Newton to Derrick Locke (the conversion failed) but Georgia held a 20–6 lead at halftime.
[ESPN Box Score: Kentucky 34, Georgia 27](_blank)
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In the third quarter, Randall Cobb scored on a 12-yard touchdown run and LaRod King caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Newton to draw Kentucky to within 27–20. Kentucky shut out Georgia in the fourth quarter and scored two touchdowns on Derrick Locke's 60-yard pass reception from Newton and Cobb's 1-yard run to give Kentucky the 34–27 win. Newton finished with 137 yards and 3 touchdowns passing, completing 9 of 17 attempts. Locke had 80 yards rushing and 2 receptions for 80 yards and two touchdowns. Cobb had 40 yards and 2 touchdowns rushing and one reception for 19 yards.
The Kentucky defense played a huge role in securing the victory late in the game. Kentucky defensive lineman Shane McCord intercepted a Georgia pass with just under ten minutes remaining in the game. With five and a half minutes left in the game a Georgia quarterback and running back fumbled an exchange at the Kentucky 2-yard line and Kentucky linebacker Danny Trevathan recovered. Kentucky had to punt but linebacker Sam Maxwell intercepted a Georgia pass with 1:45 remaining to seal the win.
As of 2021, this is the last time Kentucky defeated Georgia.
Tennessee
Pregame Line:
Roster
Roster
Statistics
Team
Scores by quarter
Offense
Rushing
Passing
Receiving
Defense
Special teams
Rankings
Class of 2010 commitments/signees
Class of 2011 commitments
References
{{Kentucky Wildcats football navbox
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
Kentucky Wildcats football seasons
Kentucky Wildcats football
The Kentucky Wildcats football program represents the University of Kentucky in the sport of American football. The Wildcats compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern D ...