Postseason college football game between the Eastern Kentucky Colonels and the Lehigh Engineers
College football game
The1979 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseasoncollege football game between theEastern Kentucky Colonels and the Lehigh Engineers (now theLehigh Mountain Hawks ). The game was played on December 15, 1979, at Orlando Stadium (nowCamping World Stadium ) inOrlando, Florida . The culminating game of the1979 NCAA Division I-AA football season , it was won by Eastern Kentucky, 30–7.[ 3]
The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the1979 I-AA Playoffs , which began with a four-teambracket .[ 4]
Eastern Kentucky Colonels [ edit ] Eastern Kentucky finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (5–1 in conference); their losses were toEast Tennessee State ofDivision I-A and conference rivalMurray State .[ 5] AP Poll for I-AA,[ 6] at-large selection to the four-team playoff; they defeatedNevada , the West selection, by a score of 33–30 in double overtime to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Eastern Kentucky in a Division I-AA championship game.
Lehigh also finished their regular season with a 9–2 record; they had lost toColgate of Division I-A andDelaware ofDivision II .[ 7] [ 6] Murray State , the South selection, by a 28–9 score to reach the final. This was also the first appearance for Lehigh in a Division I-AA championship game.
Scoring summary Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP LEH EKU 1 3:37 EKU Bill Hughes 1-yard touchdown run, David Flores kick good 0 7 2 EKU Nicky Yeast 1-yard touchdown run, Flores kick good 0 14 2 LEH Bob Romeo 1-yard touchdown run, Ted Iobst kick good 7 14 3 EKU Dale Patton 2-yard touchdown run, Flores kick good 7 21 4 EKU 29-yard field goal by Flores 7 24 4 EKU Tony Braxton 14-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed 7 30 "TOP" =time of possession . For other American football terms, seeGlossary of American football . 7 30
[ 1] [ 3]
1 2 3 4 Total Engineers 0 7 0 0 7 Colonels 7 7 7 9 30
Orlando Stadium , site of the 1979 I-AA title gameStatistics LEH EKU First downs 10 16 Plays–yards 56–204 74–338 Rushes–yards 33–102 69–289 Passing yards 102 49 Passing:comp– att– int 6–23–4 1–5–2 Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics Lehigh Passing Rich Andres 6–19, 102 yds, 2 INT Rushing Joe Rabuck 17 car, 55 yds Receiving Paul Anastasio 2 rec, 42 yds Eastern Kentucky Passing Bill Hughes 1–5, 49 yds, 2 INT Rushing Dale Patton 21 car, 121 yds, 1 TD Receiving Jerry Parrish 1 rec, 49 yds
[ 1] [ 3]
^a b c "E. Kentucky whips Lehigh for I-AA title" .Tallahassee Democrat Tallahassee, Florida .AP . December 16, 1979. p. 5F. RetrievedMay 12, 2019 – via newspapers.com.^ Henniger, Paul (December 15, 1979)."Viewing Sports" .Los Angeles Times . RetrievedMay 12, 2019 – via newspapers.com. ^a b c "Lehigh Routed By 30-7" .The New York Times AP . December 16, 1979. RetrievedMay 12, 2019 .^ "Eastern Kentucky Gains Football Playoff Berth" .The Tennessean Nashville, Tennessee . December 3, 1979. p. 36. RetrievedFebruary 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.^ "Eastern Kentucky Colonels 1979 Schedule" .cfbinfo.com . RetrievedMay 12, 2019 .[permanent dead link ^a b "1-AA Top 10" .The Victoria Advocate Victoria, Texas .AP . November 27, 1979. p. 2B. RetrievedMay 12, 2019 – via newspapers.com.^ "Lehigh Mountain Hawks 1979 Schedule" .cfbinfo.com . RetrievedMay 12, 2019 .[permanent dead link
Games through 2009 were played in December. Subsequent games have been played in January (*) or May (†).
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
Venues Bowls & rivalries People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
1979–80 NCAA Division I championships
† Inaugural championship –Until 1981–82, all championships for men only
