2003 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

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.

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.
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
TSNSeed
64
TSNSeed
32
1234 Total
Colgate 0000 0
Delaware 137146 40
DateDecember 19, 2003
Season2003
StadiumFinley Stadium
LocationChattanooga, Tennessee
RefereeMike Purcell (Ohio Valley)[1]
Attendance14,281[2]
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN2[1]
AnnouncersSean McDonough (play-by-play), Mike Golic (color), Rod Gilmore (color), Rob Stone (sideline)[1]

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 a 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
StatisticsCOLGDEL
First downs1020
Plays–yards54–15775–348
Rushes–yards32–4655–165
Passing yards111183
Passing: Comp–Att–Int10–22–012–20–0
Time of possession23:2334:40
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
ColgatePassingChris Brown9–21, 94 yds
RushingJamal Branch20–55
ReceivingLuke Graham4 rec, 32 yds
DelawarePassingAndy Hall12–20, 183 yds, 2 TD
RushingGermaine Bennett20–60, 2 TD
ReceivingDavid Boler6 rec, 91 yds, 2 TD

[2][4]

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gollark: *¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤*
gollark: What plan? APIOPLAN 334-ι?
gollark: ++delete .`^`.
gollark: ++delete `^^`

References
  1. "Colgate Delaware Football 2003 1st Half 1AA Championship". Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via YouTube.
  2. "Colgate vs DELAWARE". colgate.edu. December 19, 2003. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  3. "Colgate Raiders, 2003 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. 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
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