2009 Florida State Seminoles football

Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 33–21 vs. West Virginia
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Division	Atlantic Division
Record	7–6 (4–4 ACC)
Head coach	Bobby Bowden (34th season)
Offensive coordinator	Jimbo Fisher (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Mickey Andrews (26th season)
Base defense	4–3
Captain	Christian Ponder (junior) Jamie Robinson (senior) Recardo Wright (senior)
Home stadium	Doak Campbell Stadium
Seasons ← 2008 2010 →

2009 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Atlantic Division
No. 24 Clemson x	6	–	2	9	–	5
Boston College	5	–	3	8	–	5
Florida State	4	–	4	7	–	6
Wake Forest	3	–	5	5	–	7
NC State	2	–	6	5	–	7
Maryland	1	–	7	2	–	10
Coastal Division
No. 13 Georgia Tech * x$	7	–	1	11	–	3
No. 10 Virginia Tech	6	–	2	10	–	3
No. 19 Miami (FL)	5	–	3	9	–	4
North Carolina *	0	–	4	0	–	5
Duke	3	–	5	5	–	7
Virginia	2	–	6	3	–	9
Championship: Georgia Tech 39, Clemson 34
$ – BCS representative as conference champion North Carolina vacated 8 wins, including 4 ACC wins. Rankings from AP Poll

The 2009 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team played their home games at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. They were members of the Atlantic Coast Conference ACC).

Head coach Bobby Bowden retired at the end of the 2009 season after 34 seasons at the helm for Florida State and 33 consecutive winning seasons. Offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher was named his successor.

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ 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	15	Final
AP^{[citation needed]}	18	—	—	18	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches^{[citation needed]}	19	—	—	25	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Harris^{[citation needed]}	Not released				—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released
BCS^{[citation needed]}	Not released							—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 7	8:00 p.m.	Miami (FL)	No. 18	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)	ESPN	L 34–38	81,077
September 12	6:00 p.m.	No. 23 (FCS) Jacksonville State*		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN360	W 19–9	71,420
September 19	7:00 p.m.	at No. 9 BYU*		LaVell Edwards Stadium Provo, UT	Versus	W 54–28	64,209
September 26	12:00 p.m.	South Florida*	No. 18	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPNU	L 7–17	83,524
October 3	3:30 p.m.	at Boston College		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA (College GameDay)	ABC/ESPN2	L 21–28	40,029
October 10	8:00 p.m.	No. 23 Georgia Tech		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN2	L 44–49	76,292
October 22	8:00 p.m.	at North Carolina		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	ESPN	W 30–27	58,000
October 31	12:00 p.m.	NC State		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	Raycom	W 45–42	67,712
November 7	7:45 p.m.	at Clemson		Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC (rivalry)	ESPN	L 24–40	76,656
November 14	12:00 p.m.	at Wake Forest		BB&T Field Winston-Salem, NC	ESPNU	W 41–28	33,411
November 21	12:00 p.m.	Maryland		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	Raycom	W 29–26	66,042
November 28	3:30 p.m.	at No. 1 Florida*		Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry) (College GameDay)	CBS	L 10–37	90,907
January 1	1:00 p.m.	vs. No. 17 West Virginia*		Jacksonville Municipal Stadium Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	CBS	W 33–21	84,129
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	40^‡	Commit date
Justin Bright DB	Duncan, South Carolina	Byrnes HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	184 lb (83 kg)	4.5	May 20, 2008
Justin Bright DB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 75
Christopher Hord OL	Panama City Beach, Florida	J.R Arnold HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	317 lb (144 kg)	5.2	May 3, 2008
Christopher Hord OL	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 77
Gerald Demps DB	Valdosta, Georgia	Lowndes HS	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	4.6	Apr 9, 2008
Gerald Demps DB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 82
Willie Downs ATH	Tallahassee, Florida	Godby HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	N/A	Feb 11, 2008
Willie Downs ATH	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80
Jajuan Harley DB	Tallahassee, Florida	Rickards HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	4.4	Feb 13, 2008
Jajuan Harley DB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 76
Willie Haulstead WR	Titusville, Florida	Titusville HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	4.5	May 15, 2008
Willie Haulstead WR	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79
Dan Hicks TE	Oxford, Mississippi	Oxford HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	242 lb (110 kg)	4.6	Feb 4, 2009
Dan Hicks TE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 76
Dustin Hopkins K	Houston, Texas	Clear Lake HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	4.6	Jun 25, 2008
Dustin Hopkins K	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80
Brandon Jenkins DE	Tallahassee, Florida	Florida State University School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	218 lb (99 kg)	4.7	Mar 1, 2008
Brandon Jenkins DE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80
Demonte McAllister DE	Tampa, Florida	Alonso HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	263 lb (119 kg)	N/A	Jul 20, 2008
Demonte McAllister DE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 83
Jacobbi McDaniel DT	Greenville, Florida	Madison HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	267 lb (121 kg)	4.8	Feb 7, 2008
Jacobbi McDaniel DT	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 91
C.J. Mizell LB	Tallahassee, Florida	Leon HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	212 lb (96 kg)	4.5	Feb 20, 2008
C.J. Mizell LB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79
Henry Orelus OL	Belle Glade, Florida	Glades Central HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	292 lb (132 kg)	5.5	Jul 25, 2008
Henry Orelus OL	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 76
Aubrey Phillips OL	Olive Branch, Mississippi	Olive Branch HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	310 lb (140 kg)	5.1	Feb 3, 2009
Aubrey Phillips OL	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 75
John Prior OL	Portsmouth, Ohio	Portsmouth HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	283 lb (128 kg)	N/A	Jul 12, 2008
John Prior OL	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 76
Lonnie Pryor RB	Okeechobee, Florida	Okeechobee HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	4.5	Jul 26, 2008
Lonnie Pryor RB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79
Greg Reid DB	Valdosta, Georgia	Lowndes HS	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	4.5	Feb 3, 2008
Greg Reid DB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 85
Xavier Rhodes WR	Miami, Florida	Miami Norland HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	4.47	Jul 26, 2008
Xavier Rhodes WR	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 77
Will Secord QB	Frisco, Texas	Wakeland HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	4.7	Feb 3, 2009
Will Secord QB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 75
Rodney Smith WR	Miami, Florida	Archbishop Carroll HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	4.53	Jul 26, 2008
Rodney Smith WR	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80
Bryan Stork TE	Vero Beach, Florida	Vero Beach HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	260 lb (120 kg)	5.0	May 23, 2008
Bryan Stork TE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 76
Chris Thompson RB	Greenville, Florida	Madison HS	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	4.4	Feb 28, 2008
Chris Thompson RB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79
Overall recruiting rankings:
‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Florida State 2009 Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 18, 2011. "2009 Florida State Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved January 18, 2011. "2009 Player Commitments – Florida State". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 18, 2011. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved January 18, 2011. "2009 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 18, 2011.

