1989 Georgia Southern Eagles football team

The 1989 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented Georgia Southern College (now known as Georgia Southern University) as an independent during the 1989 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by Erk Russell in his eighth and final year as head coach, the Eagles compiled a record of 15–0 and won the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship, the program's third national title in five seasons. After completing an 11–0 regular season, Georgia Southern advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, beating Villanova in the first round, Middle Tennessee, in the quarterfinals, Montana in the semifinals, and Stephen F. Austin in NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game. The Eagles played their home games at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia.

1989 Georgia Southern Eagles football
NCAA Division I-AA champion
NCAA Division I-AA Championship, W 37–34 vs. Stephen F. Austin
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 1
Record	15–0
Head coach	Erk Russell (8th season)
Offensive coordinator	Tim Stowers (2nd season)
Home stadium	Paulson Stadium
Seasons ← 1988 1990 →

1989 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Georgia Southern ^			–					15	–	0	–	0
No. 14 Youngstown State ^			–					9	–	4	–	0
No. T–10 William & Mary ^			–					8	–	3	–	1
Liberty			–					7	–	3	–	0
Western Kentucky			–					6	–	5	–	0
James Madison			–					5	–	4	–	1
Lamar			–					5	–	5	–	0
Arkansas State			–					5	–	6	–	0
Nicholls State			–					5	–	6	–	0
Samford			–					5	–	6	–	0
Northeastern			–					3	–	7	–	0
Fordham			–					2	–	6	–	0
Towson State			–					2	–	8	–	0
^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	Valdosta State	No. 2	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	W 31–10	16,007	[1]
September 9	West Georgia	No. 2	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	W 48–7	11,939	[2]
September 16	vs. Florida A&M	No. 2	Gator Bowl Jacksonville, FL (Bold City Classic)	W 28–0	13,481	[3]
September 21	Middle Tennessee	No. 3	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	W 26–0	16,449	[4]
October 7	Savannah State	No. 2	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	W 35–14	20,507	[5]
October 14	at Nicholls State	No. 2	John L. Guidry Stadium Thibodaux, LA	W 21–13	5,286	[6]
October 21	UCF	No. 2	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	W 31–17	19,640	[7]
October 28	at Samford	No. 2	Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL	W 52–7	6,042	[8]
November 4	at James Madison	No. 2	JMU Stadium Harrisonburg, VA	W 36–21	11,685	[9]
November 11	Chattanooga	No. 1	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	W 34–13	24,078	[10]
November 18	Marshall	No. 1	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	W 63–31	16,323	[11]
November 25	No. 16 Villanova	No. 1	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	W 52–36	10,161	[12]
December 2	No. 10 Middle Tennessee	No. 1	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	W 45–3	11,272	[13]
December 9	No. 6 Montana	No. 1	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)	W 45–15	10,421	[14]
December 16	No. 3 Stephen F. Austin	No. 1	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA (NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game)	W 37–34	25,725	[15]
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game