2008 Cincinnati Bearcats football team
The 2008 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team, coached by Brian Kelly, played its homes game in Nippert Stadium. Kelly was in his second full season with the Bearcats after coaching them to a 31-21 win against Southern Miss in the 2007 PapaJohns.com Bowl. On Friday, November 28, 2008, the Bearcats clinched a share of the Big East Conference title for the first time since joining the Big East in 2005. With a victory over Syracuse on November 29, 2008 the Bearcats became the outright football champions of the Big East and set a record with an average attendance of 31,964. After a disappointing loss to Virginia Tech in the 2009 Orange Bowl, the Bearcats finished 17th in the AP Top 25 for the second consecutive year. With West Virginia falling off Cincinnati became the front runner to win the big east.Schedule
Game summaries
Eastern Kentucky
Oklahoma
Miami
Akron
Marshall
Rutgers
Connecticut
South Florida
West Virginia
Louisville
Pittsburgh
Syracuse
Hawaii
Virginia Tech
Awards and milestones
- Kevin Huber, P
Post-season finalists and winners
- Ray Guy Award: Punter of the Year - Kevin Huber
Big East Conference honors
- Special Teams Player of the Year: Mardy Gilyard
- Coach of the Year: Brian Kelly
- Week 1: Dustin Grutza
Defensive player of the week
- Week 10: Aaron Webster
Special teams player of the week
- Week 2: Mardy Gilyard
- Week 6: Connor Barwin
- Week 7: Kevin Huber
- Week 10: Mardy Gillard
- Week 13: Jacob Rogers
Big East Conference All-Conference First Team
- Mardy Gilyard, WR
- Mardy Gilyard, KR
- Connor Barwin, DL
- Mike Mickens, DB
- Brandon Underwood, DB
- Kevin Huber, P
Big East Conference All-Conference Second Team
- Dominick Goodman, WR
- Trevor Canfield, OL
- Tony Pike, QB
- Terrill Byrd, DL
