touchdown. The momentum stayed with the Hurricanes as they rode to a 21–20 win over the No. 8 team in the country. Following the opening four weeks, Miami was 3–1 and was the talk of sports stations nationwide. Following the gauntlet first third of the season, the Hurricanes won against Florida A&M at home and on the road against in-state foe UCF, moving all the way up to No. 10 in the polls. The Canes then had to take on Clemson in Miami in what was a contest of speed and athleticism. Turnovers, missed opportunities and stand-out back C. J. Spiller led the Tigers to a 40–37 overtime win against the Hurricanes, knocking them out of BCS contention and putting the ACC Championship Game in serious jeopardy. A win against Wake Forest on Halloween kept the Hurricanes in the conference race, which they followed up on with a 52–17 defeat of Virginia in Miami. The following week North Carolina, led by former Miami head coach Butch Davis, topped Miami 33–24 with an unimpressive performance by Jacory Harris and the offense. Miami finished the 2009 regular season with back-to-back wins over Duke and in-state opponent South Florida. Miami's final record was 9–3, finishing in 3rd place for the ACC Coastal Division behind Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. The announcement of the 2009 bowl selections stirred some controversy. Instead of choosing the 3rd best team in the ACC (Miami), Gator Bowl officials chose Florida State to represent the ACC against West Virginia instead of the Hurricanes because of the retirement of legendary FSU coach Bobby Bowden, who served as West Virginia's head coach from 1970 to 1975. The Hurricanes were relegated to the 2009 Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Florida, to play against the 9–3 Wisconsin Badgers. Though the Hurricanes were heavy favorites coming into the contest, the Badgers beat up on the Hurricanes consistently throughout the game. The Hurricanes started off fast with a big return to open the game by Sam Shields, but the Canes just could not maintain any offense throughout the game and had no answer for the power offense of Wisconsin. Going into halftime, the Hurricanes trailed 17–7 and Graig Cooper blew out his knee on the poor turf just before halftime on a kick off return. Though Miami scored a late touchdown and recovered the onside kick, they fell to Wisconsin 20–14 and finished the season