1996 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) championship game, see 1996 Fiesta Bowl.

The 1996 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Marshall Thundering Herd and the Montana Grizzlies. The game was played on December 21, 1996, and was the last I-AA title game contested at Marshall University Stadium, now known as Joan C. Edwards Stadium, in Huntington, West Virginia. The culminating game of the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was a rematch of the prior season's final, and was won by Marshall, 49–29.^[4] It was also Marshall's final game in Division I-AA, now known as Division I FCS; the Herd would move to Division I-A (now Division I FBS) the following July, joining the Mid-American Conference.

1996 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
I-AA National Championship Game
Montana Grizzlies Marshall Thundering Herd (14–0) (14–0) Big Sky SoCon 29 49 Head coach:  Mick Dennehy Head coach:  Bob Pruett TSN Seed 2 1 TSN Seed 1 2
1 2 3 4 Total Montana 0 6 0 23 29 Marshall 14 9 16 10 49
Date	December 21, 1996
Season	1996
Stadium	Marshall University Stadium
Location	Huntington, West Virginia
Favorite	Marshall by 6.5[1]
Referee	Chuck Feevey[2]
Attendance	30,052[3]
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Brad Nessler (play-by-play) and Gary Danielson (analyst)
NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship  ← 1995 1997 →

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1996 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.^[5] The location of the title game, Marshall University Stadium, was determined before the playoffs started.^[6]

Montana Grizzlies

Main article: 1996 Montana Grizzlies football team

Montana finished their regular season with a 14–0 record (8–0 in conference).^[7] Seeded first in the playoffs, the Grizzlies defeated 16-seed Nicholls State, sixth-seed East Tennessee State, and fourth-seed Troy State to reach the final. This was the second appearance for Montana in a Division I-AA championship game, as the team was the defending champion from 1995.

Marshall Thundering Herd

Main article: 1996 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

Marshall also finished their regular season with a 14–0 record (8–0 in conference).^[8] The Thundering Herd, seeded second, defeated 15-seed Delaware, tenth-seed Furman, and third-seed Northern Iowa to reach the final. This was the sixth appearance for Marshall in a Division I-AA championship game, having one prior win (1992) and four prior losses (1987, 1991, 1993, and 1995).

Game summary

Scoring summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP MONT MAR 1 9:13 MAR Randy Moss 19-yard touchdown reception from Eric Kresser, Tim Openlander kick good 0 7 1 2:09 MAR Doug Chapman 61-yard touchdown run, Openlander kick good 0 14 2 14:08 MAR Moss 70-yard touchdown reception from Kresser, Openlander kick no good (blocked) 0 20 2 8:14 MAR 20-yard field goal by Openlander 0 23 2 5:05 MONT 40-yard field goal by Andy Larson 3 23 2 0:15 MONT 27-yard field goal by Larson 6 23 3 14:05 MAR Moss 54-yard touchdown reception from Kresser, Openlander kick good 6 30 3 5:03 MAR Chapman 9-yard touchdown run, Openlander kick good 6 37 3 3:34 MAR Safety: intentional grounding in the end zone by Montana QB Brian Ah Yat 6 39 4 14:51 MAR Moss 28-yard touchdown reception from Kresser, Openlander kick good 6 46 4 10:52 MONT Joe Douglass 28-yard touchdown reception from Ah Yat, 2-point pass good (Dallas Neil from Ah Yat) 14 46 4 7:09 MONT Josh Branen 2-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass good (Douglass from Ah Yat) 22 46 4 4:18 MAR 37-yard field goal by Openlander 22 49 4 2:09 MONT Josh Paffhausen 18-yard touchdown reception from Ah Yat, Larson kick good 29 49 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 29 49

^[9]

Game statistics

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 1 Grizzlies	0	6	0	23	29
No. 2 Thundering Herd	14	9	16	10	49

Marshall wide receiver Randy Moss

Statistics	MONT	MAR
First downs	31	21
Plays–yards	90–430	64–541
Rushes–yards	35–95	36–217
Passing yards	335	324
Passing: comp–att–int	36–55–1	18–28–0
Time of possession	31:13	28:47

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Montana	Passing	Brian Ah Yat	36–55, 335 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Josh Branen	19 car, 101 yds, 1 TD
	Receiving	Joe Douglass	13 rec, 117 yds, 1 TD
Marshall	Passing	Eric Kresser	18–28, 324 yds, 4 TD
	Rushing	Erik Thomas	20 car, 114 yds
	Receiving	Randy Moss	9 rec, 220 yds, 4 TD

^[3]