I - A A P R E V I E W (Volume V, Number 19) CHAMPIONSHIP GAME RECAP * * * * * * * * * * * * C O N T E N T S * * * * * * * * * * * * I. COMPLETE PLAYOFF BRACKET AND RESULTS II. CHAMPIONSHIP GAME RESULTS AND COMMENTARY III. FINAL 1996 I-AA POWER RATINGS IV. 1996 SEASON SUPERLATIVES V. DISCLAIMERS & GENERAL INFORMATION VI. THE LAST WORD FOR 1996 ************************************************************** I. COMPLETE PLAYOFF BRACKET AND RESULTS FIRST ROUND QUARTERFINALS SEMIFINALS NATIONAL 9. JACKSON ST (10-1) _______________ | WILLIAM & MARY W&M, 45-6 |---------------- --------------- | NORTHERN IOWA 8. WILLIAM & MARY (9-2) |------------------- | | N IOWA, 38-35 | | | | 14. E ILLINOIS (8-3) | | _______________ | | |_______________| | N IOWA, 21-14 | N IOWA | --------------- | 3. N IOWA (10-1) | | MARSHALL MARSHALL, 31-14 |---------------- 10. FURMAN (8-3) | _______________ FURMAN | |_______________ | FURMAN, 42-31| | | --------------- | | 7. N ARIZONA (9-2) | | | | MARSHALL, 54-0 | | | | 15. DELAWARE (8-3) |------------------- _______________ | MARSHALL |_______________| MARSHLL, 59-14| MARSHALL --------------- 2. MARSHALL (11-0) MARSHALL, 49-29 _________________ NATIONAL CHAMPION 12. WESTERN ILLINOIS (9-2) _______________ | MURRAY ST MURRAY, 34-6 |--------------- --------------- | TROY STATE 5. MURRAY ST (10-1) |------------------- | | TROY ST, 31-3 | | | | 13. FLORIDA A&M (9-2) | | _______________ | | |_______________| | TROY, 29-25 | TROY ST | --------------- | MONTANA 4. TROY ST (10-1) MONTANA, 70-7 |---------------- | | 11. VILLANOVA (8-3) | _______________ | | E TENNESSEE ST | ETSU, 35-29 |---------------- | --------------- | | 6. E TENNESSEE ST (9-2) | | | | MONTANA, 44-14 | | | | 16. NICHOLLS ST (8-3) |------------------- _______________ | MONTANA |_______________| MONTANA, 48-3 | MONTANA --------------- 1. MONTANA (11-0) ********************************************************************** II. CHAMPIONSHIP GAME RESULTS AND COMMENTARY MARSHALL DEFEATS MONTANA 49-29 FOR I-AA TITLE, COMPLETES 15-0 SEASON Marshall utilized a balanced attack, led by the rushing of Erik Thomas and Doug Chapman and the passing combination of Eric Kresser to Randy Moss to cruise to victory in the 1996 I-AA National Championship game, defeating the defending champion Montana Grizzlies 49-29. Marshall completed its season at 15-0, the first team to finish an undefeated, untied championship seasion since Georgia Southern in 1989. Montana, winners of 21 straight games, finished the season at 14-1. Marshall took an early lead on its first possession of the game as Kresser connected with Moss early in the first quarter for a nineteen yard score. Later in the same quarter, Chapman's 61 yard run capped a seven-play 94 yard drive set up by a Larry Moore interception of Montana quarterback Brian Ah Yat, who was leading the Griz toward a potential tying touchdown. Marshall extended the lead before a stunned crowd on the first play of its first drive of second quarter when Kresser connected with Moss for a 70-yard score. The point after was blocked, staking the Herd to a 20- 0 lead. Kicker Tim Openlander widened Marshall's advantage to 23-0 with 8:14 remaining before intermission. Montana connected on field goals of 40 and 27 yards by Andy Larson to close the gap to 23-6 at the break. Marshall dominated the third quarter, taking the second-half kickoff 62 yards in three plays for a touchdown, the key play being a 54 yard pass from Kresser to Moss, who finished the day with nine receptions for 220 yards. Later in the Quarter, Marshall added a touchdown on a nine-yard run by Chapman, who finished the day with 110 yards on the