1988 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

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.[4]

This article is about the Division I-AA (now FCS) championship game. For the Division I-A (now FBS) champions, see 1988 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team.
1988 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
I-AA National Championship Game
Georgia Southern Eagles Furman Paladins
(12–2) (12–2)
Independent SoCon
12 17
Head coach: 
Erk Russell		 Head coach: 
Jimmy Satterfield
NCAASeed
22
NCAASeed
44
1234 Total
Georgia Southern 3036 12
Furman 7370 17
DateDecember 17, 1988
Season1988
StadiumHolt Arena
LocationPocatello, Idaho
FavoriteGeorgia Southern by 5[1]
RefereeLarry Farina[2]
Attendance9,714[2]
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
AnnouncersTim Brando (play-by-play), Stan White (color)[3]

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1988 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.[5]

Georgia Southern Eagles
Main article: 1988 Georgia Southern Eagles football team

Georgia Southern finished their regular season with a 9–2 record; one of their losses was to Florida State of Division I-A.[6] Ranked second in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll[7] and seeded second in the tournament, the Eagles defeated The Citadel, Stephen F. Austin, and Eastern Kentucky to reach the final. This was the third appearance for Georgia Southern in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1985 and 1986.

Furman Paladins
Main article: 1988 Furman Paladins football team

Furman also finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (6–1 in conference); one of their losses was to Clemson of Division I-A.[8] Ranked fourth in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll[7] and seeded fourth in the tournament, the Paladins defeated Delaware, Marshall, and top-seed Idaho to reach the final. This was the second appearance for Furman in a Division I-AA championship game, having lost to Georgia Southern in 1985.

Game summary

Scoring summary
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP GSC FUR
1 7:13 9 36 4:10 GSC 55-yard field goal by David Cool 3 0
1 0:54 13 88 6:19 FUR Greg Key 19-yard touchdown reception from Frankie DeBusk, Glenn Connally kick good 3 7
2 1:09 8 50 3:06 FUR 36-yard field goal by Connally 3 10
3 5:07 15 29 5:34 GSC 48-yard field goal by Cool 6 10
3 0:38 9 80 4:29 FUR Dwight Sterling 5-yard touchdown run, Connally kick good 6 17
4 12:24 GSC Mark Giles returned blocked punt 30 yards for touchdown, 2-point pass incomplete 12 17
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 12 17

[2]

Game statistics
1 2 3 4 Total
Eagles 3 0 3 6 12
Paladins 7 3 7 0 17
Holt Arena, site of the 1988 Division I-AA championship game
StatisticsGSCFUR
First downs1417
Plays–yards69–19865–355
Rushes–yards52–13454–231
Passing yards64124
Passing: Comp–Att–Int5–17–27–11–1
Time of possession26:5133:09
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Georgia SouthernPassingRaymond Gross5–17, 64 yds, 2 INT
RushingJoe Ross15 car, 58 yds
ReceivingDeryl Belser2 rec, 26 yds
FurmanPassingFrankie DeBusk7–11, 124 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
RushingDwight Sterling12 car, 70 yds, 1 TD
ReceivingDonald Lipscomb3 rec, 53 yds

[2]

References
  1. "America's Line". New York Daily News. December 17, 1988. p. 32. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  2. "NCAA Official Scoring Summary" (PDF). December 17, 1988. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via Amazon Web Services.
  3. "1988 I-AA National Championship - Furman vs Ga. Southern". Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via YouTube.
  4. "Furman Edges Ga. Southern for Div. I-AA Title". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. December 18, 1988. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  5. Hardesty, Abe (November 21, 1988). "Citadel, Furman get I-AA berths". The Greenville News. Greenville, South Carolina. p. 5D. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  6. "Georgia Southern Eagles 1988 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  7. "Final I-AA poll". The Greenville News. Greenville, South Carolina. November 21, 1988. p. 5D. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  8. "Furman Paladins 1988 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved April 27, 2019.

Further reading
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