2019 is the 10 year anniversary of the Cincinnati Bearcats perfect regular season in 2009. Cincinnati went 12-0, won the Big East championship and played Florida in the Sugar Bowl in what was Brian Kelly’s third and final season as Bearcats head coach.
At Down the Drive, we will celebrate the team’s accomplishment from that season and remember some of the top moments and players. Let’s start with the quarterback position.
Two QBs started games in 2009 - senior Tony Pike and sophomore Zach Collaros.
Tony Pike
- Started 9 games (played 10)
- Completed 62% of his passes, 2,250 yards, 29 TD, 6 INT
- Threw 2 or more TDs in every game he played
Zach Collaros
- Started 4 games (played 7 games games)
- Completed 75% of passes, 1,434 yards, 10 TD, 2 INT (8 TD, 1 INT in 4 games started)
- Third on team in rushing yards (344) and 4 rushing TDs
Summary of QB Situation
After starting 10 games in 2008, including the Orange Bowl loss vs Virginia Tech, Pike returned as the unquestioned starter and started the first 6 games.