ground. Marshall's defense contained the Grizzlies through the third quarter of the game, limiting the vaunted Montana offensive attack to minus-41 yards of total offensive production in the period. Marshall's defense also accounted for the final score of the quarter, as Ah Yat was called for intentional grounding in the end zone, giving the Herd a safety. After three quarters, Marshall led 39-6. The Herd soon extended that lead to 46-6 on a 28 yard pass from Kresser to Moss. Montana mounted two impressive and unanswered drives for scores. Ah Yat's four yard pass to Joe Douglass and a two point conversion pass to Dallas Neil narrowed the gap to 46-14 with 10:52 remaining. A 7 play, 75 yard drive which consumed only 1:45 concluded with a two yard run by Josh Branen. An Ah Yat pass to Douglass for the conversion narrowed the gap to 46-22. Marshall countered with an Openlander field goal from 37 yards to increase its lead to 49-22 with 4:12 remaining in the game. A touchdown pass of 18 yards from Brian Ah Yat to Jeff Paffhausen concluded the scoring with 2:09 remaining, setting the final score at 49-29. SCORING SUMMARY 1 2 3 4 MARSHALL (MU) 14 9 16 10 -- 49 MONTANA (UM) 0 6 0 23 -- 29 First Quarter MU: Moss 19 pass from Kresser (Openlander kick) 9:13 - MU 7 UM 0 (7 plays, 80 yards, 2:42) MU: Chapman 61 run (Openlander kick) 2:09 - MU 14 UM 0 (7 plays, 94 yards, 2:58) Second Quarter MU: Moss 70 yard pass from Kresser (kick blocked) 14:08 - MU 20 UM 0 (1 play, 70 yards, 0:09) MU: Field Goal Openlander 20 (8:14) - MU 23 UM 0 (9 plays, 63 yards, 3:17) UM: Field Goal Larson 40 (5:05) - MU 23 UM 3 (9 plays, 32 yards, 3:09) UM: Field Goal Larson 27 (0:15) - MU 23 UM 6 (9 plays, 58 yards, 2:39) Third Quarter MU: Moss 54 pass from Kresser (Openlander kick) 14:05 - MU 30 UM 6 (3 plays, 62 yards, 0:55) MU: Chapman 9 run (Openlander kick) 5:03 - MU 37 UM 6 (7 plays, 47 yards, 3:33) MU: Safety, Ah Yat called for intentional grounding in - MU 39 UM 6 end zone, 4:34 Fourth Quarter MU: Moss 28 pass from Kresser (Openlander kick) 14:51 - MU 46 UM 6 (5 plays, 62 yards, 1:34) UM: Douglas 4 pass from Ah Yat (Ah Yat pass to Neil) 10:52 - MU 46 UM 14 (10 plays, 58 yards, 3:59) UM: Branen 2 run (Ah Yat pass to Neil) 7:09 - MU 46 UM 22 (7 plays, 75 yards, 1:45) MU: FG Openlander 37 (4:12) - MU 49 UM 22 (6 plays, 34 yards, 2:51) UM: Paffhausen 18 pass from Ah Yat (Larson Kick) 2:09 - MU 49 UM 29 (9 plays, 76 yards, 2:09 ATTENDANCE: 30,058 TEAM STATISTICS MARSHALL MONTANA FIRST DOWNS 21 31 By Rush 7 11 By Pass 12 17 By Penalty 2 3 RUSHING ATTEMPTS 36 35 YARDS GAINED RUSHING 230 165 YARDS LOST RUSHING 13 70 NET YARDS RUSHING 217 95 NET YARDS PASSING 324 335 PASS ATTEMPTS 28 55 PASS COMPLETIONS 18 36 HAD INTERCEPTED 0 1 TOTAL OFFENSIVE PLAYS 64 90 TOTAL NET YARDS 541 430 AVERAGE GAIN PER PLAY 8.5 4.7 FUMBLES - LOST 0-0 2-1 PENALTIES - YARDS 9-79 8-49 PUNTS - TOTAL YARDAGE 5-185 4-170 AVERAGE PER PUNT 38.8 42.5 PUNT RETURNS - YARDS 3-29 2-16 KICKOFF RETURNS - YARDS 5-63 7-140 THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS 7 of 14 5 of 15 FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS 0 of 0 2 of 2 SACKS BY - YARDS 2 - 10 0 - 0 TIME OF POSSESSION 28:47 31:13 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING (Rushes-Yards-TDs-Longest): Marshall: Thomas 20-120-0-32, Chapman 15-110-2-61, Kresser 1-(-1)-0-(-1). Montana: Branen 19-101-1- 21, Gates 3-20-0-9, Ah Yat 12-(-34)-0-11, Paffhausen 1-8-0-8. PASSING (Attempts-Completions-Yards-TDs-Interceptions): Marshall: Kresser 28-18-324-4-0. Montana: Ah Yat 55-36-335-2-1. RECEIVING (Catches-Yards-TD-Longest): Marshall: Martin 5-49-0-16, White 2-26-0-17, Moss 9-220-4-70, Wicks 