2009 Orange Bowl
The 2009 FedEx Orange Bowl was the 75th edition of the annual American college football bowl game known as the Orange Bowl. It pitted the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) champion Virginia Tech Hokies against the Big East Conference champion Cincinnati Bearcats on January 1, 2009, at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Virginia Tech defeated Cincinnati, 20–7. The game was the second contest in the 2008–2009 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) of the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season and was the concluding game of the season for both teams. The game was televised in the United States on FOX, and an estimated 9.3 million viewers watched the broadcast live.
2007–08 NCAA football bowl games
The Hawaii Warriors, the traditional Hawaii Bowl team as per its "Hawaii guarantee" agreement, did not play in this season's contest since they qualified for a BCS bowl. Additionally, the game was held on December 23 instead of the traditional annual date of December 24 (Christmas Eve) due to ESPN's commitments to broadcast a "Monday Night Football" game between the Denver Broncos and the San Diego Chargers.The Motor City Bowl was played at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan on December 26. The Big Ten representatives, the Purdue University Boilermakers, withstood a furious comeback from the MAC champion Central Michigan University Chippewas to win on a game-ending field goal, 51–48. The Chips came back from a 34–13 halftime deficit to tie it with 1:09 to play in regulation. Purdue then drove to the CMU 23-yard line, where kicker Chris Summers kicked a 40-yard field goal to end the game. Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter threw 35-54 for three touchdowns, two interceptions, and a Motor City Bowl record 546 yards, which was also the fourth-highest passing yard total in post-season history. His counterpart, CMU quarterback Dan LeFevour, accounted for 406 (292 passing, 114 rushing) of CMU's 435 total yards and all 6 of his team's touchdowns (4 passing, 2 rushing). As for Butch Jones, the CMU coach, who made his head coaching debut in last year's contest against Middle Tennessee State, reports had him looking into the vacant West Virginia job with a second interview scheduled after this game, but that never materialized. The conferences each received $750,000 for their teams' participation.The Boston College Eagles of the ACC narrowly defeated the Michigan State University Spartans, 24–21, in the Champs Sports Bowl on December 28 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, the first of two post-season contests played there. The Eagles entered the game after losing the ACC Championship Game. Meanwhile, the Spartans, who were not expected to even play in a bowl, barely qualified for a bowl game after upsetting Penn State in the Land Grant Trophy game. Each conference received a stipend of $2.2 million for their teams.The Texas Bowl was played on December 28, when the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs, representing the Mountain West Conference, played Conference USA's University of Houston Cougars in a pseudo home game at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, not far from the Astrodome where the Cougars played until moving back on campus to Robertson Stadium in 1999. The Horned Frogs won the game, 20–13, in their first meeting since the disbanding of the Southwest Conference. Because the Big 12 failed to meet the minimum of eight schools for bowl eligibility (and a larger payout), the conferences received $612,500.In another game played on December 28, the Pac-10's Oregon State University Beavers scored the game's final touchdown in the fourth quarter for a 21–14 victory against the ACC's 
University of Maryland, College Park Terrapins in the Emerald Bowl at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California, which normally serves as the home to the Major League Baseball team San Francisco Giants. The conferences involved received a $750,000 payment from the organizers.The ACC's Wake Forest University Demon Deacons, defeated the University of Connecticut Huskies from the Big East, 24-10, on December 29 in the Meineke Car Care Bowl at Charlotte, North Carolina's Bank of America Stadium. Each conference got a $750,000 payment for the schools' involvement.The AutoZone Liberty Bowl was held on December 29 at the self-named Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The Conference USA champions, the University of Central Florida Golden Knights, lost in a defensive battle to the SEC representatives, the Mississippi State University Bulldogs, 10–3. The conferences received a $1.7 million check for the schools to divide amongst themselves.The December 29 Valero Alamo Bowl at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas saw the Big Ten's Nittany Lions from the Pennsylvania State University prevail over the Big 12's Texas A&M University Aggies by a score of 24–17 to finish in the nation ranked 25th. This was Penn State head coach Joe Paterno's 500th game. Texas A&M was led by interim coach Gary Darnell, after Dennis Franchione was excused, mired in scandal. Both schools earned a $2.2 million check for their conferences. This was the first season that Valero Energy was the title sponsor of the game, which was without one a season earlier after MasterCard International withdrew after the 2006 contest.The PetroSun Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana at Independence Stadium on December 30 saw the SEC's University of Alabama Crimson Tide score 27 first half points against the Big 12's University of Colorado at Boulder Buffaloes. Alabama then prevented a late Colorado comeback to hold on to win, 30–24. Each conference received a payout of $1.1 million.The Bell Helicopters Armed Forces Bowl was played on December 31 at Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. The Pac 10's University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears defeated the United States Air Force Academy Falcons from the Mountain West, 42–36. The conferences received $750,000 as a receipt for the teams participating.Another contest on December 31 was the Roady's Humanitarian Bowl at Bronco Stadium on the campus of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho, best known for its blue "Smurf Turf". The former MPC Bowl reverted to its original "Humanitarian Bowl" name after Roady's Truck Stops replaced Micron Technology as its sponsor. In this season's game, the WAC's California State University, Fresno Bulldogs beat the Georgia Institute of Technology (more commonly known as Georgia Tech) Yellow Jackets from the ACC, 40–28. Each conference received a $750,000 payout to be divided among fellow members.The Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee was held on December 31. The University of Kentucky Wildcats made their second consecutive Music City Bowl appearance, having defeated Clemson, coached by Tommy Bowden during the 2006–07 season. This year, they played another ACC team coached by a Bowden, this time the Florida State University Seminoles of father Bobby. The Seminoles came into the game missing thirty-four players (very few being starters or second stringers) due to injuries, violations of team rules, and suspensions stemming from a large cheating scandal. The Wildcats won 35–28 to finish 8–5 for the second straight year, giving them back-to-back bowl wins for the first time since 1952. Also for the second straight year, Wildcats quarterback André Woodson was the game's MVP. Each conference got a payment of $1.5 million to be divided amongst their members.At the Insight Bowl played at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University in the Phoenix, Arizona suburb of Tempe on December 31, the Oklahoma State University-Stillwater Cowboys from the Big 12 beat the Indiana University Hoosiers of the Big Ten, 49–33. In spite of the loss, IU fulfilled a dream for their late head coach Terry Hoeppner before his untimely passing earlier this year to play one more game for a total of "13", the team's motto for the 2007 season. As payment, the participating conferences each received $1.2 million.The second International Bowl was contested at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada on January 5, 2008. The Big East's Rutgers University Scarlet Knights defeated the MAC's Ball State University Cardinals, 52–30. Rutgers running back, Ray Rice rushed for 280 yards and four touchdowns to earn MVP honors. The conferences involved each got $750,000 to split between their schools.The GMAC Bowl was played in Mobile, Alabama's Ladd–Peebles Stadium on January 6, 2008. The Conference USA's Golden Hurricane of University of Tulsa dominated the Bowling Green State University Falcons from the Mid-American Conference, 63–7. The 63 points posted by the Hurricane was the most since beating Drake University, 70–7 in 1970. In addition, the 56-point margin of victory set an NCAA record for most lopsided win in any bowl, bettering Alabama's 55-point blowout of Syracuse, 61–6, in the 1953 Orange Bowl. The bowl paid their leagues $750,000 apiece for their teams.