1995 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

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1995 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
I-AA National Championship Game
Montana Grizzlies Marshall Thundering Herd
(12–2)(12–2)
Big Sky SoCon
2220
Head coach: 
Don Read 		Head coach: 
Jim Donnan
TSN Seed
86
TSN Seed
65
1234Total
Montana3721022
Marshall0371020
DateDecember 16, 1995
Season 1995
Stadium Marshall University Stadium
Location Huntington, West Virginia
Favorite Montana by 7 [1]
Referee Jim Maconaghy [2]
Attendance32,106 [3]
United States TV coverage
Network ESPN
Announcers Joel Meyers (play by play), Todd Christensen (color), and Adrian Karsten (sideline)
NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
 ← 1994 1996 → 

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. [3]

Contents

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1995 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket. [4] The site of the title game, Marshall University Stadium, had been determined in March 1994. [5]

Montana Grizzlies

Montana finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (6–1 in conference). [6] One of their wins was over Eastern New Mexico of Division II, while one of their losses was to Washington State of Division I-A. Seeded sixth in the playoffs, the Grizzlies defeated 10-seed Eastern Kentucky, 14-seed Georgia Southern, and seventh-seed Stephen F. Austin to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Montana in a Division I-AA championship game.

Marshall Thundering Herd

Marshall also finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (7–1 in conference). [7] One of their losses was to NC State of Division I-A. The Thundering Herd, seeded fifth, defeated 12-seed Jackson State, 16-seed Northern Iowa, and top-seed McNeese State to reach the final. This was the fifth appearance for Marshall in a Division I-AA championship game, having one prior win (1992) and three prior losses (1987, 1991, and 1993).

Game summary

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
QuarterTime Drive TeamScoring informationScore
Plays Yards TOP MONTMAR
16:09613MONT48-yard field goal by Andy Larson30
212:541151MAR39-yard field goal by Tim Openlander33
20:59577MONTMatt Wells 24-yard touchdown reception from Dave Dickenson, Larson kick good103
39:461148MAR Chris Parker 10-yard touchdown run, Openlander kick good1010
36:54MONT Safety: intentional grounding in the end zone by Marshall QB Chad Pennington 1210
412:30420MONTWells 1-yard touchdown reception from Dickenson, Larson kick good1910
410:05751MAR21-yard field goal by Tim Openlander1913
44:45876MARParker 26-yard touchdown run, Openlander kick good1920
40:391272MONT25-yard field goal by Andy Larson2220
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.2220

[8]

Game statistics

1234Total
No. 6 Grizzlies3721022
No. 5 Thundering Herd0371020
Marshall quarterback Chad Pennington Chad Pennington.jpg
Marshall quarterback Chad Pennington
StatisticsMONTMAR
First downs2117
Plays–yards77–33373–358
Rushes–yards29–4932–112
Passing yards281246
Passing: comp–att–int29–48–123–41–1
Time of possession30:1429:46
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
MontanaPassing Dave Dickenson 29–48, 281 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
RushingJosh Branen6 car, 33 yds
Receiving Joe Douglass 8 rec, 102 yds
MarshallPassing Chad Pennington 23–40, 246 yds, 1 INT
Rushing Chris Parker 23 car, 94 yds, 2 TD
Receiving Jermaine Wiggins 5 rec, 81 yds

[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Latest Line". Sun-Sentinel . Fort Lauderdale, Florida. December 16, 1995. p. 11C. Retrieved April 13, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Ivy League Coordinator of Football Officiating Maconaghy Announces Retirement". ivyleague.com. December 5, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Briggeman, Kim (December 17, 1995). "Heart of the Matter". Missoulian . p. G6. Retrieved March 20, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Division I-AA championship". The News Journal . Wilmington, Delaware. November 20, 1995. p. B3. Retrieved February 9, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Marshall to host next two I-AA football finals". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier . Waterloo, Iowa. AP. March 18, 1994. p. C3. Retrieved April 17, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Montana Grizzlies 1995 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Marshall Thundering Herd 1995 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  8. 1 2 "Summary (box score)". Missoulian . December 17, 1995. p. G6. Retrieved March 20, 2019– via newspapers.com.

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