1-7-0-7, Chapman 1-22-0-22. Montana: Branen 4-20-0-12, Douglas 13-117-1-16, Paffhausen 6-48-1-18, Neil 1-13- 0-13, Erhardt 4-36-0-17, Pachecho 3-31-0-13, Woods 1-5-0-5, Olsen 4-65- 0-25. PUNTING (Punts-Yards-Average-Longest): Marshall: Hansen 5-194-38.8-43. Montana: Neil 4-170-42.5-52. PUNT/KICK RETURNS (Number-Yards-TDs-Longest): Marshall: Moss 1-28-0-28, Martin 4-31-0-20, Summers 1-14-0-14, Darling 1-3-0-3, Maxwell 1-16-0-16. Montana: Gales 6-116-0-32, Woods 1-24-0-24, Douglass 2-11-0-11. INTERCEPTIONS (Number-Yards-TDs-Longest): Marshall: Moore 1-0-0-0. Montana: none. TACKLES (Solo-Assist-Total-Sacks): Marshall: Cohen 1-1-2-0, Lyon 2-0-2- 1, Hall 6-1-7-0, Duncan 0-2-2-1, Swafford 8-4-12-0, McCloud 4-3-7-0, Embry 5-0-5-0, Maxwell 4-2-6-0, Cunningham 3-0-3-0, Smythe 6-1-7-0, Moore 8-1-9-0, Grace 5-2-7-0, Summers 2-1-3-0, Beckett 6-3-9-0, Dixon 3- 0-3-0, Walker 1-0-1-0, Mercer 1-0-1-0, Lipscomb 1-0-1-0. Montana: Riley 2-3-5-0, Thompson 3-2-5-0, Toone 3-2-5-0, Falls 1-0-1-0, Bouchee 3-3-6- 0, Crebo 7-0-7-0, Simon 3-1-4-0, Hazel 4-2-6-0, Ivey 4-1-5-0, McElmurray 4-2-6-0, Goicoechea 3-3-6-0, Buehler 2-0-2-0, Manzanerez 2-0-2-0, Bryant 1-0-1-0, Lehman 1-0-1-0, Fitzgerald 1-0-1-0, Hampe 0-2-2-0, Smith 1-0-1- 0. COMMENTARY I have thought for over a week about what to say about this title game. Last season's contest between Montana and Marshall was a game for the ages. This year, drama went out the window about midway through the second quarter. Which was a shock to many people, because the 1996 Montana Grizzlies were an excellent football team. I think that in any other given year, this Grizzly team should have won a national title. True the Griz made some mistakes in the title game, and they didn't play their best game on Saturday. However, the 1996 Marshall team was, simply stated, the best I-AA team that has ever taken the field. No team came within 17 points of Marshall at home (that was Northern Iowa in the semifinals, in a game which many believe was the Herd's worst performance of the year). On the road, only Appalachian State was able to keep within two touchdowns of the Herd. In all three phases of the game, offense, defense, and special teams, Marshall was simply dominant. Perfection is difficult to come by in anything in life, and in athletics, it is especially elusive. The most perfect football team ever, in my estimation, was the 1901 Michigan team which went undefeated and unscored upon in the regular season and shut out Stanford in the first Rose Bowl, played some 95 years ago come 1/1/97 (and that is tough for me to admit, being an Ohio State alum). In I-AA football, only the 1989 Georgia Southern team, led by a great quarterback named Tracy Ham who still can be seen as one of the top players in the CFL, can claim 15 victories against no losses or no ties. The great Youngstown State team of 1994 was undefeated, but did have a tie as a slight blemish to its record. Only Eastern Kentucky, among playoff participants, can claim a place on such a lofty list, when it concluded an undefeated and untied championship season in the early days of I-AA football, before the 16 team playoff format. That team concluded its season 13-0. The 1996 version of the Marshall Thundering Herd was the benefit of a very rare and beneficial set of circumstances that allowed it to claim the laurels of national champion for this season, and the superlative of I-AA's finest product ever in the minds of many. Consider the following: 1) Marshall was a popular favorite to contend for a national championship this season when the last season ended. 