Game capsules

Miami

Pregame line: FSU −4

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miami	7	7	3	21	38
#19 Florida State	7	3	13	11	34

Miami's defense stops Florida St. to back up Harris' final TD drive

Jacksonville State

Pregame line: Lines are not released when an FCS team plays an FBS team.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Jacksonville State	6	3	0	0	9
Florida State	7	0	0	12	19

Florida State steals win from lower-division Jacksonville State

#9 BYU

Pregame line: BYU −6.5

	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida State	7	23	14	10	54
#9 BYU	0	14	7	7	28

Ponder drives Seminoles to decisive win over No. 7 Cougars

South Florida

Pregame line: FSU −12

	1	2	3	4	Total
South Florida	0	14	0	3	17
#25 Florida State	0	0	0	7	7

Daniels steps in for injured Grothe, lifts USF to first ever win over FSU.

Boston College

Pregame line: FSU −5

	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida State	3	3	7	8	21
Boston College	7	14	0	7	28

BC blows 18-point lead, barely holds off FSU.

#23 Georgia Tech

Pregame line: FSU −2.5

	1	2	3	4	Total
#23 Georgia Tech	14	14	14	7	49
Florida State	14	21	3	6	44

Nesbitt, Yellow Jackets hand third straight loss to Bowden's Seminoles.

North Carolina

Pregame line: UNC −2.5

	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida State	3	3	14	10	30
North Carolina	14	3	7	3	27

Ponder rallies Seminoles from deficit to knock off North Carolina.

NC State

Pregame line: FSU −7

	1	2	3	4	Total
NC State	7	14	7	14	42
Florida State	7	14	10	14	45

Florida St. edges NC State late in barnburner

Clemson

Pregame line: Clemson −8

	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida State	17	0	7	0	24
Clemson	6	8	7	19	40

Spiller rushes for 165 yards, touchdown as Clemson routs Florida St.

FSU starting quarterback Christian Ponder was injured in the 4th quarter and had to leave the game. His injury required surgery and he did not return to participation until the teams non-contact drills in the spring of 2010.
Redshirt Freshman E.J. Manuel took over for the injured Ponder, getting his first start the following week against Wake Forest.

Wake Forest

Pregame line: Wake −5

	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida State	14	17	3	7	41
Wake Forest	7	7	7	7	28

Thomas, Manuel help Florida State roll past Wake

Maryland

Pregame line: FSU −17

	1	2	3	4	Total
Maryland	0	13	0	13	26
Florida State	7	7	0	15	29

Florida State edges Maryland on last-minute TD to become bowl eligible

#1 Florida

Pregame line: Florida −21

	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida State	0	0	3	7	10
#1 Florida	7	17	6	7	37

Tebow accounts for five TDs in final home game as a Gator

Gator Bowl vs. #16 West Virginia

Pregame line: WVU −3

	1	2	3	4	Total
#16 West Virginia	14	0	0	7	21
Florida State	3	10	10	10	33

The final game for Bobby Bowden, Mickey Andrews and Chuck Amato.

