The 1999 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game  was a postseason college football  game between the Georgia Southern Eagles  and the Youngstown State Penguins . The game was played on December 18, 1999, at Finley Stadium , home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga . The culminating game of the 1999 NCAA Division I-AA football season , it was won by Georgia Southern, 59–24.[ 3] 
 
Teams  The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1999 I-AA Playoffs , which began with a 16-team bracket .[ 4] 
 
Youngstown State Penguins   Youngstown State finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (5–1 in conference); one of their losses had been to Western Michigan  of Division I-A.[ 5] Montana , 16-seed North Carolina A&T , and 13-seed Florida A&M  to reach the final. This was the sixth appearance for Youngstown State in a Division I-AA championship game, having won four titles (1991, 1993, 1994, and 1997) against one loss (1992). 
 
Georgia Southern Eagles   Georgia Southern finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (7–1 in conference); one of their losses had been to Oregon State  of Division I-A. The Eagles, seeded second, defeated 15-seed Northern Arizona , 10-seed UMass , and sixth-seed Illinois State  to reach the final. This was the seventh appearance for Georgia Southern in a Division I-AA championship game, having four prior wins (1985, 1986, 1989, 1990) and two prior losses (1988, 1998). 
 
Game summary  
Scoring summary     Scoring summary        Quarter   Time   Drive  Team   Scoring information   Score     Plays  Yards   TOP  GSU   YSU     1   10:20   9   44   4:40   GSU   25-yard field goal by Chris Chambers   3   0     1   4:51   11   76   5:29   YSU   Adrian Brown 2-yard touchdown run, Mark Griffith kick good   3   7     1   2:51   5   72   2:00   GSU   Greg Hill 42-yard touchdown run, Chambers kick good   10   7     2   14:34   8   73   3:17   YSU   Jeff Ryan 3-yard touchdown run, Griffith kick good   10   14     2   10:25   11   78   4:09   GSU   Adrian Peterson  3-yard touchdown run, Chambers kick good 17   14     2   9:05   1   57   0:10   GSU   Bennie Cunningham 57-yard touchdown run, Chambers kick good   24   14     2   5:27   2   72   0:40   GSU   Peterson 22-yard touchdown run, Chambers kick good   31   14     2   2:09            GSU   Punt returned 72 yards for touchdown by Anthony Williams, Chambers kick good   38   14     3   4:47   5   41   1:15   YSU   30-yard field goal by Griffith   38   17     3   3:05   5   66   1:42   GSU   Peterson 1-yard touchdown run, Chambers kick good   45   17     4   9:57   10   90   4:34   GSU   Mark Myers 5-yard touchdown run, Chambers kick good   52   17     4   7:13   2   71   1:11   GSU   J. R. Revere 66-yard touchdown run, Chambers kick good   59   17     4   3:48   8   71   3:25   YSU   Brown 1-yard touchdown run, Griffith kick good   59   24     "TOP" = time of possession .  For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .  59   24   
   
 [ 6] 
 
Game statistics                 Total     No. 2 Eagles  10   28   7   14  59    No. 9 Penguins   7   7   3   7  24  
 Georgia Southern running back Adrian Peterson    Statistics   GSU   YSU     First downs  24  17     Plays–yards  63–655  64–338     Rushes–yards  59–638  44–163     Passing yards  17  175     Passing: comp –att –int   1–4–0  11–20–1     Time of possession  27:47  32:13    
   Team  Category  Player  Statistics     Georgia Southern   Passing  Greg Hill  1–4, 17 yds     Rushing  Adrian Peterson 25 car, 247 yds, 3 TD     Receiving  Dedric Parham  1 rec, 17 yds     Youngstown State   Passing  Jeff Ryan  11–20, 175 yds, 1 INT     Rushing  Adrian Brown  22 car, 160 yds, 2 TD     Receiving  Renauld Ray  4 rec, 90 yds   
 [ 2] [ 7] 
 
References    ^ a b   "1999 I-AA National Championship - Georgia Southern vs Youngstown State" . August 21, 2013. Retrieved February 16,  2019  – via YouTube .^ a b   "Division I-AA Championship" . The News Journal Wilmington, Delaware . December 19, 1999. p. E9. Retrieved February 16,  2019  – via newspapers.com.^ Walker, Teresa M. (December 19, 1999). "Eagles win one for the thumb" . The Anniston Star Anniston, Alabama . AP . Retrieved February 16,  2019  – via newspapers.com. ^ "Playoff Results & Bracket" . The Pantagraph Bloomington, Illinois . November 28, 1999. p. F1. Retrieved February 8,  2019  – via newspapers.com.^ "Youngstown St. Penguins 1999 Schedule" . cfbinfo.com . Retrieved February 16,  2019 .^ "NCAA I-AA Championship" . GATAdb . December 20, 1999. Retrieved February 16,  2019 .^ "2009 Southern Conference Football Media Guide"  (PDF) . soconsports.com . p. 67. Retrieved February 16,  2019 .   
Further reading   
External links   
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 & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
1999–2000 NCAA Division I championships
 † Not an officially sanctioned NCAA championship