2) Unusual events prompt very highly touted athletes to transfer to the university, adding strength to a team that already looked incredibly tough. 3) A new coach and an updated offensive system that maximized the use of the extensive resources available to the fullest extent possible. Add that to Marshall's past playoff experience, its standing as the host of the title game (for five straight years), and its previosuly anticipated and even announced move to I-A football which has already borne some fruit in terms of recruiting, and you have the makings of a team that is dominant. One coach this season stated that Marshall could have scored a hundred points on his team. Others stated that Marshall is a team with I-A caliber talent. But the statement most often made about Marshall was, "They have too many weapons." The weapons were in evidence. Perhaps the most obvious to everyone who is acquainted with the Herd this season is Randy Moss, whose fate brought him to Huntington after abbreviated flirtations with the more familiar college football cities of South Bend or Tallahassee. He has set Marshall's career touchdown reception mark--a mark that has stood for some 50 years--as a FRESHMAN. The comparisons with Jerry Rice, perhaps I-AA's best product ever for the football field, come heavy and fast. Throwing to Moss was Eric Kresser, another transfer, whose arm strength coupled with his ability to read defenses and make correct decisions was all too often quick and deadly for opponents. Other talented returnees at wide receiver were there as targets should defenses choose to double-cover or sometimes even triple-cover Moss. He is a future legend. (BTW, the remarks that some have heard that he's academically ineligible etc., forget it. He has proven himself in high school and elsewhere to be a pretty bright fellow. He can hold his own in a classroom, and there is nothing to keep him from terrorizing the MAC next season). Two 1,000 yard backs--Doug Chapman and Erik Thomas--not only kept defenses honest, they kept them backing up toward their goal lines. When Marshall's receivers kept the secondaries busy, this tandem had the capacity to break a draw play for 15, 30 yards or more. Cover the pass (or try to), and the Herd killed you with the run. The team could not be defensed. The only way that I think a team could beat Marshall is to try to match them score for score, and some tried. But the Herd's defense simply wouldn't allow it. Unbeatable? Well, they did go 15-0. The list of contributors to this machine of a team could go on. The offensive line allowed only 19 sacks this season up to the championship game. The defense was among the nation's leaders in fewest points allowed. The kicking game was solid--Marshall's punter Chris Hansen (only a sophomore) would have led I-AA in punting, but since punts were so scarce for this Marshall team, he did not have the requisite number of attempts. Oh yes--Moss also led I-AA in kickoff return average. So, perhaps fittingly, Marshall retires from I-AA football as champions. And while some will be glad to see them make the move, I-AA will miss the Herd. The national championship game alone will probably never be as successful anywhere else in the nation as it was in Huntington, where from 1991 to 1996 each and every game had at least 27,000 tickets sold. Chattanooga, Tennessee is the host of the next championship, and a new stadium and perhaps a bit warmer weather will be there in the southeastern corner of Tennessee, and later other cities will likely have their chances, but the sizes of crowds and the atmosphere surrounding the games will never, I think, be quite the same. Marshall is making its move very smartly. Most teams that have