The 2009 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers were led by first year head coachGene Chizik. Despite playing the 12th toughest schedule in the nation, the Tigers finished the season 8–5 and won the Outback Bowl 38–35 in overtime against Northwestern. While Auburn was unranked at the end of the season in both major polls, several BCS participating computer rating systems such as Sagarin, Massey, Peter Wolfe, Howell, David Wilson, Team Rankings and the FACT Foundation included the Tigers in their final top 25 rankings. The offense finished the season ranked 2nd in the SEC and 16th in the nation, while the defense struggled with depth issues and finished 68th and 2nd worst in the SEC. The pass efficiency defense however was 3rd best in the SEC and ranked 22nd in the nation.
Coaching change
On December 3, 2008, Auburn University announced that 10-year head coach Tommy Tuberville would not return for an eleventh season. The coaching search ended less than two weeks later when Auburn announced Iowa State's second-year head coach and former Auburn defensive coordinator Gene Chizik as the Tigers' next head coach. Auburn had interviewed at least eight coaches, including Buffalo's Turner Gill and TCU's Gary Patterson.
Schedule
Auburn's schedule consisted of eight Southeastern Conference opponents and four non-conference opponents. Auburn opened the season against Louisiana Tech. It was the twelfth matchup between the schools and the first meeting since 2004. The Tigers also hosted Mid-American Conference opponent Ball State for the third time. Also, Football Championship Subdivision foe visited for the first time since 1956. Auburn began conference play in the second week, hosting Mississippi State. The following week, the Tigers hosted West Virginia, the second game in a home-and-home series between the two teams. The Tigers had previously faced all twelve regular season opponents, with Auburn holding the all-time series lead going into the season against all but Alabama, LSU, and West Virginia.
