1987 NCAA DIVISION I-AA FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

1987 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
1987 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
I-AA National Championship Game
Marshall Thundering Herd	Northeast Louisiana Indians
(10–4)	(12–2)
SoCon	Southland
42	43
Head coach: ; George Chaump	Head coach: ; Pat Collins
NCAA	Seed
14	–
NCAA	Seed
3	2
Date	December 19, 1987
Season	1987
Stadium	Minidome
Location	Pocatello, Idaho
Attendance	11,513
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Denny Schreiner (play-by-play), Stan White (color)
NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
< 1986	1988 >

The 1987 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Northeast Louisiana Indians (now the Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks) and the Marshall Thundering Herd. The game was played on December 19, 1987, at the Minidome (now known as Holt Arena) in Pocatello, Idaho. The culminating game of the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Northeast Louisiana, 43–42.^[3]

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1987 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.^[4]

Northeast Louisiana Indians

Northeast Louisiana finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (6–0 in conference); one of their losses was to the Ragin' Cajuns of the then University of Southwestern Louisiana, a Division I-A program.^[5] Ranked third in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll^[6] and seeded second in the tournament, the Indians defeated North Texas State, Eastern Kentucky, and third-seed Northern Iowa to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Northeast Louisiana in a Division I-AA championship game.

Marshall Thundering Herd

Marshall finished their regular season with a 7–4 record (4–2 in conference); one of their losses was to Ohio of Division I-A.^[7] Ranked 14th in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll^[6] and unseeded in the tournament, the Thundering Herd defeated James Madison, Weber State, and top-seed Appalachian State to reach the final. This was also the first appearance for Marshall in a Division I-AA championship game.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	MU	NLU
1					NLU	Henry “Cisco” Richard 15-yard touchdown run, Teddy Garcia kick good	0	7
1					MU	33-yard field goal by Brian Mitchell	3	7
2					MU	Keith Baxter 9-yard touchdown reception from Tony Petersen, Mitchell kick good	10	7
2					NLU	Richard 7-yard touchdown run, Garcia kick good	10	14
2					MU	31-yard field goal by Mitchell	13	14
2					NLU	Mike Manzullo 5-yard touchdown reception from Stan Humphries, Garcia kick good	13	21
3					MU	Michael Barber 9-yard touchdown reception from Petersen, 2-point pass failed	19	21
3					MU	Baxter 29-yard touchdown reception from Peterson, 2-point pass good (Bruce Hammond from Peterson)	27	21
3					NLU	Chris Jones 9-yard touchdown reception from Humphries, Garcia kick good	27	28
3					MU	Hammond 17-yard touchdown reception from Petersen, 2-point pass good ( Sean Doctor from Peterson)	35	28
3	0:36				MU	Ronald Darby 6-yard touchdown run, Mitchell kick good	42	28
4	13:34		74		NLU	Kenneth Johnson 10-yard touchdown reception from Humphries, 2-point pass good ( Jackie Harris from Humphries)	42	36
4	7:19		80	3:52	NLU	Humphries 3-yard touchdown run, Garcia kick good	42	43
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							42	43

^[1]^[8]^[9]^[10]

Game statistics

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	3	10	29	0	42
Indians	7	14	7	15	43

Statistics	MU	NLU
First downs	28	28
Plays–yards	85–576	85–570
Rushes–yards	31–102	42–134
Passing yards	474	436
Passing: comp–att–int	28–54–3	26–43–0
Time of possession	28:55	31:05

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Marshall	Passing	Tony Petersen	28–54, 474 yds, 4 TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Ronald Darby	24 car, 136 yds, 1 TD
	Receiving	Michael Barber	9 rec, 195 yds, 1 TD
Northeast Louisiana	Passing	Stan Humphries	26–43, 436 yds, 3 TD
	Rushing	Henry “Cisco” Richard	15 car, 77 yds, 2 TD
	Receiving	Mike Manzullo	7 rec, 101 yds, 1 TD

