1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season

The 1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1985, and concluded with the 1985 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 21, 1985, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. The Georgia Southern Eagles won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Furman Paladins by a final score of 44–42.[1]

1985 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
DurationAugust–November
Playoff
DurationNovember 30–December 21
Championship dateDecember 21, 1985
Championship siteTacoma Dome
Tacoma, Washington
ChampionGeorgia Southern
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons

Conference changes and new programs
School1984 Conference1985 Conference
VillanovaRevived ProgramI-AA Independent

Conference standings
1985 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 5 Idaho $^ 6 –1 –0  9 –3 –0
No. T–2 Nevada ^ 6 –1 –0  11 –2 –0
Boise State 5 –2 –0  7 –4 –0
Weber State 4 –3 –0  6 –5 –0
Idaho State 3 –4 –0  5 –6 –0
Montana 2 –5 –0  3 –8 –0
Northern Arizona 1 –6 –0  3 –8 –0
Montana State 1 –6 –0  2 –9 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll
1985 Gateway Football Conference standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 4 Northern Iowa $^ 5 –0 –0  11 –2 –0
Southwest Missouri State 2 –2 –1  6 –4 –1
Western Illinois 2 –3 –0  5 –5 –0
Southern Illinois 2 –3 –0  4 –7 –0
Eastern Illinois 2 –3 –0  6 –5 –0
Illinois State 1 –3 –1  6 –3 –2
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1985 Gulf Star Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Stephen F. Austin + 4 –1 –0  9 –2 –0
Sam Houston State + 4 –1 –0  8 –3 –0
Nicholls State 2 –3 –0  6 –5 –0
Northwestern State 2 –3 –0  3 –8 –0
Southwest Texas State 2 –3 –0  3 –8 –0
Southeastern Louisiana 1 –4 –0  2 –9 –0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1985 Ivy League football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Penn $ 6 –1 –0  7 –2 –1
Harvard 5 –2 –0  7 –3 –0
Princeton 5 –2 –0  5 –5 –0
Brown 4 –3 –0  5 –4 –1
Yale 3 –3 –1  4 –4 –1
Dartmouth 2 –4 –1  2 –7 –1
Cornell 2 –5 –0  3 –7 –0
Columbia 0 –7 –0  0 –10 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
1985 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. T–12 Delaware State $ 4 –0 –0  9 –2 –0
Bethune–Cookman 3 –1 –0  6 –4 –0
South Carolina State 2 –2 –0  5 –6 –0
North Carolina A&T 1 –3 –0  6 –5 –0
Howard 0 –4 –0  4 –7 –0
Morgan State 0 –0 –0  0 –9 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Morgan State games did not count as conference games.
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1985 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 1 Middle Tennessee State $^ 7 –0 –0  11 –1 –0
No. 10 Akron ^ 5 –2 –0  8 –4 –0
No. 17 Murray State 5 –2 –0  7 –3 –1
No. 19 Eastern Kentucky 5 –2 –0  8 –3 –0
Youngstown State 4 –3 –0  5 –6 –0
Austin Peay 2 –5 –0  5 –6 –0
Tennessee Tech 1 –6 –0  1 –10 –0
Morehead State 0 –7 –0  1 –10 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1985 Southern Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 2t Furman $^ 6 –0 –0  12 –2 –0
No. 12t Appalachian State 6 –1 –0  8 –3 –0
Chattanooga 5 –2 –0  6 –5 –0
Marshall 3 –3 –1  7 –3 –1
The Citadel 2 –4 –1  5 –5 –1
Western Carolina 2 –4 –1  4 –6 –1
VMI 1 –4 –1  3 –7 –1
Davidson 0 –6 –0  1 –10 –0
East Tennessee State 0 –7 –0  0 –10 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
1985 Southland Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 6 Arkansas State $^ 5 –1 –0  9 –4 –0
No. 14 Louisiana Tech 4 –2 –0  8 –3 –0
McNeese State 3 –1 –2  6 –3 –2
Northeast Louisiana 3 –3 –0  6 –5 –0
North Texas State 2 –3 –1  4 –6 –1
Texas–Arlington 2 –3 –1  4 –6 –1
Lamar 0 –6 –0  2 –9 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
  • Ranking is from the Sports Network Poll
1985 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 8 Grambling State +^  6 –1     9 –3  
No. 15 Jackson State +^  6 –1     8 –3  
Mississippi Valley State  5 –2     8 –3  
No. 20 Alcorn State  5 –2     7 –3  
Southern  3 –4     6 –5  
Alabama State  2 –5     3 –8  
Texas Southern  1 –6     1 –10  
Prairie View A&M  0 –7     2 –9  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Div I-AA Football Committee poll
1985 Yankee Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 7 Rhode Island $^ 5 –0 –0  10 –3 –0
UMass 4 –1 –0  7 –4 –0
New Hampshire 2 –3 –0  6 –4 –0
Maine 2 –3 –0  6 –5 –0
Connecticut 1 –4 –0  4 –5 –0
Boston University 1 –4 –0  3 –8 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1985 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 9 Georgia Southern ^ 0 –0 –0  13 –2 –0
No. 11 Eastern Washington ^ 0 –0 –0  9 –3 –0
No. 18 Richmond 0 –0 –0  8 –3 –0
Colgate 0 –0 –0  7 –3 –1
Delaware 0 –0 –0  7 –4 –0
Tennessee State 0 –0 –0  7 –4 –0
No. 16 William & Mary 0 –0 –0  7 –4 –0
Lafayette 0 –0 –0  6 –5 –0
James Madison 0 –0 –0  5 –6 –0
Lehigh 0 –0 –0  5 –6 –0
Holy Cross 0 –0 –0  4 –6 –1
Florida A&M 0 –0 –0  4 –7 –0
Western Kentucky 0 –0 –0  4 –7 –0
Bucknell 0 –0 –0  3 –7 –0
Northeastern 0 –0 –0  2 –8 –0
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Div I-AA Football Committee poll

Conference champions
See also: List of NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football seasons
Conference Champions

Big Sky Conference – Idaho
Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference – Northern Iowa
Ivy League – Penn
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Delaware State
Ohio Valley Conference – Middle Tennessee State
Southern Conference – Furman Paladins
Southland Conference – Arkansas State
Yankee Conference – Rhode Island

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA Playoff bracket

The top four teams were seeded, and received first-round byes.[2]

First Round
November 30
Campus Sites		 Quarterfinals
December 7
Campus Sites		 Semifinals
December 14
Campus Sites		 National Championship Game
December 21
Neutral Site
                           
    Murfreesboro, TN        
Statesboro, GA
  (1) Middle Tennessee State   21
  Georgia Southern   27 Cedar Falls, IA
    Georgia Southern   28  
  Jackson State   0     Georgia Southern   40
  Cedar Falls, IA
Moscow, ID     (4) Northern Iowa   33  
  (4) Northern Iowa   17
  Idaho   38 Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome
    Eastern Washington   14  
  Eastern Washington   42     Georgia Southern   44
  Greenville, SC
Kingston, RI     (3) Furman   42
  (3) Furman   59
  Rhode Island   35 Greenville, SC
    Rhode Island   15  
  Akron   27     (3) Furman   35
  Reno, NV
Jonesboro, AR     (2) Nevada   12  
  (2) Nevada   24
  Arkansas State   10
    Arkansas State   23  
  Grambling State   7  

References
  1. "1985 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  2. Hardesty, Abe (November 25, 1985). "Furman in I-AA playoffs". The Greenville News. Greenville, South Carolina. p. 1C. Retrieved May 3, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
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