2003_NCAA_Division_I-AA_Football_Championship_Game
2003 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game
Postseason college football game between the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens and the Colgate Raiders
The 2003 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens and the Colgate Raiders. The game was played on December 19, 2003, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Delaware, 40–0.
| 2003 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| I-AA National Championship Game | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 19, 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Finley Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Chattanooga, Tennessee | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Mike Purcell (Ohio Valley)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 14,281[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN2[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Mike Golic (color), Rod Gilmore (color), Rob Stone (sideline)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 2003 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
Delaware finished their regular season with an 11–1 record (8–1 in conference). Their only loss was to Northeastern, while one of their wins was over Navy of Division I-A. The Fightin' Blue Hens, seeded second in the tournament, defeated Southern Illinois, Northern Iowa, and third-seed Wofford to reach the final. This was the second appearance for Delaware in a Division I-AA championship game, having lost in 1982.
Colgate Raiders
Colgate finished their regular season with a 12–0 record (7–0 in conference).[3] The Raiders, seeded fourth in the tournament, defeated UMass, Western Illinois, and Florida Atlantic to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Colgate in a Division I-AA championship game.
Scoring summary
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Game statistics
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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| No. 4 Raiders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 2 Fighting' Blue Hens | 13 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 40 |
| Statistics | COLG | DEL |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 10 | 20 |
| Plays–yards | 54–157 | 75–348 |
| Rushes–yards | 32–46 | 55–165 |
| Passing yards | 111 | 183 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 10–22–0 | 12–20–0 |
| Time of possession | 23:23 | 34:40 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colgate | Passing | Chris Brown | 9–21, 94 yds |
| Rushing | Jamal Branch | 20–55 | |
| Receiving | Luke Graham | 4 rec, 32 yds | |
| Delaware | Passing | Andy Hall | 12–20, 183 yds, 2 TD |
| Rushing | Germaine Bennett | 20–60, 2 TD | |
| Receiving | David Boler | 6 rec, 91 yds, 2 TD |
- "Colgate Delaware Football 2003 1st Half 1AA Championship". Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via YouTube.
- "Colgate vs DELAWARE". colgate.edu. December 19, 2003. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- "Colgate Raiders, 2003 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
- "Game statistics". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. December 20, 2003. p. C8. Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- Thamel, Pete (December 20, 2003). "Colgate's Bid for Perfection Hits Wall". The New York Times. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- "Division I-AA Poll". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. The Sports Network. November 28, 2003. p. 2C. Retrieved February 5, 2019 – via newspapers.com.