The 2009 edition of the EagleBank Bowl was originally to match Army and the eighth team selected from the ACC. Army finished the regular season at 5–7 after failing to defeat rival Navy to become bowl eligible. Only seven teams from the ACC finished with bowl-qualifying regular season records
A number of teams were up for consideration. The matchup was originally planned to be Army vs. a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference. If Army were not bowl-eligible, a team from Conference USA would have been selected as the opponent for the ACC team. All of the bowl-eligible teams from the ACC and Conference USA were selected by bowls with a higher selection priority. The Bowl was also under partnership with the MAC to select a team if neither an ACC or a C-USA team is available. Under this provision, the bowl selected the Temple Owls.
UCLA Bruins
With the 7–5 teams all selected from the Football Bowl Subdivision, the 6–6 teams from other conferences are available to be selected. Notre Dame was a likely choice, but the team would not participate in a bowl following the firing of Charlie Weis. The choice then ultimately fell to UCLA, which would take Army's spot if Army did not defeat Navy and finish 6–6. UCLA was permitted to practice for the bowl, per NCAA rules, since they were eligible to participate in a bowl. Army was required to beat Navy on Saturday, December 12, 2009, in order to qualify for the bowl. Army fell short by losing 17–3 in the Army-Navy game, thereby allowing UCLA to play Temple.
Game summary
Temple wore their home cherry jerseys and UCLA wore their away white jerseys. UCLA rallied from a 21-10 halftime deficit to defeat Temple for their first winning season in 3 years. Temple did not score in the second half of the game after star tailbackBernard Pierce left the game with an injured shoulder. Pierce had recorded 53 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries before his early exit. UCLA quarterbackKevin Prince completed 16 of 31 passes for 221 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. His counterpart, Vaughn Charlton, had more interceptions than completed passes in the second half. Bruins linebackerAkeem Ayers returned an interception 2 yards for a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter and was named the game's MVP for his efforts. The temperature was 32 degrees at kickoff with the wind chill at 19, and it only got colder as the evening wore on, leading many to assume UCLA would struggle with the conditions. The game drew 23,072 to RFK Stadium, a decline of more than 5,000 from last year's inaugural game.
