Football Southern Conference

Game Capsules

Southern Sportsmanship<>




GSU Runs the Ball!
Saturday, December 16, 3:00 EST
Georgia Southern (12-2) vs. Montana (13-1)
Finley Stadium/Davenport Field (20,668), Chattanooga, TN

THE SERIES: This will be just the third-ever meeting between Georgia Southern and Montana . . . The Eagles won the first game, downing the Griz 45-15 in Statesboro in the national semifinals . . . In 1995, Montana beat the Eagles 45-0 in Missoula in the quarterfinals . . . Montana had 629 yards of total offense against GSU in that '95 contest . . . GSU had just 91 yards of total offense against the Griz that afternoon.

THE COACHES: Georgia Southern head coach Paul Johnson (Western Carolina 79) is in his fourth year with the Eagles and has a record of 49-8 . . . He has guided the Eagles to four straight I-AA playoff bids and back-to-back championship game berths while winning the 1999 national championship . . . . . . Montana head coach Joe Glenn (South Dakota '71) is in his first year with the Griz and has led them to a 13-1 record . . . Glenn, the Eddie Robinson Award (Coach of the Year) winner, has also been the head coach at Northern Colorado and Doane and has a career record of 131-55-1.

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Georgia Southern will be seeking a record sixth national championship . . . GSU is the defending national champion after blasting Youngstown State, 59-24, in the '99 title tilt . . . GSU is 33-6 all-time in the postseason including a 25-0 record at home . . . GSU is just 8-6 away from Paulson Stadium . . . The Eagles are playing their fifth game in Chattanooga in the last three years . . . Including regular season contests vs. Chattanooga, the Eagles have won four of those five games, falling only in the '98 championship game to Massachusetts.

MONTANA POSTSEASON: The Griz are making their 11th appearance in the postseason and have an all-time record of 14-9 . . . Montana won the national championship in 1995 under head coach Don Read . . . The Griz had lost in the first round in three straight seasons until 2000 . . . This will be Montana's third championship game appearance . . . UM won the title in '95 with a 22-20 win over Marshall in Huntington, WV . . . The Thundering Herd returned the favor in '96, beating the Griz 49-29 in Huntington.

GAME NOTES: Between Montana and Georgia Southern, these two teams have held the top ranking in Division I-AA for the last two months . . . Georgia Southern was number one from Oct. 2 through a loss to Furman on Nov. 4 . . . Montana took over in the Nov. 6 poll and entered the postseason as the number one seed . . . Georgia Southern was the number three seed in the playoffs . . . Montana comes into the contest having won 13 straight games following a 10-9 home loss to Hofstra in the season opener . . . Georgia Southern is on a four-game winning streak including three playoff games and the regular season finale against Elon . . . GSU and UM have one common opponent: Appalachian State . . . The Eagles topped ASU, 34-28, at home on Oct. 14 . . . Montana escaped the Mountaineers, 19-16 in overtime, on Saturday in the national semifinals . . . The Eagles and Grizzlies offer an interesting contrast in offense . . . The Eagles were the number three team in the nation in rushing during the regular season, averaging 331.1 yards per game . . . Montana was 92nd in the nation in rushing with 132.9 YPG . . . Conversely, Montana has the nation's sixth-best passing offense at 313.0 YPG while GSU is 103rd in passing at 117.2 YPG . . . Montana is second in the nation in stopping the run, allowing just 76.6 YPG . . . The Grizzlies ranked eighth in total defense, yielding 107.8 YPG . . . GSU's defense ranked 24th nationally in stopping the pass and 45th in total defense (317.4 YPG) . . . Montana QB Drew Miller completed 250 of 388 passes for 3,330 yards and 19 touchdowns this season . . . Jimmy Farris was UM's top receiver with 71 receptions for 1,479 yards . . . Etu Molden (69) and Tanner Hancock (61) also broke the 60-mark in receptions . . . Top rusher, Yo Humphery, had 1,129 yards in 11 regular season games . . . GSU's Adrian Peterson was the nation's fourth-leading rusher this year with 151.2 YPG . . . QB J.R. Revere rushed for 730 yards while throwing for 1,247 yards and 11 scores.