1984 Rhode Island Rams football team

The 1984 Rhode Island Rams football team was an American football team that represented the University of Rhode Island in the Yankee Conference during the 1984 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their ninth season under head coach Bob Griffin, the Rams compiled a 10–3 record (4–1 against conference opponents), tied for the conference championship, and advanced to the Division I-AA playoffs where they lost to Montana State in the semifinals.^[1]

1984 Rhode Island Rams football
Yankee co-champion
NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal, L 20–32 at Montana State
Conference	Yankee Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 3
Record	10–3 (4–1 Yankee)
Head coach	Bob Griffin (9th season)
Offensive coordinator	Niles Nelson (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Pete Adrian (9th season)
Home stadium	Meade Stadium
Seasons ← 1983 1985 →

1984 Yankee Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Rhode Island +^	4	–	1	–	0			10	–	3	–	0
No. 4 Boston University +^	4	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 11 New Hampshire	3	–	2	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
Maine	2	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Connecticut	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
UMass	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Quarterback Tom Ehrhardt, a junior transfer from C. W. Post, completed 308 of 536 passes (57.5%) for 3,870 yards and 36 touchdowns.^[2][3][4] He was known as "Ehr Force", and Rhode Island's offensive line was called the "Ehr National Guard."^[5] At the end of the season, he was named the Yankee Conference offensive player of the year.^[6]

Seven Rhode Island players received first-team honors on the 1984 Yankee Conference all-star team: Ehrhardt; wide receiver Dameon Reilly; tight end Brian Forster; guard Greg Sturgis; defensive lineman Charles Bounty; linebacker Mark Brockwell; and defensive back Tony Hill.^[7] Other key players included running backs Rich Kelley and Mike Sanders.^[4]

The team played its home games at Meade Stadium in Kingston, Rhode Island.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1	Howard*		Meade Stadium Kingston, RI	W 31–21	3,520	[8]
September 8	Lafayette*		Meade Stadium Kingston, RI	W 31–10	6,858	[9]
September 15	at Holy Cross*		Fitton Field Worcester, MA	L 0–19	9,911	[10]
September 22	at Maine		Alumni Field Orono, ME	W 27–0	8,000	[11]
September 29	at Brown*	No. T–18	Brown Stadium Providence, RI (rivalry)	W 34–13	12,523	[12]
October 6	UMass	No. 16	Meade Stadium Kingston, RI	W 20–19	10,227	[13]
October 13	at Northeastern*	No. 14	Parsons Field Brookline, MA	W 30–22	4,650	[14]
October 20	No. T–14 Boston University	No. 11	Meade Stadium Kingston, RI	W 22–7	13,052	[15]
October 27	at Lehigh*	No. 6	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 24–16	12,500	[16]
November 3	at No. 8 New Hampshire	No. 6	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	L 12–14	14,335	[17]
November 17	at Connecticut	No. T–6	Memorial Stadium Storrs, CT (rivalry)	W 29–19	4,799	[18]
December 1	No. 12 Richmond*	No. 3	Meade Stadium Kingston, RI (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	W 23–17	10,446	[2]
December 8	at No. 2 Montana State*	No. 3	Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)	L 20–32	12,697	[19]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game