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1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

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This article is about the Division I-AA (now FCS) championship game. For the Division I-A (now FBS) champions, see 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season.

Template:Infobox NCAA FCS football yearly game

The 1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Florida A&M Rattlers and the UMass Minutemen. The game was played on December 16, 1978, at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The culminating game of the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Florida A&M, 35–28.[1]

This was the first season of I-AA play, and the first championship game for the newly formed division. The game was also known as the Pioneer Bowl,[2] a name that had been used starting in 1971 for various NCAA playoff games held in Wichita Falls.

Teams[]

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1978 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a four-team bracket.

Florida A&M Rattlers[]

See also: Florida A&M Rattlers football

In 1978, Florida A&M was a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), a Division II conference. The university had successfully petitioned the NCAA for Division I classification (Division I-AA in football), which took effect on September 1, 1978.[3]

Florida A&M finished their regular season with a 9–1 record; their only loss was to Tennessee State.[4] Ranked third in the final AP Poll for I-AA,[5] and then having defeated Grambling State in the Orange Blossom Classic played on December 2, the Rattlers were the at-large selection to the four-team playoff. They defeated Jackson State, the South selection, by a score of 15–10 to reach the final.

UMass Minutemen[]

Main article: 1978 UMass Minutemen football team

UMass finished their regular season with an 8–3 record (5–0 in conference)—all of their losses were to Division I-A programs; Villanova, Harvard, and Rutgers.[6] Tied with Western Kentucky for fourth in the final AP Poll for I-AA,[5] the Minutemen were the East selection to the playoff. They defeated Nevada, the West selection, by a 44–21 score to reach the final.

Game summary[]

The game was played in a strong wind, estimated at 20–25 miles per hour (32–40 km/h).[7] It was a factor, especially with Florida A&M, as Sammy Knight punted six times for only 45 total yards; he also had two punts blocked.[7] UMass led early, going ahead 6–0 on two field goals. Florida A&M held a 14–6 lead at halftime, but trailed twice in the second half, as UMass had leads of 15–14 and 22–21. Two fourth quarter touchdowns by fullback Mike Solomon then provided Florida A&M with the winning margin. Florida A&M won without completing a pass from scrimmage, as quarterback Albert Chester went 0-for-7 with two interceptions;[8] he did successfully pass for a two-point conversion, and ran for two touchdowns.

Florida A&M placekicker Vince Coleman, who was 3-for-3 on extra points, would go on to play 13 seasons in Major League Baseball, most notably with the St. Louis Cardinals.[9]

Note: contemporary news reports listed attendance as 14,000 (estimated);[8][10] NCAA records indicate 13,604.[11]

Scoring summary[]

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring Information Score
Plays Yards TOP FAMU MASS
1 10:18 9 40 MASS 20-yard field goal by Sandro Vitiello 0 3
2 10:14 4 (-2) MASS 20-yard field goal by Vitiello 0 6
2 8:30 55 FAMU Albert Chester 1-yard touchdown run, Vince Coleman kick good 7 6
2 4:22 49 FAMU Chester 4-yard touchdown run, Coleman kick good 14 6
3 6:54 3 8 MASS Cliff Pedro 1-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass incomplete 14 12
3 1:57 37 MASS 29-yard field goal by Vitiello 14 15
3 2 71 FAMU Mike Solomon 65-yard touchdown run, Coleman kick good 21 15
4 12:56 3 13 MASS Pedro 9-yard touchdown reception from Mike McEvilly, Vitiello kick good 21 22
4 8:14 1 28 FAMU Solomon 28-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass good (Emanuel White from Chester) 29 22
4 3:15 8 55 FAMU Solomon 20-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed 35 22
4 0:00 MASS Chris Kurtz 34-yard touchdown reception from McEvilly, 2-point pass failed 35 28
"TOP" = Time of Possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 35 28

[12][7][8]

Game statistics[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Rattlers 0 14 7 14 35
Minutemen 3 3 9 13 28



File:Rudy Hubbard - Tallahassee, Florida.jpg

Florida A&M head coach Rudy Hubbard

Template:AmFootballGameStatistics Template:AmFootballGameTopPlayers [8][13][10]

References[]

  1. ↑ "UMass Toppled in Bowl, 35‐28". The New York Times. AP. December 17, 1978. https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/17/archives/umass-toppled-in-bowl-3528-angelo-state-34-elon-14.html. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  2. ↑ Climer, David (July 22, 1978). "I-AA Finals Set At Pioneer Bowl". The Tennessean (Nashville, Tennessee): p. 20. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28224327/iaa_finals_set_at_pioneer_bowl/. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  3. ↑ Cooper, Barry (August 31, 1978). "Florida A&M granted Divison 1 status". Tallahassee Democrat (Tallahassee, Florida): p. 1B. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31514902/florida_am_granted_divison_1_status/. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Florida A&M Rattlers 1978 Schedule". http://cfbinfo.com/team/florida-am-rattlers/1978. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Reno gets playoff berth". Billings, Montana. November 21, 1978. p. 1-B. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31516364/reno_gets_playoff_berth/. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Massachusetts Minutemen 1978 Schedule". http://cfbinfo.com/team/massachusetts-minutemen/1978. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Cooper, Barry (December 17, 1978). "FAMU (cont'd)". Tallahassee Democrat (Tallahassee, Florida): p. 7A. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31547114/famu_contd/. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "A&M figures". Tallahassee Democrat (Tallahassee, Florida): p. 5D. December 17, 1978. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31516987/am_figures/. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  9. ↑ Homer, Jody (May 12, 1985). "Cards` Rookie Looks Like a Steal". Chicago Tribune. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-05-12-8501290837-story.html. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Schmitz, Brian (December 17, 1978). "FAMU Rattlers Strike Back For I-AA Championship". Fort Lauderdale News (Fort Lauderdale, Florida): p. 10C. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31516834/famu_rattlers_strike_back_for_iaa/. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  11. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named NCAApdf
  12. ↑ Cooper, Barry (December 17, 1978). "FAMU captures a national title". Tallahassee Democrat (Tallahassee, Florida): p. 1A. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31547045/famu_captures_a_national_title/. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  13. ↑ Schmitz, Brian (December 17, 1978). "FAMU Wins It All, 35-28". Fort Lauderdale News (Fort Lauderdale, Florida): p. 1C. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31516882/famu_wins_it_all_3528/. Retrieved May 13, 2019.

See also[]

  • 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings

Further reading[]

External links[]

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