1985 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

1985 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
1985 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
I-AA National Championship Game; Diamond Bowl
Georgia Southern Eagles	Furman Paladins
(12–2)	(12–1)
Independent	SoCon
44	42
Head coach: ; Erk Russell	Head coach: ; Dick Sheridan
NCAA	Seed
9	–
NCAA	Seed
2 (tie)	3
Date	December 21, 1985
Season	1985
Stadium	Tacoma Dome
Location	Tacoma, Washington
Referee	Mike Standley
Attendance	5,306
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Mike Patrick (play-by-play), Sam Adkins (color)
NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
< 1984	1986 >

Last updated April 30, 2024

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.^[3]

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1985 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 12-team bracket.^[5]

Georgia Southern Eagles

Georgia Southern finished their regular season with a 9–2 record.^[6] Ranked ninth in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll^[7] and unseeded in the tournament, the Eagles defeated Jackson State, top-seed Middle Tennessee State, and fourth-seed Northern Iowa to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Georgia Southern in a Division I-AA championship game.

Furman Paladins

Furman finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (6–0 in conference); one of their wins came against NC State, a Division I-A program, and their only defeat was an upset loss to Newberry, an NAIA program.^[8]^[9] Tied for second in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll^[7] and seeded third in the tournament, the Paladins received a first-round bye then defeated Rhode Island and second-seed Nevada to reach the final. This was also the first appearance for Furman in a Division I-AA championship game.

Game summary

Furman built a 28–6 lead with just under 11 minutes left in the third quarter. By the time that quarter had ended, Georgia Southern had fought back to tie the score, 28–28. The two teams traded touchdowns in the first half of the fourth quarter, remaining tied, 35–35. A Georgia Southern field goal was answered by a Furman touchdown, giving Furman a 42–38 lead with just over two minutes to play. Georgia Southern then staged a 72-yard drive in 82 seconds, scoring the winning touchdown with just 10 seconds left on the clock.

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	GSC	FUR
1	2:50	12	80	5:25	FUR	John Bagwell 1-yard touchdown run, Keven Esval kick good	0	7
2	13:33	10	61	4:17	GSC	44-yard field goal by Tim Foley	3	7
2	8:22	10	80	5:11	FUR	Bagwell 9-yard touchdown run, Esval kick good	3	14
2	3:08	10	69	5:14	GSC	33-yard field goal by Foley	6	14
2	0:56	7	98	2:12	FUR	Bobby Lamb 10-yard touchdown run, Esval kick good	6	21
3	10:57	5	74	2:34	FUR	Larry Grady 33-yard touchdown reception from Lamb, Esval kick good	6	28
3	6:51	8	96	4:06	GSC	Monte Sharpe 24-yard touchdown reception from Tracy Ham, 2-point run good by Ham	14	28
3	4:35	4	56	1:14	GSC	Patrick Sulley 40-yard touchdown reception from Ham, Foley kick good	21	28
3	2:28	3	59	1:00	GSC	Gerald Harris 52-yard touchdown run, Foley kick good	28	28
4	12:21	7	65	3:04	GSC	Patrick Sulley 12-yard touchdown reception from Ham, Foley kick good	35	28
4	7:51	11	99	4:30	FUR	Bagwell 7-yard touchdown run, Esval kick good	35	35
4	3:37	11	59	4:14	GSC	39-yard field goal by Foley	38	35
4	1:32	7	80	2:05	FUR	Bagwell 4-yard touchdown run, Esval kick good	38	42
4	0:10	8	72	1:22	GSC	Johnson 13-yard touchdown reception from Ham, Foley kick no good (wide right)	44	42
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							44	42

^[1]

Game statistics

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	6	22	16	44
Paladins	7	14	7	14	42

Statistics	GSC	FUR
First downs	28	28
Plays–yards	77–640	67–498
Rushes–yards	40–221	45–288
Passing yards	419	210
Passing: comp–att–int	23–37–1	14–22–0
Time of possession	31:33	28:27

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Georgia Southern	Passing	Tracy Ham	23–37, 419 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Gerald Harris	10 car, 92 yds, 1 TD
	Receiving	Patrick Sulley	7 rec, 148 yds, 2 TD
Furman	Passing	Bobby Lamb	14–22, 210 yds, 1 TD
	Rushing	John Bagwell	15 car, 73 yds, 4 TD
	Receiving	Larry Grady	3 rec, 67 yds, 1 TD

^[1]

Related Research Articles

The 1985 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, commenced in August 1985, and concluded with the 1985 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 21, 1985, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. The Georgia Southern Eagles won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Furman Paladins by a score of 44–42.

