1986 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

The 1986 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Arkansas State Indians (now the Arkansas State Red Wolves) and the Georgia Southern Eagles. The game was played on December 19, 1986, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington.[1] The culminating game of the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 48–21.[3] Georgia Southern, the defending champion from 1985, became the first program to win consecutive Division I-AA titles.

This article is about the Division I-AA (now FCS) championship game. For the Division I-A (now FBS) champions, see 1986 Penn State Nittany Lions football team.
1986 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
I-AA National Championship Game
Diamond Bowl II
Georgia Southern Eagles Arkansas State Indians
(12–2) (12–1–1)
Independent Southland
48 21
Head coach: 
Erk Russell		 Head coach: 
Larry Lacewell
NCAASeed
44
NCAASeed
22
1234 Total
Georgia Southern 1016157 48
Arkansas State 7086 21
DateDecember 19, 1986
Season1986
StadiumTacoma Dome
LocationTacoma, Washington
RefereeGary Peters[1]
Attendance4,419[1]
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN[2]
AnnouncersTim Brando and Kevin Kiley

Contemporary news reports also referred to this game as Diamond Bowl II,[4] as the NCAA had introduced Diamond Bowl branding for the Division I-AA championship game in 1985.[5] The on-field logo at midfield included "1986 Diamond Bowl" wording.[6] NCAA records list the game date as Saturday, December 20, 1986;[7] however, contemporary news reports are clear that the game was played on the evening of Friday, December 19, 1986.[4][3]

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1986 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.[8]

Georgia Southern Eagles
Main article: 1986 Georgia Southern Eagles football team

Georgia Southern finished their regular season with a 9–2 record; they played two Division I-A programs, losing to both Florida and East Carolina.[9] Ranked fourth in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll[10] and seeded fourth in the tournament, the Eagles defeated North Carolina A&T, Nicholls State, and top-seed Nevada to reach the final. This was the second appearance for Georgia Southern in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1985.

Arkansas State Indians
See also: Arkansas State Indians football

Arkansas State finished their regular season with a 9–1–1 record (5–0 in conference); they played four games against Division I-A programs, resulting in two wins (Memphis and Texas A&M), one loss (Mississippi State), and a tie (Ole Miss).[11] Ranked second in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll[10] and seeded second in the tournament, the Indians defeated Sam Houston State, Delaware, and Eastern Kentucky to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Arkansas State in a Division I-AA championship game.

Game summary

Scoring summary
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP GSC stAte
1 11:03 7 31 3:43 GSC 20-yard field goal by Tim Foley 3 0
1 6:08 9 62 4:04 GSC Gerald Harris 1-yard touchdown run, Foley kick good 10 0
1 3:08 8 97 3:00 stAte Boris Whiteside 15-yard touchdown run, Scott Roper kick good 10 7
2 13:21 10 64 4:40 GSC 30-yard field goal by Foley 13 7
2 6:53 9 69 4:28 GSC 25-yard field goal by Foley 16 7
2 1:33 9 95 3:37 GSC Tracy Ham 25-yard touchdown run, Foley kick good 23 7
2 0:06 5 32 0:39 GSC 36-yard field goal by Foley 26 7
3 12:11 6 77 2:49 GSC Ham 31-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass good (Herman Barron from Ham) 34 7
3 8:55 stAte Safety: GSC snapped ball out of end zone on a punt attempt 34 9
3 8:17 2 50 0:14 GSC Ham 11-yard touchdown run, Foley kick good 41 9
3 5:36 6 76 2:41 stAte Whiteside 15-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed 41 15
4 10:52 2 73 0:49 GSC Ricky Harris 79-yard touchdown reception from Ham, Foley kick good 48 15
4 5:15 3 67 0:43 stAte Cazzy Francis 44-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed 48 21
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 48 21

[1]

Game statistics
1 2 3 4 Total
Eagles 10 16 15 7 48
Indians 7 0 8 6 21
Tacoma Dome, site of the 1986 Division I-AA championship game
StatisticsGSCstAte
First downs2821
Plays–yards70–60369–424
Rushes–yards58–29751–343
Passing yards30681
Passing: Comp–Att–Int12–22–08–18–1
Time of possession35:4324:17
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Georgia SouthernPassingTracy Ham12–21, 306 yds, 1 TD
RushingTracy Ham24 car, 180 yds, 3 TD
ReceivingRicky Harris3 rec, 143 yds, 1 TD
Arkansas StatePassingDwane Brown8–71, 81 yds, 1 INT
RushingRichard Kimble13 car, 134 yds
ReceivingAndre Tate2 rec, 29 yds

[1]

References
  1. "NCAA Official Scoring Summary" (PDF). December 19, 1986. Retrieved May 2, 2019 – via Amazon Web Services.
  2. "Quarterbacks duel in Division I-AA title game". The San Bernardino Sun. San Bernardino, California. AP. December 19, 1986. p. C2. Retrieved May 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  3. "Georgia Southern wins I-AA football crown". Reno Gazette-Journal. Reno, Nevada. December 20, 1986. p. 1B. Retrieved May 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  4. "Georgia Southern goes for 2nd-straight title". The News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. AP. December 19, 1986. p. 5C. Retrieved May 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  5. "I-AA championship moved to Tacoma". Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. AP. January 5, 1985. p. 2-C. Retrieved May 1, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  6. "1986 I-AA National Championship - Georgia Southern vs Arkansas State". Lewis Sports Network. Retrieved May 2, 2019 – via YouTube.
  7. "1986 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  8. "I-AA playoffs". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. November 24, 1986. p. C5. Retrieved February 6, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  9. "Georgia Southern Eagles 1986 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  10. "Division I-AA Poll". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. November 25, 1986. p. 4-C. Retrieved May 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  11. "Arkansas State Red Wolves 1986 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved May 2, 2019.

Further reading
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