moved to I-A have done so after their first appearances in title games, regardless of whether they are champions or runners-up. Of teams such as North Texas, Akron, Northeast Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, Southwest Louisiana, Arkansas State, Central Florida, Boise State, Idaho or Nevada, none can boast of the success that Marshall has had at the I-AA level, especially in the postseason. The move was well planned. Another advantage Marshall will have is that unlike most teams who have jumped up the ladder, Marshall is doing so without having to fight the so called big wars as an independent. The Mid American Conference beckons--and Marshall will host the conference championship game next November. Don't be suprised if Marshall is playing in it. A sizable nucleus will be back, as will over twenty additional athletic scholarships. The MAC's gain is I-AA's loss. But the beat will go on in I-AA, and a new champion will be crowned next season. Don't be suprised if the Griz make a trip to Chattanooga next season. Many other teams look to be excellent, and in losts of places across the country there is a coach that is saying to himself, "Next season is OUR time." One of them will be right. Until that time comes, remember this Marshall team. The balance, the talent, the sheer dominance from start to finish, may not be seen again for some time. It will be quite some time before any I-AA team even comes close to matching the accomplishments of the 1996 Marshall Thundering Herd. ********************************************************************** III. FINAL 1996 I-AA POWER RATINGS By David Wilson Division I-AA College Football Performance Ratings 12/21/96 For a combined Division I-A/I-AA list, see: http://www.cae.wisc.edu/~dwilson/byrate96.html Marshall is #3 and Montana is #8 on the combined list. A team's rating is the average of its opponents' ratings plus 100 for a win or minus 100 for a loss excluding wins that would lower the rating and losses that would raise the rating. Post-season games count double. These ratings are in the public domain and may be freely published. For further information, visit the rec.sport.football.college homepage (http://www.cae.wisc.edu/~dwilson/rsfc/) and click on "My Own Rating System" under point 6. W L T W L T 1 Marshall 15 0 0 859 59 Hofstra 5 6 0 315 2 Montana 14 1 0 759 Wofford 6 5 0 315 3 E. Tennessee St. 10 3 0 659 Miss. Valley St. 7 4 0 315 4 Furman 9 4 0 599 62 Tennessee St. 4 7 0 299 5 Dayton 11 0 0 550 63 N. Carolina A&T 7 4 0 295 Dartmouth 10 0 0 550 64 Liberty 5 6 0 290 7 N. Iowa 12 2 0 531 65 SE Missouri 3 8 0 288 8 N. Arizona 9 3 0 528 66 Alcorn St. 4 7 0 286 9 Appalachian St. 7 4 0 489 67 Richmond 2 9 0 280 10 Troy St. 12 2 0 485 68 St. Mary's, Cal. 7 3 0 277 11 CS Northridge 7 4 0 466 69 Hampton U. 5 6 0 263 12 Weber St. 7 4 0 458 S. Carolina St. 3 7 0 263 William & Mary 10 3 0 458 71 Sacramento St. 1 10 0 261 14 Murray St. 10 2 0 440 72 S. Utah 3 7 0 253 15 Villanova 8 4 0 434 73 Grambling St. 3 8 0 246 Nicholls St. 8 4 0 434 74 Boston U. 1 10 0 243 Montana St. 6 5 0 434 75 Morgan St. 4 7 0 241 18 E. Washington 6 5 0 433 76 Austin Peay 1 10 0 239 19 Delaware 8 4 0 425 Tenn.