# 1999 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

The 1999 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Youngstown State Penguins. The game was played on December 18, 1999, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 1999 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 59–24.

## Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1999 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.

### Youngstown State Penguins

Youngstown State finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (5–1 in conference); one of their losses had been to Western Michigan of Division I-A. Seeded ninth in the playoffs, the Penguins defeated eight-seed Montana, 16-seed North Carolina A&T, and 13-seed Florida A&M to reach the final. This was the sixth appearance for Youngstown State in a Division I-AA championship game, having won four titles (1991, 1993, 1994, and 1997) against one loss (1992).

### 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 Oregon State of Division I-A. The Eagles, seeded second, defeated 15-seed Northern Arizona, 10-seed UMass, and sixth-seed Illinois State to reach the final. This was the seventh appearance for Georgia Southern in a Division I-AA championship game, having four prior wins (1985, 1986, 1989, 1990) 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 | YSU |
| 1 | 10:20 | 9 | 44 | 4:40 | GSU | 25-yard field goal by Chris Chambers | 3 | 0 |
| 1 | 4:51 | 11 | 76 | 5:29 | YSU | Adrian Brown 2-yard touchdown run, Mark Griffith kick good | 3 | 7 |
| 1 | 2:51 | 5 | 72 | 2:00 | GSU | Greg Hill 42-yard touchdown run, Chambers kick good | 10 | 7 |
| 2 | 14:34 | 8 | 73 | 3:17 | YSU | Jeff Ryan 3-yard touchdown run, Griffith kick good | 10 | 14 |
| 2 | 10:25 | 11 | 78 | 4:09 | GSU | Adrian Peterson 3-yard touchdown run, Chambers kick good | 17 | 14 |
| 2 | 9:05 | 1 | 57 | 0:10 | GSU | Bennie Cunningham 57-yard touchdown run, Chambers kick good | 24 | 14 |
| 2 | 5:27 | 2 | 72 | 0:40 | GSU | Peterson 22-yard touchdown run, Chambers kick good | 31 | 14 |
| 2 | 2:09 | | | | GSU | Punt returned 72 yards for touchdown by Anthony Williams, Chambers kick good | 38 | 14 |
| 3 | 4:47 | 5 | 41 | 1:15 | YSU | 30-yard field goal by Griffith | 38 | 17 |
| 3 | 3:05 | 5 | 66 | 1:42 | GSU | Peterson 1-yard touchdown run, Chambers kick good | 45 | 17 |
| 4 | 9:57 | 10 | 90 | 4:34 | GSU | Mark Myers 5-yard touchdown run, Chambers kick good | 52 | 17 |
| 4 | 7:13 | 2 | 71 | 1:11 | GSU | J. R. Revere 66-yard touchdown run, Chambers kick good | 59 | 17 |
| 4 | 3:48 | 8 | 71 | 3:25 | YSU | Brown 1-yard touchdown run, Griffith kick good | 59 | 24 |
| "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. | 59 | 24 |

### Game statistics

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 2 Eagles | 10 | 28 | 7 | 14 | 59 |
| No. 9 Penguins | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
| Statistics | GSU | YSU |
| First downs | 24 | 17 |
| Plays–yards | 63–655 | 64–338 |
| Rushes–yards | 59–638 | 44–163 |
| Passing yards | 17 | 175 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 1–4–0 | 11–20–1 |
| Time of possession | 27:47 | 32:13 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Georgia Southern | Passing | Greg Hill | 1–4, 17 yds |
| Georgia Southern | Rushing | Adrian Peterson | 25 car, 247 yds, 3 TD |
| Georgia Southern | Receiving | Dedric Parham | 1 rec, 17 yds |
| Youngstown State | Passing | Jeff Ryan | 11–20, 175 yds, 1 INT |
| Youngstown State | Rushing | Adrian Brown | 22 car, 160 yds, 2 TD |
| Youngstown State | Receiving | Renauld Ray | 4 rec, 90 yds |