The 2000 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Montana Grizzlies . The game was played on December 16, 2000, at Finley Stadium , home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga . The culminating game of the 2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season , it was won by Georgia Southern, 27–25.[ 4]
Teams The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 2000 I-AA Playoffs , which began with a 16-team bracket .[ 5]
Montana Grizzlies Montana finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (8–0 in conference); their only loss had been to Hofstra , 10–9, in the season opener. Seeded first in the playoffs, the Grizzlies defeated 16-seed Eastern Illinois , eight-seed Richmond , and 13-seed Appalachian State to reach the final. This was the third appearance for Montana in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1995 and having lost in 1996.
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 Georgia of Division I-A. The Eagles, seeded third, defeated 14-seed McNeese State , 11-seed Hofstra , and second-seed Delaware to reach the final. This was the eighth appearance for Georgia Southern in a Division I-AA championship game, having five prior wins (1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1999) and two prior losses (1988, 1998).
Game summary
Scoring summary Scoring summary Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP GSU MONT 1 13:19 4 80 1:41 GSU GSU offense fumbled, recovered in the end zone by James McCoy, Scott Shelton kick good 7 0 1 2:57 5 60 2:22 GSU Chris Johnson 49-yard touchdown reception from J. R. Revere, 2-point run by Shelton failed (after bobbled snap on kick attempt) 13 0 1 1:36 5 23 1:36 MONT 38-yard field goal by Chris Snyder 13 3 2 0:33 8 69 3:01 GSU Adrian Peterson 1-yard touchdown run, Shelton kick good 20 3 3 3:41 11 79 3:38 MONT Etu Molden 17-yard touchdown reception from John Edwards, Snyder kick no good 20 9 4 14:36 4 73 1:30 MONT Vince Huntsberger 65-yard touchdown run, Snyder kick no good (wide left) 20 15 4 11:53 5 18 2:00 MONT Yo Humphrey 2-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass good (Humphrey from Edwards) 20 23 4 11:29 1 57 0:13 GSU Peterson 57-yard touchdown run, Shelton kick good 27 23 4 0:15 MONT GSU punter Shelton stepped out of end zone (safety ) 27 25 "TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football . 27 25
[ 6] [ 7] : 68
Game statistics Total No. 3 Eagles 13 7 0 7 27 No. 1 Grizzlies 3 0 6 16 25
Georgia Southern running back Adrian Peterson Statistics GSU MONT First downs 14 28 Plays–yards 59–390 88–487 Rushes–yards 51–277 36–211 Passing yards 113 276 Passing: comp –att –int 5–8–0 29–52–2 Time of possession 27:39 32:21
Team Category Player Statistics Georgia Southern Passing J. R. Revere 5–8, 113 yds, 1 TD Rushing Adrian Peterson 23 car, 148 yds, 2 TD Receiving Chris Johnson 4 rec, 110 yds, 1 TD Montana Passing John Edwards 24–42, 211 yds, 1 INT, 1 TD Rushing Yo Humphrey 26 car, 119 yds, 1 TD Receiving Jimmy Farris 7 rec, 82 yds
[ 6] [ 7]
References ^ a b "Scoring Summary (Final) Georgia Southern vs Montana" (PDF) . December 16, 2000. Retrieved April 20, 2019 – via AWS .^ Rogers, Prentis (December 16, 2000). "Div. I-AA game looking better vs. a so-so NFL slate" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved February 7, 2019 – via newspapers.com. ^ "2000 I-AA National Championship - Georgia Southern vs Montana" . August 25, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2019 – via YouTube .^ "Georgia Southern 27, Montana 25 (final)" . Missoulian Missoula, Montana . December 16, 2000. Retrieved February 7, 2019 .^ "Division I-AA Football Playoff Bracket" . The Montana Standard Butte, Montana . November 20, 2000. p. B4. Retrieved February 6, 2019 – via newspapers.com.^ a b "Grizzly Summary (box score)" . Missoulian Missoula, Montana . December 17, 2000. p. C2. Retrieved February 7, 2019 – via newspapers.com.^ a b "FCS Playoff History" (PDF) . Southern Conference . 2009. Retrieved February 7, 2019 – via soconsports.com.
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 and lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
2000–01 NCAA Division I championships
† Not an officially sanctioned NCAA championship
