American college football season
The 2009 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The Tigers were led by first year head coach Gene Chizik . Despite playing the 12th toughest schedule in the nation,[ 1] the Tigers finished the season 8–5 (3–5 in SEC play) and won the Outback Bowl 38–35 in overtime against Northwestern .
While Auburn was unranked at the end of the season in both major polls, several BCS participating computer rating systems such as Sagarin (#22),[ 2] Massey (#22),[ 3] Peter Wolfe (#25),[ 4] Howell (#24),[ 5] David Wilson (#21),[ 6] Team Rankings (#18)[ 7] and the FACT Foundation (#21)[ 8] included the Tigers in their final top 25 rankings.
The offense finished the season ranked 2nd in the SEC and 16th in the nation (with just under 432 yards per game),[ 9] while the defense struggled with depth issues and finished 68th and 2nd worst in the SEC.[ 10] The pass efficiency defense however was 3rd best in the SEC and ranked 22nd in the nation.[ 11]
On December 3, 2008, Auburn University announced that 10-year head coach Tommy Tuberville would not return for an eleventh season. The coaching search ended less than two weeks later when Auburn announced Iowa State's second-year head coach and former Auburn defensive coordinator Gene Chizik as the Tigers' next head coach.[ 12] Auburn had interviewed at least eight coaches, including Buffalo 's Turner Gill and TCU 's Gary Patterson .[ 13]
Auburn's schedule consisted of eight Southeastern Conference opponents (four home, four away) and four non-conference opponents. Auburn opened the season against Louisiana Tech . It was the twelfth matchup between the schools and the first meeting since 2004. The Tigers also hosted Mid-American Conference opponent Ball State for the third time. Also, Football Championship Subdivision foe Furman visited for the first time since 1956. Auburn began conference play in the second week, hosting Mississippi State . The following week, the Tigers hosted West Virginia , the second game in a home-and-home series between the two teams. The Tigers had previously faced all twelve regular season opponents, with Auburn holding the all-time series lead going into the season against all but Alabama (33–39–1), LSU (19–23–1), and West Virginia (0–1).
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 5 6:00 pm Louisiana Tech * ESPNU W 37–1381,143[ 14] September 12 6:00 pm Mississippi State Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL SECRN W 49–2485,269[ 15] September 19 6:45 pm West Virginia * Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL ESPN2 W 41–3087,451[ 16] September 26 6:00 pm Ball State * Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL SECRN W 54–3083,118[ 17] October 3 6:45 pm at Tennessee ESPN W 26–22102,941[ 18] October 10 11:00 am at Arkansas No. 17 ESPN L 23–4472,559[ 19] October 17 6:30 pm Kentucky Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL ESPNU L 14–2186,217[ 20] October 24 6:30 pm at No. 9 LSU ESPN2 L 10–3192,654[ 21] October 31 11:21 am No. 25 Ole Miss Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (rivalry ) SECN W 33–2084,756[ 22] November 7 12:30 pm (FCS ) Furman * Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL PPV W 63–3181,506[ 23] November 14 6:00 pm at Georgia ESPN2 L 24–3192,746[ 24] November 27 1:30 pm No. 2 Alabama CBS L 21–2687,451[ 25] January 1 10:00 am vs. Northwestern * ESPN W 38–35 OT 49,383[ 26]
