2003 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

This article is about the Division I-AA (now FCS) championship game. For the Division I-A (now FBS) championship game, see 2003 Fiesta Bowl.

The 2003 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens and the Colgate Raiders. The game was played on December 19, 2003, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Delaware, 40–0.

2003 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
I-AA National Championship Game
Colgate Raiders Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (15–0) (14–1) Patriot League Atlantic 10 0 40 Head coach:  Dick Biddle Head coach:  K. C. Keeler TSN Seed 6 4 TSN Seed 3 2
1 2 3 4 Total Colgate 0 0 0 0 0 Delaware 13 7 14 6 40
Date	December 19, 2003
Season	2003
Stadium	Finley Stadium
Location	Chattanooga, Tennessee
Referee	Mike Purcell (Ohio Valley)[1]
Attendance	14,281[2]
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN2[1]
Announcers	Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Mike Golic (color), Rod Gilmore (color), Rob Stone (sideline)[1]
NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship  < 2002 2004 >

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 2003 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.

Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens

Main article: 2003 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team

Delaware finished their regular season with an 11–1 record (8–1 in conference). Their only loss was to Northeastern, while one of their wins was over Navy of Division I-A. The Fightin' Blue Hens, seeded second in the tournament, defeated Southern Illinois, Northern Iowa, and third-seed Wofford to reach the final. This was the second appearance for Delaware in a Division I-AA championship game, having lost in 1982.

Colgate Raiders

See also: Colgate Raiders football

Colgate finished their regular season with a 12–0 record (7–0 in conference).^[3] The Raiders, seeded fourth in the tournament, defeated UMass, Western Illinois, and Florida Atlantic to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Colgate in a Division I-AA championship game.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP COLG DEL 1 7:29 8 60 2:37 DEL Antawn Jenkins 3-yard touchdown run, Brad Shushman kick good 0 7 1 2:35 5 34 2:14 DEL Germaine Bennett 1-yard touchdown run, Shushman kick no good (hit left upright) 0 13 2 14:55 5 18 1:56 DEL David Boler 5-yard touchdown reception from Andy Hall, Shushman kick good 0 20 3 7:30 5 28 2:35 DEL Boler 9-yard touchdown reception from Hall, Shushman kick good 0 27 3 2:52 8 62 3:37 DEL Bennett 1-yard touchdown run, Shushman kick good 0 34 4 12:22 7 58 3:40 DEL Jenkins 2-yard touchdown run, Shushman kick no good (wide left) 0 40 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 0 40

^[2][4]

Game statistics

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 4 Raiders	0	0	0	0	0
No. 2 Fighting' Blue Hens	13	7	14	6	40

Statistics	COLG	DEL
First downs	10	20
Plays–yards	54–157	75–348
Rushes–yards	32–46	55–165
Passing yards	111	183
Passing: comp–att–int	10–22–0	12–20–0
Time of possession	23:23	34:40

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Colgate	Passing	Chris Brown	9–21, 94 yds
	Rushing	Jamal Branch	20–55
	Receiving	Luke Graham	4 rec, 32 yds
Delaware	Passing	Andy Hall	12–20, 183 yds, 2 TD
	Rushing	Germaine Bennett	20–60, 2 TD
	Receiving	David Boler	6 rec, 91 yds, 2 TD

^[2][4]

References

1. "Colgate Delaware Football 2003 1st Half 1AA Championship". September 16, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via YouTube.
2. "Colgate vs DELAWARE". colgate.edu. December 19, 2003. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
3. "Colgate Raiders, 2003 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
4. "Game statistics". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. December 20, 2003. p. C8. Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

Further reading

• Thamel, Pete (December 20, 2003). "Colgate's Bid for Perfection Hits Wall". The New York Times. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
• "Division I-AA Poll". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. The Sports Network. November 28, 2003. p. 2C. Retrieved February 5, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

External links

• Colgate Delaware Football 2003 1st Half 1AA Championship via YouTube
• Colgate Delaware Football 2003 2nd Half 1AA Championship via YouTube