# 2000 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

The 2000 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Montana Grizzlies. The game was played on December 16, 2000, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 27–25.

## Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 2000 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.

### Montana Grizzlies

Montana finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (8–0 in conference); their only loss had been to Hofstra, 10–9, in the season opener. Seeded first in the playoffs, the Grizzlies defeated 16-seed Eastern Illinois, eight-seed Richmond, and 13-seed Appalachian State to reach the final. This was the third appearance for Montana in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1995 and having lost in 1996.

### Georgia Southern Eagles

Georgia Southern finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (7–1 in conference); one of their losses had been to Georgia of Division I-A. The Eagles, seeded third, defeated 14-seed McNeese State, 11-seed Hofstra, and second-seed Delaware to reach the final. This was the eighth appearance for Georgia Southern in a Division I-AA championship game, having five prior wins (1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1999) and two prior losses (1988, 1998).

## Game summary
### Scoring summary

Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | GSU | MONT |
| 1 | 13:19 | 4 | 80 | 1:41 | GSU | GSU offense fumbled, recovered in the end zone by James McCoy, Scott Shelton kick good | 7 | 0 |
| 1 | 2:57 | 5 | 60 | 2:22 | GSU | Chris Johnson 49-yard touchdown reception from J. R. Revere, 2-point run by Shelton failed (after bobbled snap on kick attempt) | 13 | 0 |
| 1 | 1:36 | 5 | 23 | 1:36 | MONT | 38-yard field goal by Chris Snyder | 13 | 3 |
| 2 | 0:33 | 8 | 69 | 3:01 | GSU | Adrian Peterson 1-yard touchdown run, Shelton kick good | 20 | 3 |
| 3 | 3:41 | 11 | 79 | 3:38 | MONT | Etu Molden 17-yard touchdown reception from John Edwards, Snyder kick no good | 20 | 9 |
| 4 | 14:36 | 4 | 73 | 1:30 | MONT | Vince Huntsberger 65-yard touchdown run, Snyder kick no good (wide left) | 20 | 15 |
| 4 | 11:53 | 5 | 18 | 2:00 | MONT | Yo Humphrey 2-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass good (Humphrey from Edwards) | 20 | 23 |
| 4 | 11:29 | 1 | 57 | 0:13 | GSU | Peterson 57-yard touchdown run, Shelton kick good | 27 | 23 |
| 4 | 0:15 | | | | MONT | GSU punter Shelton stepped out of end zone (safety) | 27 | 25 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 27 | 25 |
$^{:68}$

### Game statistics

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 3 Eagles | 13 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
| No. 1 Grizzlies | 3 | 0 | 6 | 16 | 25 |
| Statistics | GSU | MONT |
| First downs | 14 | 28 |
| Plays–yards | 59–390 | 88–487 |
| Rushes–yards | 51–277 | 36–211 |
| Passing yards | 113 | 276 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 5–8–0 | 29–52–2 |
| Time of possession | 27:39 | 32:21 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Georgia Southern | Passing | J. R. Revere | 5–8, 113 yds, 1 TD |
| Georgia Southern | Rushing | Adrian Peterson | 23 car, 148 yds, 2 TD |
| Georgia Southern | Receiving | Chris Johnson | 4 rec, 110 yds, 1 TD |
| Montana | Passing | John Edwards | 24–42, 211 yds, 1 INT, 1 TD |
| Montana | Rushing | Yo Humphrey | 26 car, 119 yds, 1 TD |
| Montana | Receiving | Jimmy Farris | 7 rec, 82 yds |