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Postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Furman Paladins
College football game
The 1988 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Furman Paladins . The game was played on December 17, 1988, at Holt Arena in Pocatello, Idaho . The culminating game of the 1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season , it was won by Furman, 17–12.[ 4]
The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1988 I-AA Playoffs , which began with a 16-team bracket .[ 5]
Georgia Southern Eagles [ edit ] Georgia Southern finished their regular season with a 9–2 record; one of their losses was to Florida State of Division I-A .[ 6] [ 7] The Citadel , Stephen F. Austin , and Eastern Kentucky to reach the final. This was the third appearance for Georgia Southern in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1985 and 1986.
Furman also finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (6–1 in conference); one of their losses was to Clemson of Division I-A.[ 8] [ 7] Delaware , Marshall , and top-seed Idaho to reach the final. This was the second appearance for Furman in a Division I-AA championship game, having lost to Georgia Southern in 1985.
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
GSC
FUR
1
7:13
9
36
4:10
GSC
55-yard field goal by David Cool
3
0
1
0:54
13
88
6:19
FUR
Greg Key 19-yard touchdown reception from Frankie DeBusk , Glenn Connally kick good
3
7
2
1:09
8
50
3:06
FUR
36-yard field goal by Connally
3
10
3
5:07
15
29
5:34
GSC
48-yard field goal by Cool
6
10
3
0:38
9
80
4:29
FUR
Dwight Sterling 5-yard touchdown run, Connally kick good
6
17
4
12:24
GSC
Mark Giles returned blocked punt 30 yards for touchdown, 2-point pass incomplete
12
17
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
12
17
[ 2]
1
2
3
4
Total
Eagles
3
0
3
6
12
Paladins
7
3
7
0
17
Holt Arena , site of the 1988 Division I-AA championship game
Statistics
GSC
FUR
First downs
14
17
Plays–yards
69–198
65–355
Rushes–yards
52–134
54–231
Passing yards
64
124
Passing: comp –att –int
5–17–2
7–11–1
Time of possession
26:51
33:09
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Georgia Southern
Passing
Raymond Gross
5–17, 64 yds, 2 INT
Rushing
Joe Ross
15 car, 58 yds
Receiving
Deryl Belser
2 rec, 26 yds
Furman
Passing
Frankie DeBusk 7–11, 124 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing
Dwight Sterling
12 car, 70 yds, 1 TD
Receiving
Donald Lipscomb
3 rec, 53 yds
[ 2]
^ "America's Line" . New York Daily News . Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via newspapers.com.^ a b c d "NCAA Official Scoring Summary" (PDF) . December 17, 1988. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via Amazon Web Services .^ "1988 I-AA National Championship - Furman vs Ga. Southern" . June 21, 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via YouTube .^ "Furman Edges Ga. Southern for Div. I-AA Title" . Deseret News Salt Lake City . December 18, 1988. Retrieved April 27, 2019 .^ Hardesty, Abe (November 21, 1988). "Citadel, Furman get I-AA berths" . The Greenville News Greenville, South Carolina . p. 5D. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via newspapers.com. ^ "Georgia Southern Eagles 1988 Schedule" . cfbinfo.com . Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019 .^ a b "Final I-AA poll" . The Greenville News Greenville, South Carolina . November 21, 1988. p. 5D. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via newspapers.com.^ "Furman Paladins 1988 Schedule" . cfbinfo.com . Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019 .
Games through 2009 were played in December. Subsequent games have been played in January (*) or May (†).
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
1988–89 NCAA Division I championships
