1991 NCAA Division I-AA football season

The 1991 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1991, and concluded with the 1991 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 21, 1991, at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia. The Youngstown State Penguins won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Marshall Thundering Herd by a score of 25−17.^[1]

1991 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams	90
Duration	August–November
Payton Award	Jamie Martin (QB, Weber State)
Playoff
Duration	November 30–December 21
Championship date	December 21, 1991
Championship site	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, Georgia
Champion	Youngstown State
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
«1990 1992»

Notable changes

Conference changes

Team	1990 conference	1991 conference
Hofstra	D-III independent	I-AA independent
Nicholls State	I-AA independent	Southland Conference
Prairie View A&M	Revived program	Southwestern Athletic Conference
Southeast Missouri State	Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (D-II)	Ohio Valley Conference

Conference standings

1991 Big Sky Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Nevada $^ 8 – 0 – 0 12 – 1 – 0 No. 15 Weber State ^ 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0 Montana 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Boise State 4 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Idaho 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Eastern Washington 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Idaho State 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 1 Northern Arizona 1 – 7 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Montana State 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll	1991 Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Northern Iowa $^ 5 – 1 – 0 11 – 2 – 0 No. 14 Western Illinois ^ 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 1 Southern Illinois 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Southwest Missouri State 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 1 Indiana State 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Eastern Illinois 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Illinois State 1 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1991 Ivy League football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Dartmouth $ 6 – 0 – 1 7 – 2 – 1 Princeton 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Harvard 4 – 2 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Yale 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Cornell 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Penn 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Brown 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 Columbia 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1991 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Delaware State + 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 North Carolina A&T + 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 South Carolina State 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Florida A&M 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Bethune–Cookman 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Howard 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 Morgan State 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1991 Ohio Valley Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Eastern Kentucky $^ 7 – 0 – 0 12 – 2 – 0 No. 9 Middle Tennessee ^ 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 4 – 0 Austin Peay 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Morehead State 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Southeast Missouri State 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Tennessee State 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Tennessee Tech 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 Murray State 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1991 Patriot League football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Holy Cross $ 5 – 0 – 0 11 – 0 – 0 Lehigh 3 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Lafayette 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Colgate 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Bucknell 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 Fordham 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1991 Southern Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 17 Appalachian State $^ 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 4 – 0 No. 8 Marshall ^ 5 – 2 – 0 11 – 4 – 0 No. T–20 The Citadel 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 No. T–20 Furman 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Chattanooga 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 VMI 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Western Carolina 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 East Tennessee State 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1991 Southland Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 12 Sam Houston State +^ 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 1 No. 19 McNeese State +^ 4 – 1 – 2 6 – 4 – 2 No. 18 NE Louisiana 4 – 2 – 1 7 – 3 – 1 SW Texas State 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Northwestern State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Nicholls State 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 North Texas 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 1 Stephen F. Austin 1 – 5 – 1 2 – 8 – 1 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1991 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 5 Alabama State $ 6 – 0 – 1 11 – 0 – 1 Alcorn State 4 – 2 – 1 7 – 2 – 1 Southern 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Texas Southern 3 – 3 – 1 5 – 5 – 1 Mississippi Valley State 3 – 3 – 1 7 – 3 – 1 Jackson State 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Grambling State 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Prairie View A&M 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 11 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1991 Yankee Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 6 Delaware +^ 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 No. 7 Villanova +^ 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 No. 11 New Hampshire +^ 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 Rhode Island 3 – 5 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 UMass 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Boston University 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Maine 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Connecticut 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Richmond 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1991 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 10 Samford ^   –   12 – 2 – 0 No. 16 James Madison ^   –   9 – 4 – 0 No. 13 Youngstown State ^   –   12 – 3 – 0 Georgia Southern   –   7 – 4 – 0 UCF   –   6 – 5 – 0 William & Mary   –   5 – 6 – 0 Liberty   –   4 – 7 – 0 Northeastern   –   4 – 7 – 0 Western Kentucky   –   3 – 8 – 0 Arkansas State   –   1 – 10 – 0 Towson State   –   1 – 10 – 0 ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Conference champions

See also: List of NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football seasons

Conference Champions

Big Sky Conference – Nevada Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference – Northern Iowa Ivy League – Dartmouth Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – North Carolina A&T Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Kentucky Patriot League – Holy Cross Southern Conference – Appalachian State Southland Conference – McNeese State and Sam Houston State Southwestern Athletic Conference – Alabama State Yankee Conference – Delaware, New Hampshire, and Villanova

Postseason

Only the top four teams in the field were seeded, and thus assured of home games in their first round games.^[2] The location of the final, the Georgia Southern Eagles' Paulson Stadium, had been predetermined via a three-year agreement the university reached with the NCAA in February 1989.^[3]

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

	First Round November 30 Campus sites				Quarterfinals December 7 Campus sites				Semifinals December 14 Campus sites				National Championship Game December 21 Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA
	McNeese State	16
	(1) Nevada*	22
					(1) Nevada*	28
					Youngstown State	30
	Villanova	16
	Youngstown State*	17
									Youngstown State*	10
									Samford	0
	James Madison	42**
	(4) Delaware*	35
					James Madison*	21
					Samford	24
	Samford	29
	New Hampshire*	13
													Youngstown State	25
													Marshall	17
	Appalachian State	3
	(2) Eastern Kentucky*	14
					(2) Eastern Kentucky*	23
					Middle Tennessee State	13
	Sam Houston State	19
	Middle Tennessee*	20*
									(2) Eastern Kentucky	7
									Marshall*	14
	Weber State	21
	(3) Northern Iowa*	38
					(3) Northern Iowa	13
					Marshall*	41
	Western Illinois	17
	Marshall*	20*

* Next to team name denotes host institution
* Next to score denotes host overtime period
Source:^[4][5]