UCF Bowl History 2009 St. Petersburg Bowl
UCF Rutgers
24 45
December 19, 2009 st. petersburg, fla. tropicana field ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The St. Petersburg Bowl presented what seemed to be a perfect storm for UCF with 20,000 of its fans packed inside Tropicana Field and a hot football team positioned for the first bowl victory in school history. But an avalanche of errors combined with a speedy, physical opponent in Rutgers ruined what could have been a dreamy, feel-good night for UCF’s program and its hopeful fanbase. Down four points late in the second quarter, UCF allowed an interception return to sap its momentum and the Knights could never mount much of a comeback in a disappointing 45-24 loss to Rutgers in the second St. Petersburg Bowl presented by Beef `O’ Brady’s. UCF (8-5) had hoped that the momentum of a strong finish to the regular season, one in which it won the final six conference games and knocked off Marshall, Houston and UAB down the stretch, would carry over to the bowl game. But problems on both sides of the ball sabotaged the Knights’ chances of pulling off the upset in this game. Playing before roughly 20,000 Knights fans among the Tropicana Field crowd of 29,763, UCF netted just 35 yards on the ground, 33 of them coming in the fourth quarter when the outcome of the game was already decided. And in the passing game, two Brett Hodges’ interceptions led to 14 points for Rutgers, bowl winners for a fourth consecutive season. And UCF’s defense yielded 380 yards and eight third-down conversions. Rutgers (9-4) played like an experienced team in its fifth consecutive bowl, using big plays on offense and an attacking defense to frustrate the Knights. Rutgers got six sacks and two interceptions defensively and freshman quarterback Tom Savage threw for 294 yards and two TDs.
Box Score UCF Rutgers
7 14
10 14
0 10
7 7
- -
24 45
1st 8:37 RUT Sanu 5 run (San Te kick) 4:31 UCF Aiken 7 pass from Hodges (Cattoi kick) 3:54 RUT Brown 65 pass from Savage (San Te kick) 2nd 14:56 UCF Cattoi 25 field goal 5:50 RUT Sanu 1 run (San Te kick) 2:32 UCF Aiken 34 pass from Hodges (Cattoi kick) 1:38 RUT Anderson 19 interception return (San Te kick) 3rd 12:37 RUT Sanu 11 pass from Savage (San Te kick) 8:09 RUT San Te 43 field goal 4th 2:23 UCF Davis 2 run (Cattoi kick) 2:18 RUT Munoz 35 kickoff return (San Te kick) UCF RUT First Downs 14 15 Rushes-Yds 30-35 32-86 Passing Yds 220 294 Passes Comp.-Att.-Int. 18-35-2 14-28-1 Total Offense Plays-Yds 83-623 80-555 Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 1-0 Punt Returns-Yards 1-2 0-0 Kickoff Returns-Yards 1-16 5-74 INT Returns-Yards 1-36 1-12 Punts (Number-Avg) 3-44.0 3-38.3 Fumbles-Lost 1-1 0-0 Penalties-Yards 10-92 6-30 RUSHING: UCF-Brynn Harvey 13-32; Rob Calabrese 4-26; Brendan Kelly 1-4; Jonathan Davis 7-1; Brett Hodges 5-minus 28. RUTGERS-Joe Martinek 14-44; Mohamed Sanu 13-41; Jourdan Brooks 1-4; TEAM 1-minus 1; Tom Savage 3-minus 2. PASSING: UCF-Brett Hodges 13-28-2-175; Rob Calabrese 5-7-0-45. RUTGERS-Tom Savage 14-27-1-294; Mohamed Sanu 0-1-0-0. RECEIVING: UCF-Kamar Aiken 4-65; Rocky Ross 4-49; Jonathan Davis 3-29; A.J. Guyton 2-13; Quincy McDuffie 1-22; Adam Nissley 1-18; Ricky Kay 1-12; Brynn Harvey 1-7; Jamar Newsome 1-5. RUTGERS-Tim Brown 4-99; Mohamed Sanu 4-97; Joe Martinek 3-66; Mark Harrison 2-15; Shamar Graves 1-17. INTERCEPTIONS: UCF-Kemal Ishmael 1-0. RUTGERS-Damaso Munoz 1-26; Billy Anderson 1-19. FUMBLES: UCF-None. RUTGERS-Mohamed Sanu 2-1. Stadium: Tropicana Field Attendance: 29,763
Wide receiver Kamar Aiken celebrates one of his two touchdown receptions from quarterback Brett Hodges.
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl - Jan. 1, 2014
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