1980 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

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1980 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
I-AA National Championship Game
Camellia Bowl
1234Total
Boise State01410731
Eastern Kentucky3761329
DateDecember 20, 1980
Season 1980
Stadium Hughes Stadium
Location Sacramento, California
Attendance8,157 [1]
United States TV coverage
Network ABC Sports [2]
NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
  1979 1981  

The 1980 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Eastern Kentucky Colonels and the Boise State Broncos. The game was played on December 20, 1980, at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California. The culminating game of the 1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Boise State, 31–29. [3] [4] [5]

Contents

The game was also known as the Camellia Bowl, [2] a name that had been used starting in 1961 for various NAIA and NCAA playoff games held in Sacramento. The Colonels, defending champions from 1979, became the first program to play in a second I-AA title game.

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1980 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a four-team bracket. [6]

Eastern Kentucky Colonels

Eastern Kentucky finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (5–2 in conference); their losses were to Western Kentucky and Akron. [7] Ranked third in the final AP Poll for I-AA, [8] the Colonels were the at-large selection to the four-team playoff; they defeated Lehigh, the East selection, by a score of 23–20 to reach the final. This was the second appearance for Eastern Kentucky in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1979.

Boise State Broncos

Boise State finished their regular season with an 8–3 record (6–1 in conference); their conference loss was to Montana State, with non-conference losses to Southeastern Louisiana and Division II program Cal Poly. [9] Ranked seventh in the final AP Poll for I-AA, [8] the Broncos were the West selection to the playoff; they defeated Grambling State, the South selection, by a 14–9 score to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Boise State in a Division I-AA championship game.

Game summary

Trailing 24–22 late in the fourth quarter, Eastern Kentucky scored a touchdown on a 60-yard pass completion with only 55 seconds left in the game, taking a 29–24 lead. Boise State then went 80 yards in 43 seconds for the final points of the game, winning 31–29. [10] [11]

Note: contemporary news reports listed attendance as 10,000; [12] [13] NCAA records indicate 8,157. [1]

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
QuarterTime Drive TeamScoring informationScore
Plays Yards TOP BSUEKU
1EKU26-yard field goal by David Flores03
27:43BSUKipp Bedard 5-yard touchdown reception from Joe Aliotti, Kenrick Camerud kick good73
23:35EKUTony Braxton 7-yard touchdown run, Flores kick good710
21:11BSU David Hughes 1-yard touchdown run, Camerud kick good1410
312:3045BSU Cedric Minter 1-yard touchdown run, Camerud kick good2110
31289EKU Chris Isaac 11-yard touchdown run, 2-point Jerry Parrish run failed2116
30:43BSU24-yard field goal by Camerud2416
411:1514EKUBraxton 2-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed2422
40:55EKUDavid Booze 60-yard touchdown reception from Isaac, Flores kick good2429
40:12800:43BSUDuane Dlouhy 14-yard touchdown reception from Aliotti, Camerud kick good3129
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.3129

[3] [10] [11] [12]

Game statistics

1234Total
Broncos01410731
Colonels3761329
Hughes Stadium, site of the 1980 I-AA title game Hughes Stadium.jpg
Hughes Stadium, site of the 1980 I-AA title game
StatisticsBSUEKU
First downs2419
Plays–yards86–51074–397
Rushes–yards45–15249–147
Passing yards358250
Passing: compattint24–41–116–25–1
Time of possession
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Boise StatePassingJoe Aliotti24–41, 358 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Cedric Minter 22 car, 105 yds, 1 TD
ReceivingKipp Bedard11 rec, 212 yds, 1 TD
Eastern KentuckyPassing Chris Isaac 16–25, 250 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
RushingDale Patton9 car, 44 yds
ReceivingDavid Booze8 rec, 105 yds, 1 TD

[12] [13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Division I Championship" (PDF). NCAA. 2013. p. 14. Retrieved May 11, 2019 via ncaa.org.
  2. 1 2 "The Big Sky is high on Boise". Great Falls Tribune . Great Falls, Montana. December 18, 1980. p. 1-C. Retrieved May 12, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 "Boise St. edges Eastern Kentucky". Akron Beacon Journal . Akron, Ohio. AP. December 21, 1980. p. D5. Retrieved May 12, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  4. "Broncos squeak by Colonels, take title". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. December 21, 1980. p. B2.
  5. "Boise gets title". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. December 22, 1980. p. 28.
  6. Embry, Micahael (December 1, 1980). "Division I-AA playoffs set". Reno Gazette-Journal . Reno, Nevada. AP. p. 32. Retrieved February 9, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  7. "Eastern Kentucky Colonels 1980 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved May 11, 2019.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. 1 2 "Div. I-AA Final Poll". Daily Record . Morristown, New Jersey. November 26, 1980. p. 40. Retrieved May 11, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  9. "Boise State Broncos 1980 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved May 12, 2019.[ permanent dead link ]
  10. 1 2 Sutton, Stan (December 21, 1980). "Boise State comeback tips Eastern". The Courier-Journal . Louisville, Kentucky. p. C 1. Retrieved May 12, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  11. 1 2 Sutton, Stan (December 21, 1980). "Boise State's comeback shocks Eastern 31-29 in Camellia Bowl". The Courier-Journal . Louisville, Kentucky. p. C 4. Retrieved May 12, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  12. 1 2 3 "Camellia Bowl". Akron Beacon Journal . Akron, Ohio. December 21, 1980. p. D5. Retrieved May 12, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  13. 1 2 "Statistics". The Courier-Journal . Louisville, Kentucky. December 21, 1980. p. C 4. Retrieved May 12, 2019 via newspapers.com.

Further reading