Bowden goes out a winner as Seminoles dispatch Mountaineers

Statistics

Team

	Team	Opp
Scoring	338	332
Points per game	30.73	30.18
First downs
Rushing
Passing
Penalty
Total offense
Avg per play
Avg per game
Fumbles-lost
Penalties-yards
Avg per game

	Team	Opp
Punts-yards
Avg per punt
Time of possession/game
3rd down conversions
4th down conversions
Touchdowns scored
Field goals-attempts-long
PAT-attempts
Attendance
Games/avg per game

Scores by quarter

Updated after the November 21st, 2009 Maryland game.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida State	86	81	71	100	338
Opponents	68	111	52	101	332

Offense

Passing

Name	GP-GS	Effic	Att-Cmp-Int	Pct	Yds	TD	Lng	YPA
Christian Ponder	9–9	147.70	330–227–7	68.8%	2717	14	98	8.23
E.J. Manuel	7–4	124.7	106–69–6	65.1%	817	2	43	8.11
Total	13–13	141.8	437–296–13	67.7%	3147	16	98	8.22
Opponents

Rushing

Name	Games Played	Carries	Yards	Fumbles Lost	YPC	TD	Long	Avg/Game
Jermaine Thomas	11	163	832	0	5.1	9	54	62.73
Ty Jones	6	51	251	0	4.9	5	47	41.83
E.J. Manuel	7	44	195	0	4.4	2	24	19.8
Christian Ponder	9	72	179	0	2.5	2	30	19.89
Lonnie Pryor	9	27	156	0	5.8	4	50	15.11
Chris Thompson	8	23	120	0	5.2	2	49	12.5
Bert Reed	11	18	94	0	5.2	2	42	6.82
Louis Givens	6	8	58	0	7.3	1	15	9
Tavares Pressley	3	9	40	0	4.4	0	12	13.33
Rodney Hudson	11	1	9	0	9	0	9	0.82
Taiwan Easterling	10	2	8	0	4	0	7	0.10
Jarmon Fortson	11	1	4	0	4	0	4	0.36
Rod Owens	11	1	3	0	3	0	3	0.27
Total	11	352	1635	0	4.6	24	54	148.64
Opponents

Receiving

Name	GP-GS	Rec	Yds	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Rod Owens
Bert Reed
Jarmon Fortson
Taiwan Easterling
Richard Goodman
Caz Piurowski
Lonnie Pryor
Jermaine Thomas
Beau Reliford
Louis Givens
Ty Jones
Chris Thompson
Willie Haulstead
Rodney Smith
Ja'Baris Little
Total
Opponents

Defense

Name	GP	Tackles				Sacks	Pass defense		Interceptions				Fumbles		Blkd Kick
Name	GP	Solo	Ast	Total	TFL-Yds	No-Yds	BrUp	QBH	No.-Yds	Avg	TD	Long	Rcv-Yds	FF	Blkd Kick
Total

Special teams

Name	Punting								Kickoffs
Name	No.	Yds	Avg	Long	TB	FC	I20	Blkd	No.	Yds	Avg	TB	OB
Dustin Hopkins
Name
Total

Name	Punt returns					Kick returns
Name	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long
Name
Total

Projected 2009 depth chart

Offensive

QB – Christian Ponder Jr
TB – Jermaine Thomas So
FB – Marcus Sims Sr
WR – Corey Surrency Sr
WR – Taiwan Easterling So
TE – Caz Piurowski Sr
LT – Evan Bellamy So
LG – Rodney Hudson Jr
C – Ryan McMahon Jr
RG – David Spurlock So
RT – Zebrie Sanders So

Defense

DE – Kevin McNeil Sr
DE – Markus White Jr
DT – Kendrick Stewart Sr
DT – Budd Thacker Sr
LB – Dekoda Watson Sr
LB – Nigel Bradham So
LB – Kendall Smith Jr
CB – Ochuko Jenije Jr
CB – Patrick Robinson Sr
S – Jamie Robinson Sr
S – Korey Mangum Sr

Special Teams

K – Dustin Hopkins
P – Shawn Powell

References

v t e Florida State Seminoles football
Venues	Centennial Field (1947–1949) Doak Campbell Stadium (1950–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Florida Cup Clemson Florida Miami Virginia
Culture & lore	Osceola and Renegade The War Chant Marching Chiefs FSU Hymns Sod Cemetery #22 Wide Right I Wide Right II 1993 'Game of the Century' Choke at Doak/The Fifth Quarter in the French Quarter Bob Crenshaw Award Tomahawk chop
People	Alumni Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders Annual awards
Seasons	1902 1903 1904 1905–1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold