The 2009 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

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 The 2009 NCAA Division I FCS football season, the 2009 season of college football for teams in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), began in August 2009 and concluded with the 2009 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game on December 1 ...

, 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 A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...

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 South Dakota State University is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest and most comprehensive university and the oldest continually ...

, Stephen F. Austin, and

Appalachian State Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...

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 Holy Cross or Saint Cross may refer to: * the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus * Christian cross, a frequently used religious symbol of Christianity * True Cross, supposed remnants of the actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified * Feast ...

, 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

Game statistics

References

External links

Box score
at ESPN
12/18/2009 Villanova vs Montana Football Highlights
via YouTube {{2009–10 NCAA Division I championships navbox Championship Game NCAA Division I Football Championship Games Montana Grizzlies football games Villanova Wildcats football games College football in Tennessee American football competitions in Chattanooga, Tennessee NCAA Division I Football Championship Game NCAA Division I Football Championship Game