2001 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

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2001 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
I-AA National Championship Game
Furman Paladins Montana Grizzlies
(12–2)(14–1)
SoCon Big Sky
613
Head coach: 
Bobby Johnson 		Head coach: 
Joe Glenn
TSN Seed
43
TSN Seed
11
1234Total
Furman00066
Montana0100313
DateDecember 21, 2001
Season 2001
Stadium Finley Stadium
Location Chattanooga, Tennessee
Referee Ross Smith (Southland) [1]
Attendance12,698 [2]
United States TV coverage
Network ESPN [3]
Announcers Ron Franklin (play-by-play), Mike Gottfried (color) [1]
NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
 < 2000 2002 > 

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. [4]

Contents

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 2001 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket. In a change from recent postseasons, the NCAA seeded only the top four seeds, while placing other teams in the bracket based on geographical considerations in order to minimize travel. [5]

Montana Grizzlies

Montana finished their regular season with an 11–1 record (7–0 in conference); their only loss was to Hawaii of Division I-A. Seeded first in the playoffs, the Grizzlies defeated Northwestern State, Sam Houston State, and Northern Iowa to reach the final. This was the fourth appearance for Montana in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1995, and having lost in 1996 and 2000.

Furman Paladins

Furman finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (7–1 in conference); one of their losses was to Wyoming of Division I-A. The Paladins, seeded third, defeated Western Kentucky, Lehigh, and second-seed Georgia Southern to reach the final. This was the third appearance for Furman in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1988 and having lost in 1985.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
QuarterTime Drive TeamScoring informationScore
Plays Yards TOP FURMONT
26:2716996:49MONTYohance Humphery 2-yard touchdown run, Chris Snyder kick good07
20:53MONT35-yard field goal by Snyder010
46:126:14MONT30-yard field goal by Snyder013
40:00FURJames Thomas 54-yard touchdown reception from Billy Napier, kick none†613
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.613

[2] [6]
† When there is no time left on the clock at the end of the fourth quarter, NCAA rules only allow for a conversion attempt if it could affect the outcome of the game.

Game statistics

1234Total
No. 3 Paladins00066
No. 1 Grizzlies0100313
Furman quarterback Billy Napier, seen here in 2018 2018-0723-SBCMD-BillyNapier.png
Furman quarterback Billy Napier, seen here in 2018
StatisticsFURMONT
First downs1416
Plays–yards65–29371–297
Rushes–yards39–12143–173
Passing yards172124
Passing: comp–att–int10–26–218–28–0
Time of possession28:0931:51
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
FurmanPassing Billy Napier 10–26, 172 yds 1 TD, 2 INT
RushingEric Emerson7 car, 34 yds
ReceivingJames Thomas4 rec, 75 yds, 1 TD
MontanaPassingJohn Edwards18–28, 124 yds
RushingYohance Humphery30 car, 142 yds, 1 TD
Receiving Etu Molden 10 rec, 74 yds

[2]

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The 2004 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the James Madison Dukes and the Montana Grizzlies. The game was played on December 17, 2004, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by James Madison, 31–21.

The 2000 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Montana Grizzlies. The game was played on December 16, 2000, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 27–25.

The 1996 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 21, 1996, and was the last I-AA title game contested at Marshall University Stadium, now known as Joan C. Edwards Stadium, in Huntington, West Virginia. The culminating game of the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was a rematch of the prior season's final, and was won by Marshall, 49–29. It was also Marshall's final game in Division I-AA, now known as Division I FCS; the Herd would move to Division I-A the following July, joining the Mid-American Conference.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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 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.

References

  1. 1 2 "#23 - Montana Wins the 2001 National Championship—Big Sky 50 Greatest Moments". Big Sky Conference. Retrieved February 5, 2019– via YouTube.
  2. 1 2 3 "Grizzlies 13, Furman 6 (box score)". Great Falls Tribune . Great Falls, Montana. December 22, 2001. p. 4S. Retrieved February 5, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "In The Spotlight". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . December 21, 2001. p. B-5. Retrieved February 5, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "I-AA Championship: Montana 13, Furman 6". upi.com. UPI. December 21, 2001. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  5. ↑ Kasper, Jon (November 12, 2001). "NCAA changes format for playoff pairings". Missoulian . Missoula, Montana. p. D1. Retrieved February 2, 2019– via newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Geise, George (December 22, 2001). "Defense: Frustrates Furman". Great Falls Tribune . Great Falls, Montana. p. 5S. Retrieved February 5, 2019– via newspapers.com.

Further reading

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