2008_NCAA_Division_I_Football_Championship_Game
2008 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game
Postseason college football game
The 2008 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Richmond Spiders and the Montana Grizzlies. It was played on December 19, 2008, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season, it was won by Richmond, 24–7.
| 2008 NCAA Division I Football Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| FCS National Championship Game | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 19, 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Finley Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Chattanooga, Tennessee | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Richmond by 1.5[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Cooper Castleberry (Southland)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 17,823[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN2[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 2008 FCS Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.
Richmond Spiders
Richmond finished their regular season with a 9–3 record (6–2 in conference), after starting their season 4–3 through their first seven games. The Spiders defeated Eastern Kentucky, second-seeded Appalachian State, and third-seeded Northern Iowa to reach the final. This was Richmond's first appearance in an FCS/Division I-AA championship game.
Montana Grizzlies
Montana finished their regular season with an 11–1 record (7–1 in conference). As the fourth-seed in the tournament, the Grizzlies defeated Texas State, Weber State (who had given Montana their only defeat during the regular season), and top-seeded James Madison to reach the final. This was Montana's sixth appearance in an FCS/Division I-AA championship game, having previously won in 1995 and 2001, and having lost in 1996, 2000, and 2004.
Scoring summary
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Game statistics
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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| No. 4 Grizzlies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Spiders | 7 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 24 |
| Statistics | MONT | RICH |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 15 | 16 |
| Plays–yards | 63–306 | 58–327 |
| Rushes–yards | 25–39 | 39–208 |
| Passing yards | 267 | 119 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 19–38–1 | 13–19–0 |
| Time of possession | 28:59 | 31:01 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | Passing | Cole Bergquist | 19–36, 267 yds, 1 INT |
| Rushing | Chase Reynolds | 12 car, 47 yds, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Marc Mariani | 7 rec, 172 yds | |
| Richmond | Passing | Eric Ward | 12–18, 96 yds, 1 TD |
| Rushing | Josh Vaughan | 23 car, 162 yds, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Tre Gray | 6 rec, 44 yds |
- "Richmond Spiders @ Montana Grizzlies". vegasinsider.com. December 19, 2008. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
- "Montana vs Richmond". caasports.com. December 19, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
- "On The Air". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. December 19, 2008. p. D2. Retrieved January 7, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- "Montana vs. Richmond - Play-By-Play". ESPN. December 19, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
- "Montana vs. Richmond - Game Summary". ESPN. December 19, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
- "Richmond vs. Montana (box score)". Great Falls Tribune. Great Falls, Montana. December 20, 2008. p. 20. Retrieved January 7, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- "Grizzlies derailed in Chattanooga". gogriz.com. December 19, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
- "Postgame Notes: Richmond Wins National Championship". richmondspiders.com. December 20, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
- "The Sports Network Division I-AA poll". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. The Sports Network. November 11, 2008. p. C5. Retrieved February 5, 2019 – via newspapers.com.