1989 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

Last updated

1989 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
I-AA National Championship Game
1234Total
Stephen F. Austin71010734
Georgia Southern14601737
DateDecember 16, 1989
Season 1989
Stadium Paulson Stadium
Location Statesboro, Georgia
Referee Wally Righton [1]
Attendance25,725 [1]
United States TV coverage
Network ESPN
Announcers Barry Tompkins (play-by-play), Stan White (color) [2]
NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
 < 1988 1990 > 

The 1989 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks. The game was played on December 16, 1989, at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia. The culminating game of the 1989 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 37–34. [3]

Contents

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1989 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket. [4] The location of the final, the Georgia Southern Eagles' Paulson Stadium, had been predetermined via a three-year agreement the university reached with the NCAA in February 1989. [5]

Georgia Southern Eagles

Georgia Southern finished their regular season with an 11–0 record. [6] Ranked first in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll [7] and seeded first in the tournament, the Eagles defeated Villanova, Middle Tennessee State, and Montana to reach the final. This was the fourth appearance for Georgia Southern in a Division I-AA championship game, having two prior wins (1985 and 1986) and one prior loss (1988).

Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks

Stephen F. Austin finished their regular season with a 9–1–1 record (5–0–1 in conference); their only loss was an away game against Boise State. [8] Ranked third in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll [7] and seeded third in the tournament, the Lumberjacks defeated Grambling State, Southwest Missouri State, and second-seed Furman to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Stephen F. Austin in a Division I-AA championship game.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
QuarterTime Drive TeamScoring informationScore
Plays Yards TOP SFAGSC
110:416662:42GSCRaymond Gross 34-yard touchdown run, Mike Dowis kick good07
17:586452:20GSCGross fumble into end zone recovered by Terrance Sorrell for a touchdown, Dowis kick good014
10:196202:51SFA Todd Hammel 1-yard touchdown run, Chuck Rawlinson kick good714
28:508832:56SFA Larry Centers 12-yard touchdown reception from Hammel, Rawlinson kick good1414
24:278524:23GSC30-yard field goal by Dowis1417
20:21672:38GSC37-yard field goal by Dowis1420
20:001290:21SFA53-yard field goal by Rawlinson1720
311:195112:06SFA53-yard field goal by Rawlinson2020
35:2711794:34SFAJoe Bradford 7-yard touchdown reception from Hammel, Rawlinson kick good2720
414:5716865:30GSCJoe Ross 2-yard touchdown run, Dowis kick good2727
412:325672:25SFACenters 46-yard touchdown reception from Hammel, Rawlinson kick good3427
45:586511::32GSCErnest Thompson 1-yard touchdown run, Dowis kick good3434
41:419273:17GSC20-yard field goal by Dowis3437
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.3437

[1]

Game statistics

1234Total
Lumberjacks71010734
Eagles14601737
StatisticsSFAGSC
First downs1821
Plays–yards73–37781–387
Rushes–yards32–7466–274
Passing yards303113
Passing: comp–att–int15–41–57–15–0
Time of possession26:5033:10
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Stephen F. AustinPassing Todd Hammel 15–40, 303 yds, 3 TD, 5 INT
Rushing Larry Centers 22 car, 63 yds
ReceivingJoe Bradford4 rec, 102 yds, 1 TD
Georgia SouthernPassingRaymond Gross7–15, 113 yds
RushingJoe Ross31 car, 152 yds, 1 TD
ReceivingKarl Miller2 rec, 53 yds

[1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1989 NCAA Division I-AA football season</span> American college football season

The 1989 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1989, and concluded with the 1989 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 16, 1989, at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia. The Georgia Southern Eagles won their third I-AA championship, defeating the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks by a score of 37−34.

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The 1999 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Youngstown State Penguins. The game was played on December 18, 1999, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 1999 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 59–24.

The 1998 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the UMass Minutemen. The game was played on December 19, 1998, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by UMass, 55–43.

The 1995 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Marshall Thundering Herd and the Montana Grizzlies. The game was played on December 16, 1995, at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. The culminating game of the 1995 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Montana, 22–20.

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The 1991 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Youngstown State Penguins and the Marshall Thundering Herd. The game was played on December 21, 1991, at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia. The culminating game of the 1991 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Youngstown State, 25–17.

The 1990 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Nevada Wolf Pack. The game was played on December 15, 1990, at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia. The culminating game of the 1990 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 36–13. It was the second consecutive Division I-AA title, and fourth overall, for Georgia Southern.

The 1988 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Furman Paladins. The game was played on December 17, 1988, at Holt Arena in Pocatello, Idaho. The culminating game of the 1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Furman, 17–12.

The 1987 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Northeast Louisiana Indians and the Marshall Thundering Herd. The game was played on December 19, 1987, at the Minidome in Pocatello, Idaho. The culminating game of the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Northeast Louisiana, 43–42.

The 1986 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Arkansas State Indians and the Georgia Southern Eagles. The game was played on December 19, 1986, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. The culminating game of the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 48–21. Georgia Southern, the defending champion from 1985, became the first program to win consecutive Division I-AA titles.

The 1985 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Furman Paladins and the Georgia Southern Eagles. The game was played on December 21, 1985, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. The culminating game of the 1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 44–42.

The 1983 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Southern Illinois Salukis and the Western Carolina Catamounts. The game was played on December 17, 1983, at Johnson Hagood Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina. The culminating game of the 1983 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Southern Illinois, 43–7.

The 1988 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football team was an American football team that represented Stephen F. Austin State University as a member of the Southland Conference during the 1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their seventh year under head coach Jim Hess, the team compiled an overall record of 10–3, with a mark of 5–1 in conference play, and finished second in the Southland. After they defeated Jackson State in the first round, the Lumberjacks lost to Georgia Southern in the Division I-AA quarterfinals.

The 1989 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football team was an American football team that represented Stephen F. Austin State University as a member of the Southland Conference during the 1989 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their first year under head coach Lynn Graves, the team compiled an overall record of 12–2–1, with a mark of 5–0–1 in conference play, and finished as Southland champion. Stephen F. Austin advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Championship and were defeated by Georgia Southern.

The 1993 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football team was an American football team that represented Stephen F. Austin State University as a member of the Southland Conference during the 1993 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their second year under head coach John Pearce, the team compiled an overall record of 8–4, with a mark of 5–2 in conference play, and finished third in the Southland. Stephen F. Austin advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA First Round and were defeated by Troy State.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "NCAA Official Scoring Summary" (PDF). December 16, 1989. Retrieved April 21, 2019 via Amazon Web Services.
  2. Inman, John (December 15, 1989). "I-AA championship notebook". Longview News-Journal . Longview, Texas. p. 5-B. Retrieved April 21, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  3. "Georgia Southern Gets Its Kicks for I-AA Title". Los Angeles Times . AP. December 17, 1989. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  4. Smith III, Willie T. (November 20, 1989). "Primed for the playoffs". The Greenville News . Greenville, South Carolina. p. 1D. Retrieved April 21, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  5. "Georgia Southern to host NCAA title". Rocky Mount Telegram . Rocky Mount, North Carolina. AP. February 24, 1989. p. 11. Retrieved April 21, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  6. "Georgia Southern Eagles 1989 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved April 21, 2019.[ permanent dead link ]
  7. 1 2 "NCAA Division I-AA final poll". The Times and Democrat . Orangeburg, South Carolina. November 20, 1989. p. 1A. Retrieved April 21, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  8. "Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 1989 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved April 21, 2019.[ permanent dead link ]

Further reading