1993 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
I-AA National Championship Game
Youngstown State Penguins Marshall Thundering Herd
(12–2) (11–3)
Independent SoCon
17 5
Head coach: 
Jim Tressel		 Head coach: 
Jim Donnan
TSNSeed
7–
TSNSeed
9–
1234 Total
Youngstown State 17000 17
Marshall 0032 5
DateDecember 18, 1993
Season1993
StadiumMarshall University Stadium
LocationHuntington, West Virginia
FavoriteMarshall by 2[1]
RefereeSteve Newman (Gateway)[2]
Attendance29,218[3]
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS Sports
AnnouncersSean McDonough (play-by-play), Dan Jiggetts (color), Jim Gray (sideline)[4]
NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
 < 1992 1994 > 

The 1993 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 18, 1993, at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. The culminating game of the 1993 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Youngstown State, 17–5.[5] This was the third consecutive season that these two teams met in the championship game.

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1993 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.[6] The site of the title game, Marshall University Stadium, had been predetermined months earlier.[7]

Youngstown State Penguins

See also: 1993 Youngstown State Penguins football team

Youngstown State finished their regular season with a 9–2 record.[8] Unseeded in the tournament, the Penguins defeated UCF, top-seed Georgia Southern, and Idaho to reach the final. This was the third appearance, both consecutively and overall, for Youngstown State in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1991 and having lost in 1992.

Marshall Thundering Herd

Main article: 1993 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

Marshall finished their regular season with an 8–3 record (5–2 in conference).[9] Also unseeded, the Thundering Herd defeated Howard, Delaware, and Troy State to reach the final. This was the fourth appearance overall, and third consecutively, for Marshall in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1992 and having lost in 1987 and 1991.

Game summary

The only touchdowns in the game came during Youngstown State's first three plays from scrimmage.[2] After Marshall's game opening kickoff went out of bounds, Youngstown State scored from their own 35-yard-line on two running plays. At the end of Marshall's ensuing possession, the Herd's punter was tackled inside their own 10-yard-line, and Youngstown State scored their second rushing touchdown on the next play. The only scoring throughout the remainder of the game was a field goal by each team, and Youngstown State gave up a safety late in the fourth quarter.

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP YSU MU
1 14:27 2 65 0:33 YSU Darnell Clark 50-yard touchdown run, Jeff Wilkins kick good 7 0
1 12:21 1 5 0:03 YSU Tamron Smith 5-yard touchdown run, Wilkins kick good 14 0
1 1:53 YSU 19-yard field goal by Wilkins 17 0
3 3:34 MU 27-yard field goal by Willy Merrick 17 3
4 2:52 MU Safety: YSU punter Wilkins stepped out of end zone 17 5
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 17 5

[3][10]

Game statistics

1 2 3 4 Total
Penguins 17 0 0 0 17
Thundering Herd 0 0 3 2 5
Youngstown State kicker Jeff Wilkins
Statistics YSU MU
First downs 16 16
Plays–yards 63–295 64–256
Rushes–yards 55–220 35–49
Passing yards 75 207
Passing: comp–att–int 7–8–0 19–29–2
Time of possession 34:26 25:34
Team Category Player Statistics
Youngstown State Passing Mark Brungard 7–8, 75 yds
Rushing Tamron Smith 24 car, 109 yds, 1 TD
Receiving Don Zwisler 2 rec, 38 yds
Marshall Passing Todd Donnan 19–29, 207 yds, 2 INT
Rushing Chris Parker 17 car, 47 yds
Receiving Will Brown 7 rec, 94 yds

[3][10]

References

  1. ^ "Odds". The Tampa Tribune. December 18, 1993. p. 20. Retrieved April 12, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b "1-AA National Championship 1993 Youngstown State". Retrieved April 13, 2019 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ a b c "NCAA Division I-AA Championship". The Advocate. Newark, Ohio. December 19, 1993. p. 2B. Retrieved April 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Cobourn, Tom (December 17, 1993). "I-AA final has familiar look". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. p. D6. Retrieved April 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Reed, William F. (December 27, 1993). "Third Time Around". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 13, 2019 – via SI.com.
  6. ^ Fairbank, Dave (November 23, 1993). "Many factors put W&M on the road". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. p. D3. Retrieved February 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Mead, Doug (June 27, 1993). "Western ranked second". Asheville Citizen-Times. Asheville, North Carolina. p. 1D. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  8. ^ "Youngstown State Penguins 1993 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  9. ^ "Marshall Thundering Herd 1993 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved April 12, 2019.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ a b "Youngstown State Football Media Guide". Youngstown State University. 2011. p. 72. Retrieved April 13, 2019 – via issuu.com.

Further reading

External links

NCAA Division I Football Championship Game
Marshall Thundering Herd football
Youngstown State Penguins football
1993–94 NCAA Division I championships
Categories