2001 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game
Postseason college football game between the Montana Grizzlies and the Furman Paladins
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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]
| 2001 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| I-AA National Championship Game | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 21, 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Finley Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Chattanooga, Tennessee | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Ross Smith (Southland)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 12,698[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Ron Franklin (play-by-play), Mike Gottfried (color)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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
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[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
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 3 Paladins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| No. 1 Grizzlies | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| 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 |
| Turnovers | ||
| 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 |