# 1998 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

The 1998 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the UMass Minutemen. The game was played on December 19, 1998, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by UMass, 55–43.

## Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1998 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.

### UMass Minutemen

UMass finished their regular season with an 8–3 record (6–2 in conference); two of their losses had been to rival Connecticut, with one considered a non-conference game. Seeded 11th in the playoffs, the Minutemen defeated sixth-seed McNeese State, 14-seed Lehigh, and second-seed Northwestern State to reach the final. This was the second appearance for UMass in a Division I-AA championship game, having lost to Florida A&M in the 1978 inaugural title game.

### Georgia Southern Eagles

Georgia Southern finished their regular season with an 11–0 record (8–0 in conference). The Eagles, seeded first, defeated 16-seed Colgate, eighth-seed Connecticut, and fourth-seed Western Illinois to reach the final. This was the sixth appearance for Georgia Southern in a Division I-AA championship game, having four prior wins (1985, 1986, 1989, 1990) and one prior loss (1988).

## 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 | UM |
| 1 | 12:56 | 7 | 67 | 2:04 | UM | Marcel Shipp 25-yard touchdown run, Jason Cherry kick good | 0 | 7 |
| 1 | 8:29 | | | | UM | Fumble recovery returned 9 yards for touchdown by Kole Ayi, Cherry kick good | 0 | 14 |
| 1 | 7:25 | 2 | 48 | 1:08 | GSU | Greg Hill 40-yard touchdown run, Chris Chambers kick good | 7 | 14 |
| 1 | 5:04 | 1 | 7 | 0:07 | UM | Adrian Zullo 7-yard touchdown reception from Jamie Holston, Cherry kick good | 7 | 21 |
| 2 | 14:46 | 11 | 63 | 3:34 | UM | 22-yard field goal by Cherry | 7 | 24 |
| 2 | 10:54 | 6 | 36 | 2:11 | GSU | Corey Joyner 6-yard touchdown reception from Greg Hill, Chambers kick good | 14 | 24 |
| 2 | 7:17 | 11 | 64 | 3:37 | UM | Todd Bankhead 1-yard touchdown run, Cherry kick good | 14 | 31 |
| 2 | 4:09 | 5 | 26 | 1:35 | UM | Shipp 4-yard touchdown run, Cherry kick good | 14 | 38 |
| 2 | 2:01 | 6 | 55 | 2:08 | GSU | Adrian Peterson 1-yard touchdown run, Chambers kick good | 21 | 38 |
| 3 | 8:54 | 13 | 78 | 6:06 | GSU | Peterson 5-yard touchdown run, Chambers kick no good | 27 | 38 |
| 3 | 0:41 | 14 | 98 | 6:07 | GSU | Hill 2-yard touchdown run, 2-point run failed | 33 | 38 |
| 4 | 13:42 | 5 | 72 | 1:59 | UM | Kevin Quinlan 2-yard touchdown run, Cherry kick good | 33 | 45 |
| 4 | 11:51 | 5 | 42 | 1:35 | UM | Shipp 2-yard touchdown run, Cherry kick good | 33 | 52 |
| 4 | 8:39 | 12 | 58 | 3:12 | GSU | 38-yard field goal by Chambers | 36 | 52 |
| 4 | 2:21 | 7 | 13 | 3:04 | UM | 25-yard field goal by Cherry | 36 | 55 |
| 4 | 1:04 | 8 | 60 | 1:17 | GSU | J. R. Revere 29-yard touchdown run, Chambers kick good | 43 | 55 |
| "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. | 43 | 55 |

### Game statistics

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 1 Eagles | 7 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 43 |
| No. 11 Minutemen | 21 | 17 | 0 | 17 | 55 |
| Statistics | GSU | UM |
| First downs | 26 | 23 |
| Plays–yards | 86–595 | 77–462 |
| Rushes–yards | 65–457 | 51–303 |
| Passing yards | 138 | 159 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 10–21–1 | 18–26–0 |
| Time of possession | 30:48 | 29:12 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Georgia Southern | Passing | Greg Hill | 8–16, 111 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Georgia Southern | Rushing | Greg Hill | 29 car, 228 yds, 2 TD |
| Georgia Southern | Receiving | Corey Joyner | 6 rec, 94 yds, 1 TD |
| UMass | Passing | Todd Bankhead | 17–25, 152 yds |
| UMass | Rushing | Marcel Shipp | 35 car, 244 yds, 3 TD |
| UMass | Receiving | Jimmy Moore | 6 rec, 63 yds |