From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

2004 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

The 2004 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the James Madison Dukes and the Montana Grizzlies. The game was played on December 17, 2004, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by James Madison, 31–21.

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 2004 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.

James Madison finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (7–1 in conference). One of their losses was to West Virginia of Division I-A. The Dukes, unseeded in the tournament, defeated Lehigh, second-seed Furman, and third-seed William & Mary to reach the final. This was the first appearance for James Madison in a Division I-AA championship game.

Montana finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (6–1 in conference). The Grizzlies, also unseeded in the tournament, defeated Northwestern State, New Hampshire, and Sam Houston State to reach the final. This was the fifth appearance for Montana in a Division I-AA championship game; they had won in 1995 and 2001, and lost in 1996 and 2000.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dukes	0	10	14	7	31
Grizzlies	7	0	14	0	21

Montana running back Lex Hilliard

Statistics	JMU	MONT
First downs	32	21
Plays–yards	79–446	61–415
Rushes–yards	61–314	23–44
Passing yards	132	371
Passing: comp–att–int	13–18–0	29–38–1
Time of possession	36:13	23:47

Team	Category	Player
Passing	Justin Rascati	13–18, 132 yds
Rushing	Maurice Fenner	29 car, 164 yds, 2 TD
Receiving	Tom Ridley	3 rec, 32 yds
Passing	Craig Ochs	29–38, 371 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing	Lex Hilliard	12 car, 26 yds
Receiving	Jon Talmage	6 rec, 84 yds

"Dukes Beat Montana in I-AA NCAA Title Game". jmusports.com. December 17, 2004.
"Griz come up short on third championship". gogriz.com. December 17, 2004.
"Division I-AA poll". Missoulian. Missoula, Montana: The Sports Network. AP. November 23, 2004. p. D3 – via newspapers.com.
Former JMU player prepares to watch team in national championship via YouTube

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about 2004 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report