[ 27]
Starters and backups.[ 28]
Defense
FS Daren Bates[ 29] Demond Washington[ 30] Drew Cole
WLB MLB SLB ⋅ Eltoro Freeman ⋅ Adam Herring Spencer Pybus ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅
SS Zac Etheridge Mike Slade ⋅
CB Walt McFadden T'Sharvan Bell ⋅
DE DT DT DE Antonio Coleman Jake Ricks Mike Blanc Michael Goggans Cameron Henderson Derrick Lykes Zach Clayton Antoine Carter ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ Jomarcus Savage
CB Neiko Thorpe D'Antoine Hood ⋅
Offense
WR Anthony Durso Montez Billings John Cubelic
WR Tim Hawthorne Quindarius Carr Philip Pierre-Louis
LT LG C RG RT Lee Ziemba Byron Isom Ryan Pugh Mike Berry Andrew McCain A.J. Green Bart Eddins Mike Berry Jared Cooper Vance Smith ⋅ ⋅ Bart Eddins Rudy Odom ⋅
WR Mario Fannin Tommy Trott Gabe McKenzie
Special teams PK Wes Byrum PK Chandler Brooks P Clinton Durst P Ryan Shoemaker KR Mario Fannin PR Mario Fannin LS Clayton Tooker
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final AP — — — — — 17 — — — — — — — — — — Coaches — — — — — 19 — — — — 25 — — — — — Harris Not released — 19 — — — — — — — — — Not released BCS Not released — — — — — — — — Not released
*Entering season
1 2 3 4 Total Louisiana Tech 7 3 3 0 13 • Auburn 10 3 10 14 37
1 2 3 4 Total Mississippi State 0 17 0 7 24 • Auburn 14 14 14 7 49
Date: September 12Location: Jordan–Hare Stadium, Auburn, ALGame start: 6:07 PM CST Elapsed time: 3:25Game attendance: 85,269Game weather: 79°, Mostly CloudyReferee: Ken WilliamsonTV announcers (SECRN ): Bob Rathbun (play-by-play), David Archer (color), Jenn Hildreth (sidelines)
1 2 3 4 Total West Virginia 21 0 9 0 30 • Auburn 10 10 7 14 41
Date: September 19Location: Jordan–Hare Stadium, Auburn, ALGame start: 7:50 PM CST Elapsed time: 3:31Game attendance: 87,451Game weather: 71°, Light RainReferee: Dennis HanniganTV announcers (ESPN2 ): Mark Jones (play-by-play), Bob Davie (color) Scoring summary 1 12:52 WV Noel Devine 1-yard run (Tyler Bitancurt kick)WV 7-0 1 10:19 WV Noel Devine 71-yard run (Tyler Bitancurt kick) WV 14-0 1 7:24 AUB Wes Byrum 46-yard field goal WV 14-3 1 5:16 AUB Darvin Adams 16-yard pass from Chris Todd (Wes Byrum kick)WV 14-10 1 2:01 WV Jock Sanders 6-yard pass from Jarrett Brown (Tyler Bitancurt kick)WV 21-10 2 9:15 AUB Wes Byrum 45-yard field goal WV 21-13 2 1:34 AUB Darvin Adams 4-yard pass from Chris Todd (Wes Byrum kick) WV 21-20 3 8:51 WV Noel Devine 12-yard run (kick failed) WV 28-20 3 8:02 AUB Mario Fannin 82-yard pass from Chris Todd (Wes Byrum kick)WV 28-27 3 1:07 WV Tyler Bitancurt 28-yard field goal WV 30-27 4 12:07 AUB Darvin Adams 17-yard pass from Chris Todd (Wes Byrum kick) AUB 34-30 4 3:41 AUB Craig Stevens 15-yard interception return (Wes Byrum kick) AUB 41-30
1 2 3 4 Total Ball State 7 3 7 13 30 • Auburn 7 26 14 7 54
