2009 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game

Postseason college football game

College football game

2009 NCAA Division I Football Championship

FCS National Championship Game

Montana Grizzlies

Villanova Wildcats

(11–0)

(10–1)

Big Sky

CAA

Head coach:
Bobby Hauck

Head coach:
Andy Talley

TSN	Seed
1	1

TSN	Seed
2	2

	1	2	3	4	Total
Montana	7	7	0	7	21
Villanova	3	6	7	7	23

Date

December 18, 2009

Season

2009

Stadium

Finley Stadium

Location

Chattanooga, Tennessee

MVP

Matt Szczur (WR, Villanova)^[1]

Favorite

Villanova by 2^[2]

Referee

Matt Young (OVC)^[3]

Attendance

14,328^[3]

United States TV coverage

Network

ESPN2

NCAA Division I Football Championship
< 2008	2011 >

The 2009 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Villanova Wildcats and the Montana Grizzlies. It was played on December 18, 2009, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 2009 NCAA Division I FCS football season, it was won by Villanova, 23–21.

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 2009 FCS Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.

Montana Grizzlies

Montana finished their regular season with an 11–0 record (8–0 in conference). As the first-seed in the tournament, the Grizzlies defeated South Dakota State, Stephen F. Austin, and Appalachian State to reach the final. This was Montana's second consecutive and seventh overall appearance in an FCS/Division I-AA championship game, having previously won in 1995 and 2001, and having lost in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008.

Villanova Wildcats

Villanova finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (7–1 in conference). As the second-seed in the tournament, the Wildcats defeated Holy Cross, New Hampshire (who had given Villanova their only loss during the regular season), and William & Mary to reach the final. This was Villanova's first appearance in an FCS/Division I-AA championship game.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	MONT	NOVA
1	5:12	5	79	3:55	NOVA	23-yard field goal by Nick Yako	0	3
1	3:15	5	69	1:57	MONT	Marc Mariani 24-yard touchdown reception from Andrew Selle, Brody McKnight kick good	7	3
2	6:48	9	80	4:13	MONT	Jabin Sambrano 4-yard touchdown reception from Selle, McKnight kick good	14	3
2	3:34	7	66	3:14	NOVA	Matt Szczur 5-yard touchdown run, Yako kick no good	14	9
3	5:27	13	81	7:28	NOVA	Chris Farmer 3-yard touchdown reception from Chris Whitney, Yako kick good	14	16
4	11:04	10	95	4:47	NOVA	Szczur 3-yard touchdown run, Yako kick good	14	23
4	1:07	5	93	1:10	MONT	Sambrano 53-yard touchdown reception from Selle, McKnight kick good	21	23
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							21	23

^[4]

Game statistics

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 1 Grizzlies	7	7	0	7	21
No. 2 Wildcats	3	6	7	7	23

Statistics	MONT	NOVA
First downs	18	22
Plays–yards	56–425	64–493
Rushes–yards	19–60	51–351
Passing yards	365	142
Passing: comp–att–int	28–37–0	10–13–1
Time of possession	26:33	33:27

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Montana	Passing	Andrew Selle	27–35, 351 yds, 3 TD
	Rushing	Chase Reynolds	15 car, 64 yds
	Receiving	Marc Mariani	9 rec, 178 yds, 1 TD
Villanova	Passing	Chris Whitney	10–13, 142 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Matt Szczur	14 car, 159 yds, 2 TD
	Receiving	Matt Szczur	4 rec, 68 yds

^[5]^[3]

References

^ "Outstanding players of FCS championship game". ESPN. AP. January 5, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
^ "Villanova Wildcats @ Montana Grizzlies". vegasinsider.com. December 18, 2009. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Montana vs Villanova (box score)". villanova.com. December 18, 2009. Retrieved January 9, 2019 – via sidearmsports.com.
^ "Montana vs. Villanova - Play-By-Play". ESPN. December 18, 2009. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
^ "Montana vs. Villanova - Game Summary". ESPN. December 18, 2009. Retrieved January 9, 2019.

External links

Box score at ESPN
12/18/2009 Villanova vs Montana Football Highlights via YouTube

NCAA Division I Football Championship Game

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Games through 2009 were played in December. Subsequent games have been played in January (*) or May (†).

v t e Montana Grizzlies football
Venues	Dornblaser Field (I) (1912–1967) Naranche Stadium (alternate (Butte), 1938–1950) Dornblaser Field (II) (1968–1986) Washington–Grizzly Stadium (1986–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Eastern Washington: EWU–UM Governors Cup Idaho: Little Brown Stein Montana State
Culture and lore	Monte "Up With Montana" University of Montana Grizzly Marching Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Villanova Wildcats football
Venues	Shibe Park (1925–1926, 1936–1949, 1951, 1953) Villanova Stadium (1927–present) Philadelphia Municipal Stadium (1930, 1953–1957) Franklin Field (1948–1950, 1952–1953) Subaru Park (alternate; 2011–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Delaware: Battle of the Blue Temple: Mayor's Cup
Culture & lore	Will D. Cat "V for Villanova"
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981–1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e 2009–10 NCAA Division I championships
Baseball Men's basketball Women's basketball Bowling Cross country Fencing Field hockey Football (FBS) † Football (FCS) Men's golf Women's golf Men's gymnastics Women's gymnastics Men's ice hockey Women's ice hockey Indoor track and field Men's lacrosse Women's lacrosse Outdoor track and field Rifle Rowing Skiing Men's soccer Women's soccer Softball Men's swimming and diving Women's swimming and diving Tennis Men's volleyball Women's volleyball Men's water polo Women's water polo Wrestling
† Not an officially sanctioned NCAA championship

2009–10 NCAA Division I championships