1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game
1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
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I-AA National Championship Game Pioneer Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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Date | December 16, 1978 | ||||||||||||||||||
Season | ABC Sports | ||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | Bill Flemming (play-by-play), Frank Broyles (color)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Florida A&M Rattlers and the UMass Minutemen. The game was played on December 16, 1978, at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The culminating game of the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Florida A&M, 35–28.[3]
This was the first season of I-AA play, and the first championship game for the newly formed division. The game was also known as the
Teams
The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1978 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a four-team bracket.
Florida A&M Rattlers
In 1978, Florida A&M was a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), a Division II conference. The university had successfully petitioned the NCAA for Division I classification (Division I-AA in football), which took effect on September 1, 1978.[5]
Florida A&M finished their regular season with a 9–1 record; their only loss was to
UMass Minutemen
UMass finished their regular season with an 8–3 record (5–0 in conference)—all of their losses were to
Game summary
The game was played in a strong wind, estimated at 20–25 miles per hour (32–40 km/h).[9] It was a factor, especially with Florida A&M, as Sammy Knight punted six times for only 45 total yards; he also had two punts blocked.[9] UMass led early, going ahead 6–0 on two field goals. Florida A&M held a 14–6 lead at halftime, but trailed twice in the second half, as UMass had leads of 15–14 and 22–21. Two fourth quarter touchdowns by fullback Mike Solomon then provided Florida A&M with the winning margin. Florida A&M won without completing a pass from scrimmage, as quarterback Albert Chester went 0-for-7 with two interceptions;[10] he did successfully pass for a two-point conversion, and ran for two touchdowns.
Florida A&M placekicker
Note: contemporary news reports listed attendance as 14,000 (estimated);[10][12] NCAA records indicate 13,604.[1]
Scoring summary
Scoring summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Game statistics
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Rattlers | 0 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
Minutemen | 3 | 3 | 9 | 13 | 28 |
Statistics | FAMU | MASS |
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First downs | 20 | 11 |
Plays–yards | 83–470 | 69–241 |
Rushes–yards | 76–470 | 45–116 |
Passing yards | 0 | 125 |
Passing: comp–att–int | 0–7–2 | 8–24–1 |
Time of possession |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
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Florida A&M | Passing | Albert Chester | 0–7, 2 INT |
Rushing | Mike Solomon | 27 car, 207 yds, 3 TD | |
Receiving | none | — | |
UMass | Passing | Mike McEvilly | 8–24, 125 yds, 2 TD 1 INT |
Rushing | Hank Sareault | 16 car, 71 yds | |
Receiving | Chris Kurtz | 2 rec, 46 yds, 1 TD |
See also
References
- ^ a b "Division I Championship" (PDF). NCAA. 2013. p. 14. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via ncaa.org.
- ^ Richardson, Brian (December 17, 1978). "ABC still owes the Rattlers one". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. p. 5D. Retrieved May 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "UMass Toppled in Bowl, 35‐28". The New York Times. AP. December 17, 1978. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- ^ Climer, David (July 22, 1978). "I-AA Finals Set At Pioneer Bowl". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. p. 20. Retrieved May 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Cooper, Barry (August 31, 1978). "Florida A&M granted Division 1 status". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. p. 1B. Retrieved May 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Florida A&M Rattlers 1978 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved May 13, 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "Reno gets playoff berth". Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. AP. November 21, 1978. p. 1-B. Retrieved May 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Massachusetts Minutemen 1978 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved May 13, 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c Cooper, Barry (December 17, 1978). "FAMU (cont'd)". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. p. 7A. Retrieved May 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d "A&M figures". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. December 17, 1978. p. 5D. Retrieved May 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Homer, Jody (May 12, 1985). "Cards` Rookie Looks Like a Steal". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ Fort Lauderdale News. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. p. 10C. Retrieved May 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Cooper, Barry (December 17, 1978). "FAMU captures a national title". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. p. 1A. Retrieved May 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- Fort Lauderdale News. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. p. 1C. Retrieved May 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
Further reading
- Sharrock, Rory (June 22, 2018). "Rattler Redux: FAMU documentary celebrates 1978 championship". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
- Sharrock, Rory (September 16, 2018). "FAMU's 1978 national title: The first and last of its kind". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved May 12, 2019.