Postseason college football game between the Marshall Thundering Herd and the Montana Grizzlies
College football game
1995 NCAA Division I-AA Football ChampionshipI-AA National Championship Game 1 2 3 4 Total Montana 3 7 2 10 22 Marshall 0 3 7 10 20
Date December 16, 1995 Season 1995 Stadium Marshall University Stadium Location Huntington, West Virginia Favorite Montana by 7[1] Referee Jim Maconaghy[2] Attendance 32,106[3] United States TV coverage Network ESPN Announcers Joel Meyers (play by play), Todd Christensen (color), and Adrian Karsten (sideline)
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]
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 Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP MONT MAR 1 6:09 6 13 MONT 48-yard field goal by Andy Larson 3 0 2 12:54 11 51 MAR 39-yard field goal by Tim Openlander 3 3 2 0:59 5 77 MONT Matt Wells 24-yard touchdown reception from Dave Dickenson , Larson kick good 10 3 3 9:46 11 48 MAR Chris Parker 10-yard touchdown run, Openlander kick good 10 10 3 6:54 MONT Safety: intentional grounding in the end zone by Marshall QB Chad Pennington 12 10 4 12:30 4 20 MONT Wells 1-yard touchdown reception from Dickenson, Larson kick good 19 10 4 10:05 7 51 MAR 21-yard field goal by Tim Openlander 19 13 4 4:45 8 76 MAR Parker 26-yard touchdown run, Openlander kick good 19 20 4 0:39 12 72 MONT 25-yard field goal by Andy Larson 22 20 "TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football . 22 20
[8]
Game statistics 1 2 3 4 Total No. 6 Grizzlies 3 7 2 10 22 No. 5 Thundering Herd 0 3 7 10 20
Marshall quarterback Chad Pennington Statistics MONT MAR First downs 21 17 Plays–yards 77–333 73–358 Rushes–yards 29–49 32–112 Passing yards 281 246 Passing: comp–att–int 29–48–1 23–41–1 Time of possession 30:14 29:46
Team Category Player Statistics Montana Passing Dave Dickenson 29–48, 281 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT Rushing Josh Branen 6 car, 33 yds Receiving Joe Douglass 8 rec, 102 yds Marshall Passing 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 ^ "Latest Line". Sun-Sentinel . Fort Lauderdale, Florida . December 16, 1995. p. 11C. Retrieved April 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com. ^ "Ivy League Coordinator of Football Officiating Maconaghy Announces Retirement". ivyleague.com . December 5, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2019 . ^ a b Briggeman, Kim (December 17, 1995). "Heart of the Matter". Missoulian . p. G6. Retrieved March 20, 2019 – via newspapers.com. ^ "Division I-AA championship". The News Journal . Wilmington, Delaware . November 20, 1995. p. B3. Retrieved February 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com. ^ "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. ^ "Montana Grizzlies 1995 Schedule". cfbinfo.com . Archived from the original on March 20, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019 . ^ "Marshall Thundering Herd 1995 Schedule". cfbinfo.com . Archived from the original on March 20, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019 . ^ a b "Summary (box score)". Missoulian . December 17, 1995. p. G6. Retrieved March 20, 2019 – via newspapers.com. Further reading External links #8 - Montana vs Marshall 1995 National Title Game | Big Sky 50 Greatest Moments via YouTube Games through 2009 were played in December. Subsequent games have been played in January (*) or May (†).
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture and lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
1995–96 NCAA Division I championships
† Not an officially sanctioned NCAA championship