-Martin 1 10 0 239 20 W. Illinois 9 3 0 421 78 Alabama St. 3 8 0 236 21 Stephen F.Austin 7 4 0 407 79 Columbia 8 2 0 232 22 SW Missouri St. 7 4 0 404 80 Delaware St. 3 8 0 223 Youngstown St. 8 3 0 404 81 Bethune-Cookman 3 8 0 194 New Hampshire 8 3 0 404 82 Lehigh 5 6 0 188 25 NW Louisiana 6 5 0 402 83 Brown 5 5 0 184 26 E. Illinois 8 4 0 399 84 Morehead St. 6 4 0 183 27 W. Kentucky 7 4 0 390 85 Colgate 6 5 0 180 James Madison 7 4 0 390 Lafayette 5 5 0 180 29 Indiana St. 6 5 0 383 Penn 5 5 0 180 30 Jackson St. 10 2 0 382 88 Drake 8 3 0 177 31 Sam Houston St. 4 7 0 377 89 Cornell 4 6 0 171 32 Idaho St. 4 7 0 375 90 Bucknell 6 5 0 157 33 Maine 7 4 0 373 91 Harvard 4 6 0 149 34 Northeastern 6 5 0 372 92 Prairie View 0 10 0 136 35 E. Kentucky 6 5 0 371 93 Princeton 3 7 0 130 36 SW Texas St. 5 6 0 369 94 Yale 2 8 0 129 37 Citadel 4 7 0 368 95 Fordham 2 8 0 98 38 Florida A&M 9 3 0 365 96 Charleston So. 2 8 0 83 39 Howard U. 9 2 0 364 Holy Cross 2 9 0 83 40 Georgia Southern 4 7 0 362 98 Robert Morris 9 2 0 70 41 VMI 3 8 0 359 99 Towson St. 6 4 0 45 42 Massachusetts 6 5 0 358 100 Duquesne 10 1 0 17 43 Buffalo 8 3 0 353 101 Monmouth, N.J. 7 3 0 14 44 Middle Tenn. 6 5 0 350 102 Georgetown, D.C. 7 3 0 -17 45 Tn.-Chattanooga 3 8 0 349 103 Marist 7 3 0 -52 Samford 6 5 0 349 104 Wagner 5 5 0 -53 Southern U. 7 4 0 349 105 Evansville 5 5 0 -55 48 Cal Poly-SLO 5 6 0 342 Butler 3 7 0 -55 49 W. Carolina 4 7 0 340 107 Central Conn. St. 3 7 0 -66 Illinois St. 3 8 0 340 108 San Diego 4 6 0 -105 51 S. Illinois 5 6 0 338 Valparaiso 4 6 0 -105 52 Tennessee Tech 5 6 0 331 110 St. John's, NY 6 4 0 -160 53 Connecticut 4 6 0 326 111 St. Francis, Pa. 3 7 0 -186 54 McNeese St. 3 8 0 325 112 Canisius 5 4 0 -260 55 Jacksonville St. 1 9 0 320 113 Siena 2 7 0 -360 Texas Southern 7 4 0 320 St. Peter's 2 7 0 -360 57 Rhode Island 4 6 0 319 115 Fairfield 1 8 0 -410 58 Portland St. 3 8 0 318 Iona 1 9 0 -410 ******************************************************************** IV. 1996 SEASON SUPERLATIVES This has been an interesting season, for some very successful but for others quite disappointing. Some thoughts about some of the highs and lows of 1996: MOST IMPROVED TEAM: Nicholls State. From 0-11 in 1995 to a playoff team in 1996. TOUGH LUCK SEASONS: Hofstra, Stephen F. Austin, Appalachian State, McNeese State, Connecticut, Eastern Kentucky. COACH OF THE YEAR: Carm Cozza, Yale. The sentimental favorite. Just what can you do to top 30 years coaching at one school? PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Let the statistics show that it's Archie Amerson of Northern Arizona. He did it all and did it well. THE "WHO'S JERRY RICE?" AWARD: Randy Moss is not going to be around in I-AA anymore. That won't matter. He'll just be breaking I-A and MAC records instead of I-AA and Southern Conference records. Remember this name. He has the making sof a legand. BEST TEAM NOT IN THE PLAYOFFS: Tie between Youngstown State and New Hampshire. TOP CONFERENCE: The Southern Conference (three teams in the final eight). BEST BETS FOR 1997: 1) Northern Iowa will probably be a favorite to win the national title, despite losing Terry Allen to Kansas. 2) Youngstown State and Eastern Kentucky will be back in the playoffs. 3) East Tennessee State will win its first Southern Conference title. 4) Prarie View WILL win a game. 5) The Big Sky will get tougher as the three newly-added teams continue to improve. 6) Wofford will not win a Southern Conference game next season when it begins its first season in that league. 7) Huntington, West Virginia will be missed come championship game weekend. 8) Columbia will continue to improve and could win the Ivy League. 9) The new Atlantic Ten football conference (formerly the Yankee) will pick up fan support because of its new name and notoriety. 