Date: September 26Location: Jordan–Hare Stadium, Auburn, ALGame start: 6:30 PM CST Elapsed time: 3:19Game attendance: 83,118Game weather: 73°, Mostly CloudyReferee: Ken WilliamsonTV announcers (SECRN): Bob Rathbun (play-by-play), David Archer (color), Jenn Hildreth (sidelines) Scoring summary 1 12:26 BALL MiQuale Lewis 2-yard run (Ian McGarvey kick)BALL 7-0 1 2:53 AUB Tommy Trott 6-yard pass from Chris Todd (Wes Byrum kick) TIE 7-7 2 13:47 AUB Terrell Zachary 46-yard pass from Chris Todd (Wes Byrum kick) AUB 14-7 2 12:53 AUB Josh Bynes safetyAUB 16-7 2 12:20 AUB Onterio McCalebb 1-yard run (Wes Byrum kick)AUB 23-7 2 8:22 AUB Terrell Zachary 65-yard pass from Chris Todd (Wes Byrum kick) AUB 30-7 2 2:35 BALL Ian McGarvey 33-yard field goal AUB 30-10 2 0:07 AUB Wes Byrum 32-yard field goalAUB 33-10 3 11:39 AUB Darvin Adams 26-yard pass from Chris Todd (Wes Byrum kick)AUB 40-10 3 8:50 BALL Kelly Page 21-yard run (Ian McGarvey kick) AUB 40-17 3 7:09 AUB Mario Fannin 36-yard pass from Chris Todd (Wes Byrum kick)AUB 47-17 4 12:39 BALL Zane Fakes 1-yard pass from Kelly Page (Ian McGarvey kick) AUB 47-24 4 10:14 BALL Ian McGarvey 37-yard field goal AUB 47-27 4 7:19 AUB Neil Caudle 52-yard run (Wes Byrum kick) AUB 54-27 4 2:21 BALL Ian McGarvey 33-yard field goal AUB 54-30
1 2 3 4 Total • Auburn 6 7 3 10 26 Tennessee 0 6 0 16 22
Scoring summary 1 5:01 AUB Wes Byrum 29-yard field goal AUB 3-0 1 3:36 AUB Wes Byrum 43-yard field goal AUB 6-0 2 8:07 AUB Ben Tate 11-yard run (Wes Byrum kick)AUB 13-0 2 0:28 TEN Montario Hardesty 1-yard run (kick blocked)AUB 13-6 3 9:34 AUB Wes Byrum 19-yard field goal AUB 16-6 4 13:41 AUB Terrell Zachary 11-yard pass from Chris Todd (Wes Byrum kick) AUB 23-6 4 11:36 TEN Montario Hardesty 31-yard pass from Jonathan Crompton (Daniel Lincoln kick) AUB 23-13 4 4:19 TEN Daniel Lincoln 26-yard field goal AUB 23-16 4 0:39 AUB Wes Byrum 22-yard field goal AUB 26-16 4 0:00 TEN Denarius Moore 32-yard pass from Jonathan Crompton (no kick)AUB 26-22
1 2 3 4 Total #17 Auburn 0 3 20 0 23 • Arkansas 6 21 7 10 44
Scoring summary 1 8:02 ARK Brodrick Green 2-yard run (TEAM kick failed) ARK 6-0 2 11:49 ARK Michael Smith 25-yard run (Alex Tejada kick) ARK 13-0 2 11:02 ARK Greg Childs 16-yard pass from Ryan Mallett (Alex Tejada kick)ARK 20-0 2 8:54 AUB Wes Byrum 37-yard field goalARK 20-3 2 1:08 ARK D.J. Williams 5-yard pass from Ryan Mallett (Alex Tejada kick)ARK 27-3 3 7:56 ARK Ryan Mallett 4-yard run (Alex Tejada kick)ARK 34-3 3 5:14 AUB Ben Tate 1-yard run (Wes Byrum kick)ARK 34-10 3 3:52 AUB Ben Tate 60-yard run (Chris Todd pass failed)ARK 34-16 3 0:09 AUB Onterio McCalebb 3-yard run (Wes Byrum kick)ARK 34-23 4 11:22 ARK Broderick Green 3-yard run (Alex Tejada kick) ARK 41-23 4 4:20 ARK Alex Tejada 23-yard field goal ARK 44-23
1 2 3 4 Total • Kentucky 0 7 0 14 21 Auburn 7 7 0 0 14
Date: October 17Location: Jordan–Hare Stadium, Auburn, ALGame start: 6:35 PM CST Elapsed time: 3:24Game attendance: 86,217Game weather: 48°, CloudyReferee: Tom RitterTV announcers (ESPNU): Eric Collins (play-by-play), Brock Huard (color) Scoring summary 1 7:25 AUB Neiko Thorpe 69-yard blocked field goal return (Wes Byrum kick)AUB 7-0 2 9:02 UK Morgan Newton 4-yard run (Lones Seiber kick)TIE 7-7 2 0:06 AUB Ben Tate 1-yard run (Wes Byrum kick)AUB 14-7 4 6:29 UK Will Fidler 2-yard run (Lones Seiber kick) TIE 14-14 4 3:17 UK Randall Cobb 4-yard run (Lones Seiber kick)UK 21-14
