2009 Conference USA football standings
vteConf.Overall
TeamWLWL
East Division
East Carolina x$7195
UCF6285
Southern Miss5376
Marshall4476
UAB4457
Memphis17210
West Division
Houston xy62104
SMU x6285
Tulsa3557
UTEP3548
Rice26210
Tulane1739
Championship: East Carolina 38, Houston 32
$ – Conference championx – Division champion/co-championsy – Championship game participantRankings from AP Poll

The 2009 Conference USA Football Championship Game was played on December 5, 2009, between the East Carolina Pirates, the champion of Conference USA's East Division, and the West Division champion Houston Cougars at Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina.

The game kicked off at 12:00 pm EST and was televised by ESPN2. The Pirates were looking to be the first team in C-USA history to win back to back conference championships, while the Cougars led by Case Keenum looked to win their 2nd.[citation needed]

East Carolina won 38-32, earning both a second consecutive conference championship and trip to the Liberty Bowl. Case Keenum set a title game and C-USA record with 527 passing yards in the losing effort. He was two completions short of the all-time NCAA single-game record with 56 (Andy Schmitt had 58 for Eastern Michigan in a 2008 game).

Game summary

The game was held at the Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina, the home field of East Carolina. Hosting privileges were determined by the better conference records; East Carolina finished C-USA play at 7–1, better than Houston's 6–2.

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Houston East Carolina "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 32 38
QuarterTimeDriveTeamScoring informationScore
PlaysYardsTOPHoustonEast Carolina
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.3238