1992 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

The 1992 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Youngstown State Penguins and the Marshall Thundering Herd. The game was played on December 19, 1992, at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. The culminating game of the 1992 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Marshall, 31–28.[2] The game was a rematch of the prior season's championship game.

This article is about the Division I-AA (now FCS) championship game. For the Division I-A (now FBS) consensus champion, see 1992 Alabama Crimson Tide football team.
1992 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
I-AA National Championship Game
Youngstown State Penguins Marshall Thundering Herd
(11–2–1) (11–3)
Independent SoCon
28 31
Head coach: 
Jim Tressel		 Head coach: 
Jim Donnan
NCAASeed
7—
NCAASeed
6—
1234 Total
Youngstown State 001414 28
Marshall 014143 31
DateDecember 19, 1992
Season1992
StadiumMarshall University Stadium
LocationHuntington, West Virginia
FavoriteMarshall by 8.5[1]
Attendance31,304[2]
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS Sports
AnnouncersJim Nantz (play-by-play), John Robinson (color)[3]

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1992 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.[4] The site of the title game, Marshall University Stadium, had been predetermined months earlier.[5]

Youngstown State Penguins
See also: Youngstown State Penguins football

Youngstown State finished their regular season with an 8–2–1 record.[6] Unseeded in the tournament and ranked seventh in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll,[7] the Penguins defeated Villanova, second-seed The Citadel, and third-seed Northern Iowa to reach the final. This was the second appearance, both consecutively and overall, for Youngstown State in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1991.

Marshall Thundering Herd
Main article: 1992 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

Marshall finished their regular season with an 8–3 record (5–2 in conference).[8] Unseeded and ranked sixth in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll,[7] the Thundering Herd defeated Eastern Kentucky, fourth-seed Middle Tennessee, and Delaware to reach the final. This was the third appearance overall, and second consecutively, for Marshall in a Division I-AA championship game, having lost in 1987 and 1991.

Game summary

After a scoreless first quarter, Marshall led 14–0 at halftime, and extended their lead to 28–0 with 5:46 left in the third quarter. Youngstown State then rallied, cutting the lead to 28–14 by the end of the third quarter, and tying the game with 2:28 left in the fourth quarter. Marshall then drove from their 19-yard-line to the Youngstown State 5-yard-line, and senior kicker Willy Merrick made a 22-yard-field goal with seven seconds left to play, providing the winning points for Marshall.[9] It was Merrick's first collegiate field goal, as the team's usual kicker, Merrick's sophomore brother David, was suspended for the game due to missing a practice.[10]

Scoring summary
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP YSU MU
2 10:33 MU Mike Bartrum 6-yard touchdown reception from Michael Payton, Willy Merrick kick good 0 7
2 3:30 7 28 MU Orlando Hatchett 5-yard touchdown run, Merrick kick good 0 14
3 MU Glenn Pedro 1-yard touchdown run, Merrick kick good 0 21
3 5:46 MU Hatchett 22-yard touchdown reception from Payton, Merrick kick good 0 28
3 3:41 57 2:05 YSU Herb Williams 30-yard touchdown reception from Nick Cochran, Jeff Wilkins kick good 7 28
3 0:16 65 0:40 YSU Tamron Smith 4-yard touchdown run, Wilkins kick good 14 28
4 12:04 4 49 1:19 YSU Smith 1-yard touchdown run, Wilkins kick good 21 28
4 2:28 YSU Smith 10-yard touchdown run, Wilkins kick good 28 28
4 0:07 76 MU 22-yard field goal by Merrick 28 31
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 28 31

[11][10]

Game statistics
1 2 3 4 Total
Penguins 0 0 14 14 28
Thundering Herd 0 14 14 3 31
Marshall tight end Mike Bartrum in 2010
StatisticsYSUMU
First downs1726
Plays–yards65–37282–455
Rushes–yards34–11642–185
Passing yards256270
Passing: Comp–Att–Int18–31–125–40–2
Time of possession27:5732:03
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Youngstown StatePassingNick Cochran18–31, 256 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
RushingTamron Smith20 car, 82 yds, 3 TD
ReceivingHerb Williams5 rec, 105 yds, 1 TD
MarshallPassingMichael Payton25–39, 270 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
RushingOrlando Hatchett15 car, 112 yds, 1 TD
ReceivingTroy Brown10 rec, 115 yds

[11]

References
  1. "The Odds". The Advocate. Newark, Ohio. December 19, 1992. p. 2B. Retrieved April 15, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  2. "Kick Gives Marshall I-AA Title". Chicago Tribune. December 20, 1992. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  3. Crowe, Steve (December 21, 1992). "Double-A Dandy". Detroit Free Press. p. 2D. Retrieved April 16, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  4. Jensen, Mike (November 23, 1992). "'Nova girds for playoff on Youngstown's turf". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C10. Retrieved April 15, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  5. Nielsen, Brian (September 9, 1992). "Here's the Word about The Herd". Journal Gazette. Mattoon, Illinois. p. B3. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  6. "Youngstown State Penguins 1992 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  7. "NCAA Div. I-AA Top 20". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. November 23, 1992. p. 6C. Retrieved April 15, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  8. "Marshall Thundering Herd 1992 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  9. "Marshall Thundering Herd - Winning kick vs YSU in 1992 1-AA". WeHerdU. Retrieved April 16, 2019 – via YouTube.
  10. "Marshall tops Youngstown St. on last-second field goal, 31-28". News Record. North Hills, Pennsylvania. AP. December 20, 1992. p. C6. Retrieved April 16, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  11. "Field goal elevates Herd to I-AA title". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. December 20, 1992. p. C6. Retrieved April 15, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

Further reading
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