1985 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
DurationAugust–November
Playoff
DurationNovember 30–December 21
Championship dateDecember 21, 1985
Championship siteTacoma Dome
Tacoma, Washington
ChampionGeorgia Southern
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons

The 1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1985, and concluded with the 1985 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 21, 1985, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. The Georgia Southern Eagles won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Furman Paladins by a score of 44–42.[1]

Conference changes and new programs

School 1984 Conference 1985 Conference
Villanova Revived Program I-AA Independent

Conference standings

1985 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 Idaho $^ 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. T–2 Nevada ^ 6 – 1 – 0 11 – 2 – 0
Boise State 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Weber State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Idaho State 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Montana 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Northern Arizona 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Montana State 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll
1985 Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Northern Iowa $^ 5 – 0 – 0 11 – 2 – 0
Southwest Missouri State 2 – 2 – 1 6 – 4 – 1
Western Illinois 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Southern Illinois 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Eastern Illinois 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Illinois State 1 – 3 – 1 6 – 3 – 2
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1985 Gulf Star Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Stephen F. Austin + 4 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Sam Houston State + 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Nicholls State 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Northwestern State 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Southwest Texas State 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Southeastern Louisiana 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1985 Ivy League football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Penn $ 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 1
Harvard 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Princeton 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Brown 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 1
Yale 3 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
Dartmouth 2 – 4 – 1 2 – 7 – 1
Cornell 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Columbia 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1985 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. T–12 Delaware State $ 4 – 0 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Bethune–Cookman 3 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
South Carolina State 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
North Carolina A&T 1 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Howard 0 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Morgan State 0 – 0 – 0 0 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Morgan State games did not count as conference games.
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1985 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Tulsa $ 5 – 0 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
West Texas State 3 – 1 – 1 6 – 3 – 1
Illinois State 3 – 1 – 1 6 – 3 – 2
Indiana State 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Wichita State 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Southern Illinois 1 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Drake 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • The conference was a hybrid of NCAA Division I-A and I-AA programs. Tulsa and Wichita State were I-A and the other teams were I-AA.
1985 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Middle Tennessee $^ 7 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 10 Akron ^ 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
No. 17 Murray State 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 1
No. 19 Eastern Kentucky 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Youngstown State 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Austin Peay 2 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Tennessee Tech 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
Morehead State 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1985 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. T–2 Furman $^ 6 – 0 – 0 12 – 2 – 0
No. T–12 Appalachian State 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Chattanooga 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Marshall 3 – 3 – 1 7 – 3 – 1
The Citadel 2 – 4 – 1 5 – 5 – 1
Western Carolina 2 – 4 – 1 4 – 6 – 1
VMI 1 – 4 – 1 3 – 7 – 1
Davidson 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
East Tennessee State 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1985 Southland Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Arkansas State $^ 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 4 – 0
No. 14 Louisiana Tech 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
McNeese State 3 – 1 – 2 6 – 3 – 2
Northeast Louisiana 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
North Texas State 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 6 – 1
Texas–Arlington 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 6 – 1
Lamar 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1985 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 8 Grambling State +^ 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 15 Jackson State +^ 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Mississippi Valley State 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
No. 20 Alcorn State 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Southern 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Alabama State 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Texas Southern 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
Prairie View A&M 0 – 7 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1985 Yankee Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 Rhode Island $^ 5 – 0 – 0 10 – 3 – 0
UMass 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
New Hampshire 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Maine 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Connecticut 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Boston University 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1985 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 9 Georgia Southern ^   –   13 – 2 – 0
No. 11 Eastern Washington ^   –   9 – 3 – 0
No. 18 Richmond   –   8 – 3 – 0
Colgate   –   7 – 3 – 1
Delaware   –   7 – 4 – 0
Tennessee State   –   7 – 4 – 0
No. 16 William & Mary   –   7 – 4 – 0
Lafayette   –   6 – 5 – 0
James Madison   –   5 – 6 – 0
Lehigh   –   5 – 6 – 0
Holy Cross   –   4 – 6 – 1
Florida A&M   –   4 – 7 – 0
Western Kentucky   –   4 – 7 – 0
Bucknell   –   3 – 7 – 0
Northeastern   –   2 – 8 – 0
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Conference champions

See also: List of NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football seasons
Conference Champions

Big Sky Conference – Idaho
Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference – Northern Iowa
Ivy League – Penn
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Delaware State
Ohio Valley Conference – Middle Tennessee State
Southern Conference – Furman Paladins
Southland Conference – Arkansas State
Yankee Conference – Rhode Island

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

The top four teams were seeded, and received first-round byes.[2]

First Round
November 30
Campus sites 		Quarterfinals
December 7
Campus sites 		Semifinals
December 14
Campus sites 		National Championship Game
December 21
Neutral Site
(1) Middle Tennessee 21
Georgia Southern 27 Georgia Southern 28
Jackson State 0 Georgia Southern 40
(4) Northern Iowa 33
(4) Northern Iowa 17
Idaho 38 Eastern Washington 14
Eastern Washington 42 Georgia Southern 44
(3) Furman 42
(3) Furman 59
Rhode Island 35 Rhode Island 15
Akron 27 (3) Furman 35
(2) Nevada 12
(2) Nevada 24
Arkansas State 10 Arkansas State 23
Grambling State 7

References

  1. ^ "1985 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  2. ^ Hardesty, Abe (November 25, 1985). "Furman in I-AA playoffs". The Greenville News. Greenville, South Carolina. p. 1C. Retrieved May 3, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
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