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2001 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

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This article is about the Division I-AA (now FCS) championship game. For the Division I-A (now FBS) championship game, see 2001 Orange Bowl.

2001 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
I-AA National Championship Game
Furman Paladins Montana Grizzlies
(12–2) (14–1)
SoCon Big Sky
6 13
Head coach: 
Bobby Johnson		 Head coach: 
Joe Glenn
TSNSeed
43
TSNSeed
11
1234 Total
Furman 0006 6
Montana 01003 13
DateDecember 21, 2001
Season2001
StadiumFinley Stadium
LocationChattanooga, Tennessee
RefereeRoss Smith (Southland)[1]
Attendance12,698[2]
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN[3]
AnnouncersRon 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]

Teams

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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

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Main article: 2001 Montana Grizzlies football team

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

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Main article: 2001 Furman Paladins football team

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

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Scoring summary

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Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP FUR MONT
2 6:27 16 99 6:49 MONT Yohance Humphery 2-yard touchdown run, Chris Snyder kick good 0 7
2 0:53 MONT 35-yard field goal by Snyder 0 10
4 6:12 6:14 MONT 30-yard field goal by Snyder 0 13
4 0:00 FUR James Thomas 54-yard touchdown reception from Billy Napier, kick none† 6 13
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 6 13

[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

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 3 Paladins 0 0 0 6 6
No. 1 Grizzlies 0 10 0 3 13
Furman quarterback Billy Napier, seen here in 2018
Statistics FUR MONT
First downs 14 16
Plays–yards 65–293 71–297
Rushes–yards 39–121 43–173
Passing yards 172 124
Passing: comp–att–int 10–26–2 18–28–0
Time of possession 28:09 31:51
Team Category Player Statistics
Furman Passing Billy Napier 10–26, 172 yds 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Eric Emerson 7 car, 34 yds
Receiving James Thomas 4 rec, 75 yds, 1 TD
Montana Passing John Edwards 18–28, 124 yds
Rushing Yohance Humphery 30 car, 142 yds, 1 TD
Receiving Etu Molden 10 rec, 74 yds

[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "#23 - Montana Wins the 2001 National Championship—Big Sky 50 Greatest Moments". Big Sky Conference. December 5, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2019 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ a b c "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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