^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Div. I-AA Championship". Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. December 21, 1987. p. 5-B. Retrieved April 30, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ van Thyn, Nico (December 19, 1987). "TV Sports". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. p. 27. Retrieved April 30, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "NE Louisiana wins I-AA championship". Great Falls Tribune. Great Falls, Montana. AP. December 20, 1987. p. 2H. Retrieved April 30, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Southland foes meet in playoffs". The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. November 23, 1987. p. B-1. Retrieved February 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "ULM Warhawks 1987 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved April 30, 2019.^{[
permanent dead link]}
^ ^a ^b "Div. I-AA poll". The San Francisco Examiner. November 24, 1987. p. F-6. Retrieved February 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Marshall Thundering Herd 1987 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved April 30, 2019.^{[
permanent dead link]}
^ "Humphries Rallies Northeast Louisiana". Carlsbad Current-Argus. Carlsbad, New Mexico. AP. December 21, 1987. p. 10. Retrieved April 30, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ Campbell, Bill (December 21, 1987). "NLU had the will — and the way". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. p. 19. Retrieved April 30, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ Campbell, Bill (December 21, 1987). "Humphries, Northeast pass the final test in I-AA". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. p. 20. Retrieved April 30, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

External links

National Champions plaque on display at Malone Stadium via Yelp

[BGbox-1] "Div. I-AA Championship". Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. December 21, 1987. p. 5-B. Retrieved April 30, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

[2] van Thyn, Nico (December 19, 1987). "TV Sports". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. p. 27. Retrieved April 30, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

[3] "NE Louisiana wins I-AA championship". Great Falls Tribune. Great Falls, Montana. AP. December 20, 1987. p. 2H. Retrieved April 30, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

[4] "Southland foes meet in playoffs". The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. November 23, 1987. p. B-1. Retrieved February 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

[5] "ULM Warhawks 1987 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved April 30, 2019.^{[
permanent dead link]}

[NCAApoll-6] "Div. I-AA poll". The San Francisco Examiner. November 24, 1987. p. F-6. Retrieved February 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

[7] "Marshall Thundering Herd 1987 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved April 30, 2019.^{[
permanent dead link]}

[8] "Humphries Rallies Northeast Louisiana". Carlsbad Current-Argus. Carlsbad, New Mexico. AP. December 21, 1987. p. 10. Retrieved April 30, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

[9] Campbell, Bill (December 21, 1987). "NLU had the will — and the way". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. p. 19. Retrieved April 30, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

[10] Campbell, Bill (December 21, 1987). "Humphries, Northeast pass the final test in I-AA". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. p. 20. Retrieved April 30, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

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v t e Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football
Venues	Brown Stadium (1933–1977) JPS Field at Malone Stadium (1978–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games 2012 Independence Bowl Louisiana: Battle on the Bayou Louisiana Tech Northwestern State
Culture & lore	Chief Brave Spirit Ace the Warhawk " Cheer for Northeast" Sound of Today
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Marshall Thundering Herd football
Venues	Central Field (1895–1927) Fairfield Stadium (1928–1990) Joan C. Edwards Stadium (1991–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Appalachian State East Carolina Ohio: Battle for the Bell West Virginia: Friends of Coal Bowl
Culture & lore	Marco the Bison " Sons of Marshall" Marching Thunder Southern Airways Flight 932 Marshall University: Ashes to Glory We Are Marshall
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football
Venues	Brown Stadium (1933–1977) JPS Field at Malone Stadium (1978–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games 2012 Independence Bowl Louisiana: Battle on the Bayou Louisiana Tech Northwestern State
Culture & lore	Chief Brave Spirit Ace the Warhawk " Cheer for Northeast" Sound of Today
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Marshall Thundering Herd football
Venues	Central Field (1895–1927) Fairfield Stadium (1928–1990) Joan C. Edwards Stadium (1991–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Appalachian State East Carolina Ohio: Battle for the Bell West Virginia: Friends of Coal Bowl
Culture & lore	Marco the Bison " Sons of Marshall" Marching Thunder Southern Airways Flight 932 Marshall University: Ashes to Glory We Are Marshall
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

Teams

Northeast Louisiana Indians

Marshall Thundering Herd

Game summary

Scoring summary

Game statistics

References

Further reading

External links

Teams

Northeast Louisiana Indians

Marshall Thundering Herd

Game summary

Scoring summary

Game statistics

References

Further reading

External links

Videos

Websites

Encyclopedia

Facebook

v t e NCAA Division I Football Championship Game
1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011* 2012* 2013* 2014* 2015* 2016* 2017* 2018* 2019* 2020* 2021† 2022* 2023* 2024*
Games through 2009 were played in December. Subsequent games have been played in January (*) or May (†).