Tiger Bowl 1 2 3 4 Total Auburn 0 0 3 7 10 • #9 LSU 14 3 14 0 31
Date: October 24Location: Tiger Stadium , Baton Rouge, LA Game start: 6:34 PM CST Elapsed time: 3:21Game attendance: 92,654Game weather: 64°, 42% HumidityReferee: Hubert OwensTV announcers (ESPN2): Mark Jones (play-by-play), Bob Davie (color)
1 2 3 4 Total #24 Ole Miss 7 0 13 0 20 • Auburn 3 7 23 0 33
Date: October 31Location: Jordan–Hare Stadium, Auburn, ALGame start: 11:21 AM CST Elapsed time: 3:35Game attendance: 84,756Game weather: 57°, CloudyReferee: Penn WagersTV announcers (SEC Network ): Dave Neal (play-by-play), Andre Ware (color), Cara Capuano (sidelines)
2009 Homecoming Game 1 2 3 4 Total Furman 3 0 14 14 31 • Auburn 21 21 7 14 63
Date: November 7Location: Jordan–Hare Stadium, Auburn, ALGame start: 12:35 PM CST Elapsed time: 2:54Game attendance: 81,506Game weather: 68°, SunnyReferee: Hubert OwensTV announcers (PPV ): Andy Burcham (play-by-play), Cole Cubelic (color), Melissa Lee (sidelines) Scoring summary 1 13:03 AUB Darvin Adams 6-yard pass from Chris Todd (Wes Byrum kick)AUB 7-0 1 7:00 FUR Matthew Cesari 23-yard field goal AUB 7-3 1 4:08 AUB Ben Tate 9-yard run (Wes Byrum kick)AUB 14-3 1 1:10 AUB Mario Fannin 24-yard pass from Chris Todd (Wes Byrum kick)AUB 21-3 2 12:03 AUB Darvin Adams 23-yard pass from Chris Todd (Wes Byrum kick)AUB 28-3 2 7:53 AUB Darvin Adams 41-yard pass from Chris Todd (Wes Byrum kick)AUB 35-3 2 0:41 AUB Ben Tate 5-yard run (Wes Byrum kick)AUB 42-3 3 12:51 FUR Jerodis Williams 6-yard run (Matthew Cesari kick) AUB 42-10 3 10:33 FUR Tersoo Uhaa 19-yard run (Matthew Cesari kick) AUB 42-17 3 1:18 AUB Eric Smith 2-yard run (Wes Byrum kick) AUB 49-17 4 9:50 AUB Anthony Gulley 13-yard run (Wes Byrum kick) AUB 56-17 4 6:33 FUR Jerodis Williams 1-yard run (Matthew Cesari kick) AUB 56-24 4 5:03 AUB Anthony Gulley 50-yard run (Wes Byrum kick) AUB 63-24 4 0:21 FUR R.J. Webb 17-yard pass from Chris Forcier (Matthew Cesari kick) AUB 63-31
Deep South's Oldest Rivalry 1 2 3 4 Total Auburn 14 0 3 7 24 • Georgia 0 7 10 14 31
Date: November 14Location: Sanford Stadium , Athens, GA Game start: 6:06 PM CST Elapsed time: 3:27Game attendance: 92,746Game weather: 65°, ClearReferee: Matt AustinTV announcers (ESPN2): Mark Jones (play-by-play), Bob Davie (color)
Iron Bowl 1 2 3 4 Total • #2 Alabama 0 14 6 6 26 Auburn 14 0 7 0 21
Date: November 27Location: Jordan–Hare Stadium, Auburn, ALGame start: 1:40 PM CST Elapsed time: 3:19Game attendance: 87,451Game weather: 57°, SunnyReferee: Penn WagersTV announcers (CBS ): Craig Bolerjack (play-by-play), Steve Beuerlein (color)
2010 Outback Bowl 1 2 3 4 OT Total Northwestern 7 0 14 14 0 35 • Auburn 14 7 0 14 3 38
Date: January 1, 2010Location: Raymond James Stadium , Tampa, FL Game start: 10:02 AM CST Elapsed time: 4:05Game attendance: 49,383Game weather: 63°, CloudyReferee: Greg BurksTV announcers (ESPN): Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Bob Griese and Chris Spielman (color), Rob Stone (sidelines)
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