13 45 22 22 7 6 | 23 22 Ball State 7 6 0 | |
The 2009 GMAC Bowl was the tenth anniversary edition of the American college football bowl game, and part of the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season the contest was played on January 6, 2009 at Ladd–Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama and featured the Tulsa Golden Hurricane playing the Ball State Cardinals. For the second consecutive year, the Golden Hurricane won the contest. The game, which was played in a second half driving rainstorm, was won easily by Tulsa 45-13. One year earlier, Tulsa throttled Bowling Green in this contest, 63-7, and have now outscored the MAC opposition, 108-20.
In chronological order, the GMAC Bowl is the final bowl game outside of the Bowl Championship Series and the next-to-last (33rd out of 34) overall.
To date, this is the last matchup between the MAC and Conference USA in this bowl; the organizers signed a contract with the Sun Belt Conference following the season.