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 &ndash; 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
Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
2008 Cincinnati Bearcats football team