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.
2009 Orange Bowl
The game featured two teams both ranked lower than the two teams playing in a non-BCS bowl, a first in BCS history. The 2008 Poinsettia Bowl featured the No. 9 Boise State Broncos against the No. 11 TCU Horned Frogs. In Miami, Virginia Tech and Cincinnati each made preparations to switch accommodations to a different hotel on the day before the game to better simulate the feel of a regular-season game. Cincinnati's move was accelerated a day when rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs moved into the hotel and coaches, seeking to avoid a distraction, moved up the date of the team's departure.