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 teams90
DurationAugust–November
Payton AwardJamie Martin (QB, Weber State)
Playoff
DurationNovember 30–December 21
Championship dateDecember 21, 1991
Championship sitePaulson Stadium
Statesboro, Georgia
ChampionYoungstown State
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons

Notable changes

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Conference changes

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School 1990 Conference 1991 Conference
Hofstra D-III Independent I-AA Independent
Nicholls State I-AA Independent Southland
Prairie View A&M Revived Program SWAC
Southeast Missouri State MIAA (D-II) Ohio Valley (I-AA)

Conference standings

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1991 Big Sky Conference football standings
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
Eastern Washington 4 4 0 5 6 0
Idaho 4 4 0 6 5 0
Boise State 4 4 0 7 4 0
Idaho State 2 6 0 3 7 0
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 10 Samford ^     12 2 0
Hofstra     8 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     1 10 0
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Conference champions

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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

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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

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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]

References

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  1. ^ "1991 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 15. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  2. ^ "UNI to play Weber State in playoffs". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Iowa City, Iowa. AP. November 25, 1991. p. 5D. Retrieved April 19, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Georgia Southern to host NCAA title". Rocky Mount Telegram. Rocky Mount, North Carolina. AP. February 24, 1989. p. 11. Retrieved April 21, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Division I-AA Playoffs". Montgomery Advertiser. Montgomery, Alabama. December 21, 1991. p. 2B. Retrieved April 19, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Youngstown 25, Marshall 17". Pittsburgh Press. December 22, 1991. p. D12. Retrieved April 19, 2019 – via newspapers.com.