1981 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
I-AA National Championship Game
Pioneer Bowl
Eastern Kentucky Colonels Idaho State Bengals
(12–1) (11–1)
Ohio Valley Big Sky
23 34
Head coach: 
Roy Kidd		 Head coach: 
Dave Kragthorpe
NCAASeed
11
NCAASeed
22
1234 Total
Eastern Kentucky 3677 23
Idaho State 72106 34
DateDecember 19, 1981
Season1981
StadiumMemorial Stadium
LocationWichita Falls, Texas
Attendance11,002[1]
United States TV coverage
NetworkABC Sports
AnnouncersBill Flemming (play-by-play), Frank Broyles (color)[2]

The 1981 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Eastern Kentucky Colonels and the Idaho State Bengals. The game was played on December 19, 1981, at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The culminating game of the 1981 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Idaho State, 34–23.[3]

The game was also known as the Pioneer Bowl,[4] a name that had been used starting in 1971 for various NCAA playoff games held in Wichita Falls. The Colonels were making their third consecutive appearance in the I-AA championship game.

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1981 I-AA Playoffs, which began with an eight-team bracket.[5]

Eastern Kentucky Colonels

Eastern Kentucky finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (8–0 in conference); their only loss was to Navy of Division I-A.[6] Ranked first in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll[7] and seeded first in the tournament, the Colonels defeated seventh-seed Delaware and fourth-seed Boise State to reach the final. This was the third appearance for Eastern Kentucky in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1979 and having lost in 1980.

Idaho State Bengals

Idaho State finished their regular season with a 9–1 record (6–1 in conference); their only loss was an away game at Montana.[8] Ranked second in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll[7] and seeded second in the tournament, the Bengals defeated eighth-seed Rhode Island and third-seed South Carolina State to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Idaho State in a Division I-AA championship game.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP EKU ISU
1 EKU 21-yard field goal by Jamie Lovett 3 0
1 3:07 80 ISU Chris Corp 17-yard touchdown reception from Mike Machurek, Case deBruijn kick good 3 7
2 EKU Ed Hairston 3-yard touchdown run, Lovett kick failed 9 7
2 6 52 ISU Dwain Wilson 6-yard touchdown run, deBruijn kick good 9 14
2 80 ISU Chris Ewing 9-yard touchdown reception from Machurek, deBruijn kick good 9 21
2 2:52 38 ISU Wilson 6-yard touchdown run, deBruijn kick good 9 28
3 5:17 71 EKU Nicky Yeast 2-yard touchdown run, Lovett kick good 16 28
4 14:__ 74 ISU Paul Fite 2-yard touchdown run, 2-point run failed 16 34
4 8:13 EKU Yeast 4-yard touchdown run, Lovett kick good 23 34
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 23 34

[1][9][10]

Game statistics

1 2 3 4 Total
Colonels 3 6 7 7 23
Bengals 7 21 0 6 34
Memorial Stadium, site of the 1981 I-AA title game
Statistics EKU ISU
First downs1924
Plays–yards75–38677–482
Rushes–yards47–16731–102
Passing yards219380
Passing: comp–att–int14–28–131–46–0
Time of possession
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Eastern Kentucky PassingChris Isaac14–28, 219 yds, 1 INT
RushingNicky Yeast10 car, 58 yds
ReceivingSteve Bird5 rec, 81 yds
Idaho State PassingMike Machurek29–44, 380 yds, 2 TD
RushingDwain Wilson12 car, 58 yds, 2 TD
ReceivingJerry Bird9 rec, 139 yds

[1][11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Stroop, Joe (December 20, 1981). "Idaho State wins I-AA football title". The Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. AP. p. D11. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Highlights from the 1981 1-AA National Championship Team---the ISU Bengals". Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via YouTube.
  3. ↑ "Idaho State Takes Title, 34-23". The New York Times. AP. December 20, 1981. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via nytimes.com.
  4. ↑ "Pioneer Bowl Comeback Today". Rutland Daily Herald. Rutland, Vermont. December 19, 1981. p. 24. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Cooper, Barry (May 1, 1981). "MEAC gets berth in I-AA football playoffs". Tallahassee Democrat. p. 23. Retrieved February 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Eastern Kentucky Colonels 1981 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  7. 1 2 "NCAA Division I-AA". The Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. AP. November 25, 1981. p. B2. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Idaho State Bengals 1981 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  9. ↑ Sutton, Stan (December 20, 1981). "Eastern's mistakes lead to 34-23 loss in I-AA title game". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. p. C 1. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Sutton, Stan (December 20, 1981). "Eastern's mistakes lead to 34-23 loss in I-AA title game (cont'd)". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. p. C 4. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Pioneer Bowl". El Paso Times. El Paso, Texas. December 20, 1981. p. 8C. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

Further reading

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