1988 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

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.

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.

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 NCAA Seed 2 2 NCAA Seed 4 4
1 2 3 4 Total Georgia Southern 3 0 3 6 12 Furman 7 3 7 0 17
Date	December 17, 1988
Season	1988
Stadium	Holt Arena
Location	Pocatello, Idaho
Favorite	Georgia Southern by 5
Referee	Larry Farina
Attendance	9,714
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Tim Brando (play-by-play), Stan White (color)

Teams

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

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. Ranked second in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll 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. Ranked fourth in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll 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

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

Statistics	GSC	FUR
First downs	14	17
Plays–yards	69–198	65–355
Rushes–yards	52–134	54–231
Passing yards	64	124
Passing: comp–att–int	5–17–2	7–11–1
Time of possession	26:51	33:09

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Georgia Southern	Passing	Raymond Gross	5–17, 64 yds, 2 INT
	Rushing	Joe Ross	15 car, 58 yds
	Receiving	Deryl Belser	2 rec, 26 yds
Furman	Passing	Frankie DeBusk	7–11, 124 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Dwight Sterling	12 car, 70 yds, 1 TD
	Receiving	Donald Lipscomb	3 rec, 53 yds

Further reading

• Bainbridge, Judith (December 17, 2017). "In 1988, Furman won national title in football". The Greenville News. Retrieved April 27, 2019.

External links

• 1988 I-AA National Championship - Furman vs Ga. Southern via YouTube