Wikipedia

1992 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) consensus champion, see 1992 Alabama Crimson Tide football team.

The 1992 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Youngstown State Penguins and the Marshall Thundering Herd. The game was played on December 19, 1992, at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. The culminating game of the 1992 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Marshall, 31–28.[2] The game was a rematch of the prior season's championship game.

1992 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
I-AA National Championship Game
Youngstown State Penguins Marshall Thundering Herd
(11–2–1) (11–3)
Independent SoCon
28 31
Head coach: 
Jim Tressel		 Head coach: 
Jim Donnan
NCAASeed
7—
NCAASeed
6—
1234 Total
Youngstown State 001414 28
Marshall 014143 31
DateDecember 19, 1992
Season1992
StadiumMarshall University Stadium
LocationHuntington, West Virginia
FavoriteMarshall by 8.5[1]
Attendance31,304[2]
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS Sports
AnnouncersJim Nantz (play-by-play), John Robinson (color)[3]
NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
 < 1991 1993 > 

Teams edit

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1992 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.[4] The site of the title game, Marshall University Stadium, had been predetermined months earlier.[5]

Youngstown State Penguins edit

See also: 1992 Youngstown State Penguins football team

Youngstown State finished their regular season with an 8–2–1 record.[6] Unseeded in the tournament and ranked seventh in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll,[7] the Penguins defeated Villanova, second-seed The Citadel, and third-seed Northern Iowa to reach the final. This was the second appearance, both consecutively and overall, for Youngstown State in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1991.

Marshall Thundering Herd edit

Main article: 1992 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

Marshall finished their regular season with an 8–3 record (5–2 in conference).[8] Unseeded and ranked sixth in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll,[7] the Thundering Herd defeated Eastern Kentucky, fourth-seed Middle Tennessee, and Delaware to reach the final. This was the third appearance overall, and second consecutively, for Marshall in a Division I-AA championship game, having lost in 1987 and 1991.

Game summary edit

After a scoreless first quarter, Marshall led 14–0 at halftime, and extended their lead to 28–0 with 5:46 left in the third quarter. Youngstown State then rallied, cutting the lead to 28–14 by the end of the third quarter, and tying the game with 2:28 left in the fourth quarter. Marshall then drove from their 19-yard-line to the Youngstown State 5-yard-line, and senior kicker Willy Merrick made a 22-yard-field goal with seven seconds left to play, providing the winning points for Marshall.[9] It was Merrick's first collegiate field goal, as the team's usual kicker, Merrick's sophomore brother David, was suspended for the game due to missing a practice.[10]

Scoring summary edit

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP YSU MU
2 10:33 MU Mike Bartrum 6-yard touchdown reception from Michael Payton, Willy Merrick kick good 0 7
2 3:30 7 28 MU Orlando Hatchett 5-yard touchdown run, Merrick kick good 0 14
3 MU Glenn Pedro 1-yard touchdown run, Merrick kick good 0 21
3 5:46 MU Hatchett 22-yard touchdown reception from Payton, Merrick kick good 0 28
3 3:41 57 2:05 YSU Herb Williams 30-yard touchdown reception from Nick Cochran, Jeff Wilkins kick good 7 28
3 0:16 65 0:40 YSU Tamron Smith 4-yard touchdown run, Wilkins kick good 14 28
4 12:04 4 49 1:19 YSU Smith 1-yard touchdown run, Wilkins kick good 21 28
4 2:28 YSU Smith 10-yard touchdown run, Wilkins kick good 28 28
4 0:07 76 MU 22-yard field goal by Merrick 28 31
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 28 31

[11][10]

Game statistics edit

1 2 3 4 Total
Penguins 0 0 14 14 28
Thundering Herd 0 14 14 3 31
Statistics YSU MU
First downs 17 26
Plays–yards 65–372 82–455
Rushes–yards 34–116 42–185
Passing yards 256 270
Passing: comp–att–int 18–31–1 25–40–2
Time of possession 27:57 32:03
Team Category Player Statistics
Youngstown State Passing Nick Cochran 18–31, 256 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Tamron Smith 20 car, 82 yds, 3 TD
Receiving Herb Williams 5 rec, 105 yds, 1 TD
Marshall Passing Michael Payton 25–39, 270 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Orlando Hatchett 15 car, 112 yds, 1 TD
Receiving Troy Brown 10 rec, 115 yds

[11]

References edit

  1. ^ "The Odds". The Advocate. Newark, Ohio. December 19, 1992. p. 2B. Retrieved April 15, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b "Kick Gives Marshall I-AA Title". Chicago Tribune. December 20, 1992. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  3. ^ Crowe, Steve (December 21, 1992). "Double-A Dandy". Detroit Free Press. p. 2D. Retrieved April 16, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Jensen, Mike (November 23, 1992). "'Nova girds for playoff on Youngstown's turf". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C10. Retrieved April 15, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Nielsen, Brian (September 9, 1992). "Here's the Word about The Herd". Journal Gazette. Mattoon, Illinois. p. B3. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  6. ^ "Youngstown State Penguins 1992 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Archived from the original on November 3, 2017. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "NCAA Div. I-AA Top 20". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. November 23, 1992. p. 6C. Retrieved April 15, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Marshall Thundering Herd 1992 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved April 15, 2019.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "Marshall Thundering Herd - Winning kick vs YSU in 1992 1-AA". WeHerdU. Retrieved April 16, 2019 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ a b "Marshall tops Youngstown St. on last-second field goal, 31-28". News Record. North Hills, Pennsylvania. AP. December 20, 1992. p. C6. Retrieved April 16, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b "Field goal elevates Herd to I-AA title". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. December 20, 1992. p. C6. Retrieved April 15, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

Further reading edit

External links edit

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