College football game
The 1981 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Eastern Kentucky Colonels and the Idaho State Bengals . The game was played on December 19, 1981, at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas . The culminating game of the 1981 NCAA Division I-AA football season , it was won by Idaho State, 34–23.[ 3]
The game was also known as the Pioneer Bowl ,[ 4] a name that had been used starting in 1971 for various NCAA playoff games held in Wichita Falls. The Colonels were making their third consecutive appearance in the I-AA championship game.
The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1981 I-AA Playoffs , which began with an eight-team bracket .[ 5]
Eastern Kentucky Colonels [ edit ]
Eastern Kentucky finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (8–0 in conference); their only loss was to Navy of Division I-A .[ 6] Ranked first in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll[ 7] and seeded first in the tournament, the Colonels defeated seventh-seed Delaware and fourth-seed Boise State to reach the final. This was the third appearance for Eastern Kentucky in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1979 and having lost in 1980.
Idaho State Bengals [ edit ]
Idaho State finished their regular season with a 9–1 record (6–1 in conference); their only loss was an away game at Montana .[ 8] Ranked second in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll[ 7] and seeded second in the tournament, the Bengals defeated eighth-seed Rhode Island and third-seed South Carolina State to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Idaho State in a Division I-AA championship game.
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
EKU
ISU
1
EKU
21-yard field goal by Jamie Lovett
3
0
1
3:07
80
ISU
Chris Corp 17-yard touchdown reception from Mike Machurek , Case deBruijn kick good
3
7
2
EKU
Ed Hairston 3-yard touchdown run, Lovett kick failed
9
7
2
6
52
ISU
Dwain Wilson 6-yard touchdown run, deBruijn kick good
9
14
2
80
ISU
Chris Ewing 9-yard touchdown reception from Machurek, deBruijn kick good
9
21
2
2:52
38
ISU
Wilson 6-yard touchdown run, deBruijn kick good
9
28
3
5:17
71
EKU
Nicky Yeast 2-yard touchdown run, Lovett kick good
16
28
4
14:__
74
ISU
Paul Fite 2-yard touchdown run, 2-point run failed
16
34
4
8:13
EKU
Yeast 4-yard touchdown run, Lovett kick good
23
34
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
23
34
[ 1] [ 9] [ 10]
1
2
3
4
Total
Colonels
3
6
7
7
23
Bengals
7
21
0
6
34
Memorial Stadium , site of the 1981 I-AA title game
Statistics
EKU
ISU
First downs
19
24
Plays–yards
75–386
77–482
Rushes–yards
47–167
31–102
Passing yards
219
380
Passing: comp –att –int
14–28–1
31–46–0
Time of possession
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Eastern Kentucky
Passing
Chris Isaac
14–28, 219 yds, 1 INT
Rushing
Nicky Yeast
10 car, 58 yds
Receiving
Steve Bird
5 rec, 81 yds
Idaho State
Passing
Mike Machurek
29–44, 380 yds, 2 TD
Rushing
Dwain Wilson
12 car, 58 yds, 2 TD
Receiving
Jerry Bird
9 rec, 139 yds
[ 1] [ 11]
^ a b c Stroop, Joe (December 20, 1981). "Idaho State wins I-AA football title" . The Morning News . Wilmington, Delaware . AP . p. D11. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Highlights from the 1981 1-AA National Championship Team---the ISU Bengals" . February 24, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via YouTube .
^ "Idaho State Takes Title, 34-23" . The New York Times . AP . December 20, 1981. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via nytimes.com.
^ "Pioneer Bowl Comeback Today" . Rutland Daily Herald . Rutland, Vermont . December 19, 1981. p. 24. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ Cooper, Barry (May 1, 1981). "MEAC gets berth in I-AA football playoffs" . Tallahassee Democrat . p. 23. Retrieved February 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Eastern Kentucky Colonels 1981 Schedule" . cfbinfo.com . Archived from the original on May 11, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2019 .
^ a b "NCAA Division I-AA" . The Morning News . Wilmington, Delaware . AP . November 25, 1981. p. B2. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Idaho State Bengals 1981 Schedule" . cfbinfo.com . Archived from the original on May 11, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2019 .
^ Sutton, Stan (December 20, 1981). "Eastern's mistakes lead to 34-23 loss in I-AA title game" . The Courier-Journal . Louisville, Kentucky . p. C 1. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ Sutton, Stan (December 20, 1981). "Eastern's mistakes lead to 34-23 loss in I-AA title game (cont'd)" . The Courier-Journal . Louisville, Kentucky . p. C 4. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Pioneer Bowl" . El Paso Times . El Paso, Texas . December 20, 1981. p. 8C. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
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 People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
1981–82 NCAA Division I championships
† Inaugural championship – ‡ Inaugural combined championship