The 1986 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 1986, and concluded with the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 1986, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. The Georgia Southern Eagles won their second consecutive I-AA championship, defeating the Arkansas State Indians by a score of 48–21.

The 1988 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 1988, and concluded with the 1988 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 17, 1988, at Holt Arena in Pocatello, Idaho. The Furman Paladins won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Georgia Southern Eagles by a score of 17−12.

The 1988 Furman Paladins football team represented Furman University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their third year under head coach Jimmy Satterfield, the Paladins compiled an overall record of 13–2 with a conference mark of 6–1, sharing the SoCon title with Mashall. Furman advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they defeated Delaware in the first round, Marshall in the quarterfinals, Idaho in the semifinals, and Georgia Southern in the NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game.

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The 1985 Furman Paladins football team was an American football team that represented Furman University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their eighth year under head coach Dick Sheridan, the Paladins compiled an overall record of 12–2 with a conference mark of 6–0, winning the SoCon title. Furman advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they defeated Rhode Island in the quarterfinals, Nevada in the semifinals, and were upset by Georgia Southern in the NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game.

The 2001 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Montana Grizzlies and the Furman Paladins. The game was played on December 21, 2001, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Montana, 13–6.

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.

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The 1993 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 18, 1993, at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. The culminating game of the 1993 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Youngstown State, 17–5. This was the third consecutive season that these two teams met in the championship game.

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.

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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 1984 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Montana State Bobcats and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. The game was played on December 15, 1984, at Johnson Hagood Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina. The culminating game of the 1984 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Montana State, 19–6.

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The 1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Florida A&M Rattlers and the UMass Minutemen. The game was played on December 16, 1978, at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The culminating game of the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Florida A&M, 35–28.

References

1 2 3 4 "NCAA Official Scoring Summary" (PDF). December 21, 1985. Retrieved May 3, 2019– via Amazon Web Services.
↑ "1985 I-AA National Championship - Georgia Southern vs Furman" . Retrieved May 4, 2019– via YouTube. at 2:21:07
1 2 "Georgia Southern 44, Furman 42". AP. December 21, 1985. Retrieved May 3, 2018– via apnews.com.
↑ "I-AA championship moved to Tacoma". Billings Gazette . Billings, Montana. AP. January 5, 1985. p. 2-C. Retrieved May 1, 2019– via newspapers.com.
↑ Hardesty, Abe (November 25, 1985). "Furman in I-AA playoffs". The Greenville News . Greenville, South Carolina. p. 1C. Retrieved May 3, 2019– via newspapers.com.
↑ "Georgia Southern Eagles 1985 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved May 3, 2019.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
1 2 "NCAA I-AA poll". The Salina Journal . Salina, Kansas. AP. November 27, 1985. p. 15. Retrieved May 3, 2019– via newspapers.com.
↑ "Furman Paladins 1985 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved May 3, 2019.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
↑ "Newberry 24, Furman 21". Detroit Free Press . September 15, 1985. Retrieved May 3, 2019– via newspapers.com.

External links

1985 I-AA National Championship - Georgia Southern vs Furman via YouTube

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[NCAAbox-1] 1 2 3 4 "NCAA Official Scoring Summary" (PDF). December 21, 1985. Retrieved May 3, 2019– via Amazon Web Services.

[2] "1985 I-AA National Championship - Georgia Southern vs Furman" . Retrieved May 4, 2019– via YouTube. at 2:21:07

[APnews-3] 1 2 "Georgia Southern 44, Furman 42". AP. December 21, 1985. Retrieved May 3, 2018– via apnews.com.

[4] "I-AA championship moved to Tacoma". Billings Gazette . Billings, Montana. AP. January 5, 1985. p. 2-C. Retrieved May 1, 2019– via newspapers.com.

[5] Hardesty, Abe (November 25, 1985). "Furman in I-AA playoffs". The Greenville News . Greenville, South Carolina. p. 1C. Retrieved May 3, 2019– via newspapers.com.

[6] "Georgia Southern Eagles 1985 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved May 3, 2019.^{[ permanent dead link ]}

[NCAApoll-7] 1 2 "NCAA I-AA poll". The Salina Journal . Salina, Kansas. AP. November 27, 1985. p. 15. Retrieved May 3, 2019– via newspapers.com.

[8] "Furman Paladins 1985 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved May 3, 2019.^{[ permanent dead link ]}

[9] "Newberry 24, Furman 21". Detroit Free Press . September 15, 1985. Retrieved May 3, 2019– via newspapers.com.

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