10) These three players (at least) get drafted into the NFL: Dedric Ward (Northern Iowa), Dexter Coakley (Appalachian State), Billy Lyon (Marshall), Joe Douglass (Montana), Eric Kresser (Marshall). BEST FANS: Montana still deserves the nod. Even if they did not sell out their allotment of tickets for the championship, Montana still sent a bunch to Huntington on short notice. A very close honorable mention goes to Marshall fans. You sold it out again. God bless you. I am just waiting to see the faces of MAC fans when you send 4,000 to a game at Bowling Green. ********************************************************************** V. DISCLAIMERS & GENERAL INFORMATION I-AA PREVIEW is a fan driven publication with the mission of supplying followers of I-AA football with accurate information. It appears weekly from late August until the conclusion of the playoffs, usually each Wednesday night. Because of the nature of this publication, errors in factual data will occasionally occur. If these are observed, please bring them to my attention at the address below so that a correction can be made. You may subscribe to I-AA Preview by sending along a message indicating your desire to receive the newsletter to the email address indicated below. The newsletter is free of charge, except for any service charges you might incur from your online service carrier. Please indicate your CORRECT email address. If a copy of the newsletter bounces, that address will be removed from the mailing list. If you are experiencing problems receiving the newsletter, please let me know. The newsletter is also available on the World Wide Web by accessing the following URL's: http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/1146/ http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/2427/1aafootball.html http://www.cae.wisc.edu/~dwilson/rsfc/pdunn.html If you have a link to a site that has the I-AA newsletter available via WWW, please let me know so that I can add it to the list above. ********************************************************************** VI. THE LAST WORD FOR 1996 This season is over. We still have the Heritage Bowl to go on New Year's Day, and Southern and Howard will surely put on a great contest for us. But the championship is decided, the accomplishments have been hailed and the dissapointments have been scrutinized. It all seems like such a short time ago that we even began this season. Football begins in the heat of August and ends in the snows of December. There is a passion to the game of football that is simply not found in any other sport. And if you love the game, whether or not playing it or simply supporting it, you know that the season seems that it goes by far too quickly. But it really hasn't--after all, its been four months since I first sent out a newsletter this season. The work doesn't end for a lot of people. For coaches, it's time to recruit. For athletic adminstration personnel, it's time to schedule games and begin thinking about arrangements for next season. For the athletes who give us so much happiness it's time to hit the weights and the offseason conditioning--and the books. The newsletter goes off line this week and won't be back until next August. At this point in time it is my intention to continue to produce it next season. It is not flashy, it doesn't try to astound anyone with fancy fonts or graphics, but I think that it serves its purpose well. There are many people who have sent along thanks or kind words about the newsletter. Some have also added contributions and have really improved the quality of what gets delivered, and those of you I really want to thank for all of your help. So, to each of you, have a safe Winter, enjoy the Spring and try to have some fun over the Summer. I will be in touch again next August and we can do this all over again. ******* SO LONG--UNTIL NEXT AUGUST ******* + + + + + + + + + + + Patrick Dunn Editor, I-AA PREVIEW pdunn@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *