Postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Arkansas State Indians
College football 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.
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]
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 [ edit ]
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 [ edit ]
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 [ edit ]
Scoring summary [ edit ]
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 [ edit ]
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
Statistics
GSC
stAte
First downs
28
21
Plays–yards
70–603
69–424
Rushes–yards
58–297
51–343
Passing yards
306
81
Passing: comp–att–int
12–22–0
8–18–1
Time of possession
35:43
24:17
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Georgia Southern
Passing
Tracy Ham
12–21, 306 yds, 1 TD
Rushing
Tracy Ham
24 car, 180 yds, 3 TD
Receiving
Ricky Harris
3 rec, 143 yds, 1 TD
Arkansas State
Passing
Dwane Brown
8–71, 81 yds, 1 INT
Rushing
Richard Kimble
13 car, 134 yds
Receiving
Andre Tate
2 rec, 29 yds
[1]
References [ edit ]
^ a b c d e "NCAA Official Scoring Summary" (PDF) . December 19, 1986. Retrieved May 2, 2019 – via Amazon Web Services .
^ "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.
^ a b "Georgia Southern wins I-AA football crown" . Reno Gazette-Journal . Reno, Nevada . December 20, 1986. p. 1B. Retrieved May 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ a b "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.
^ "I-AA championship moved to Tacoma" . Billings Gazette . Billings, Montana . AP . January 5, 1985. p. 2-C. Retrieved May 1, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "1986 I-AA National Championship - Georgia Southern vs Arkansas State" . Lewis Sports Network. Retrieved May 2, 2019 – via YouTube .
^ "1986 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF) . NCAA.org . p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013 .
^ "I-AA playoffs" . Daily Press . Newport News, Virginia . November 24, 1986. p. C5. Retrieved February 6, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Georgia Southern Eagles 1986 Schedule" . cfbinfo.com . Retrieved May 2, 2019 .[permanent dead link ]
^ a b "Division I-AA Poll" . The Times . Shreveport, Louisiana . November 25, 1986. p. 4-C. Retrieved May 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Arkansas State Red Wolves 1986 Schedule" . cfbinfo.com . Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2019 .
Further reading [ edit ]
External links [ edit ]
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 season in bold
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
1986–87 NCAA Division I championships