1997 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

This article is about the Division I-AA (now FCS) championship game. For the Division I-A (now FBS) championship game, see 1997 Sugar Bowl.

1997 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
I-AA National Championship Game
Youngstown State Penguins McNeese State Cowboys (12–2) (13–1) Gateway Southland 10 9 Head coach:  Jim Tressel Head coach:  Bobby Keasler TSN Seed 4 8 TSN Seed 7 6
1 2 3 4 Total Youngstown State 0 3 0 7 10 McNeese State 3 0 6 0 9
Date	December 20, 1997
Season	1997
Stadium	Finley Stadium
Location	Chattanooga, Tennessee
Referee	Ron Buckner (SoCon) [1] [2]
Attendance	14,771 [1]
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship  < 1996 1998 >

The 1997 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Youngstown State Penguins and the McNeese State Cowboys. The game was played on December 20, 1997, and was the first I-AA title game contested at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Youngstown State, 10–9. ^[3]

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1997 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket. ^[4]

Youngstown State Penguins

See also: 1997 Youngstown State Penguins football team

Youngstown State finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (4–2 in conference). ^[5] Seeded eighth in the playoffs, the Penguins defeated ninth-seed Hampton, first-seed Villanova, and third-seed Eastern Washington to reach the final. This was the fifth appearance for Youngstown State in a Division I-AA championship game, having won three titles (1991, 1993, and 1994) against one loss (1992).

McNeese State Cowboys

See also: 1997 McNeese State Cowboys football team

McNeese State finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (6–1 in conference). ^[6] The Cowboys, seeded sixth, defeated 11-seed Montana, second-seed Western Illinois, and fourth-seed Delaware to reach the final. This was the first appearance for McNeese State in a Division I-AA championship game.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP YSU MSU 1 5:30 10 54 4:01 MSU 22-yard field goal by Shonz LaFrenz 0 3 2 2:19 14 52 6:22 YSU 21-yard field goal by Mark Griffith 3 3 3 8:08 5 28 2:51 MSU 37-yard field goal by LaFrenz 3 6 3 0:51 9 38 4:45 MSU 46-yard field goal by LaFrenz 3 9 4 8:08 9 66 3:54 YSU Renauld Ray 9-yard touchdown reception from Demond Tidwell, Griffith kick good 10 9 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 10 9

^{[1] [7]}

Game statistics

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 8 Penguins	0	3	0	7	10
No. 6 Cowboys	3	0	6	0	9

Youngstown State head coach Jim Tressel

Statistics	YSU	MSU
First downs	12	11
Plays–yards	60–200	57–201
Rushes–yards	39–73	29–58
Passing yards	127	143
Passing: comp–att–int	12–21–0	14–28–1
Time of possession	31:37	28:23

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Youngstown State	Passing	Demond Tidwell	11–20, 110 yds, 1 TD
	Rushing	Jake Andreadis	16 car, 47 yds
	Receiving	Tim Tyrrell	4 rec, 54 yds
McNeese State	Passing	Blake Prejean	14–28, 143 yds, 1 INT
	Rushing	William Davis	19 car, 59 yds
	Receiving	Donnie Ashley	4 rec, 45 yds

^{[1] [3]}

References

1. "Youngstown State vs McNeese State". ysusports.com. December 20, 1997. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
2. "Recipients Named For Seventh Annual Golden Whistle Merit Awards" (PDF). NCHSAA Bulletin. Vol. 65, no. 4. Summer 2013. p. 4. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
3. "Youngstown Wins 4th Championship Penguins Use Improvised Play To Squeeze By Mcneese State". The Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. AP. December 21, 1997. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
4. "I-AA football playoffs". Missoulian . Missoula, Montana. November 24, 1997. p. D4. Retrieved February 8, 2019– via newspapers.com.
5. "Youngstown State Penguins 1997 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
6. "McNeese State Cowboys 1997 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
7. "NCAA I-AA Championship". The Advocate . Newark, Ohio. December 21, 1997. p. 2B. Retrieved February 21, 2019– via newspapers.com.

Further reading

• "Division I-AA Top 25". Daily Press . Newport News, Virginia. The Sports Network. November 27, 1997. p. C2. Retrieved February 21, 2019– via newspapers.com.
• Bonnette, Louis (November 12, 2012). "McNeese's 1997 football team to be recognized at Saturday's game". mcneesesports.com. Retrieved February 21, 2019.

External links

• 1997 McNeese Football National Championship Run Highlights via YouTube