2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season

2008 NCAA Division I FCS season

Logo for the 2008 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game
Duration August 28 – November 22
Playoff
Duration November 29 – December 19
Championship site Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, TN
Champion Richmond Spiders[1]
Payton Award Armanti Edwards[2]
Buchanan Award Greg Peach[3]
Division I FCS football season

The 2008 NCAA Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) football season, part of the college football season, began on August 28, 2008 and concluded on December 19, 2008 in Chattanooga, Tennessee at the 2008 NCAA Division I National Football Championship game, where the Richmond Spiders defeated the Montana Grizzlies to win the NCAA Division I Football Championship.

Rule changes for 2008

The NCAA football rules committee made several rule changes for 2008, and includes the following:[4][5]

Conference and program changes

School 2007 Conference 2008 Conference
Bryant Northeast-10 (D-II) FCS Independent
Campbell New Program Pioneer
Duquesne MAAC Northeast
Iona MAAC FCS Independent
La Salle MAAC Dropped Program
Marist MAAC FCS Independent
North Dakota State Great West Missouri Valley
Presbyterian D-II Independent Big South
Samford Ohio Valley Southern
South Dakota State Great West Missouri Valley
Stony Brook FCS Independent Big South

FCS team wins over FBS teams

Notable upsets

Conference standings

2008 Big Sky football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#2 Montana $^   7 1         14 2  
#7 Weber State $^   7 1         10 4  
Montana State   5 3         7 5  
Eastern Washington   5 3         6 5  
Northern Arizona   4 4         6 5  
Sacramento State   3 5         6 6  
Portland State   3 5         4 7  
Northern Colorado   1 7         1 10  
Idaho State   1 7         1 11  
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll
2008 Big South football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#14 Liberty $   5 0         10 2  
Stony Brook   3 2         5 6  
Charleston Southern   3 2         7 5  
Gardner–Webb   2 3         5 6  
Coastal Carolina   1 4         6 6  
VMI   1 4         4 7  
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll
2008 CAA football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
North
#8 New Hampshire x^   6 2         10 3  
#18 Maine ^   5 3         8 5  
UMass   4 4         7 5  
Hofstra   2 6         4 8  
Rhode Island   1 7         3 9  
Northeastern   1 7         2 10  
South
#3 James Madison x$^   8 0         12 2  
#6 Villanova ^   7 1         10 3  
#1 Richmond ^   6 2         13 3  
#20 William & Mary   5 3         7 4  
Delaware   2 6         4 8  
Towson   1 7         3 9  
  • x Division champion/co-champions
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll
2008 Great West football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#10 Cal Poly $^   3 0         8 3  
UC Davis   2 1         5 7  
North Dakota   1 2         6 4  
South Dakota   1 2         6 5  
Southern Utah   1 3         4 7  
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll
2008 Ivy League football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#15 Harvard $   6 1         9 1  
Brown   6 1         7 3  
Penn   5 2         6 4  
Yale   4 3         6 4  
Princeton   3 4         4 6  
Cornell   2 5         4 6  
Columbia   2 5         2 8  
Dartmouth   0 7         0 10  
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll
2008 MEAC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
South Carolina State $^   8 0         10 2  
Florida A&M   5 3         9 3  
Bethune-Cookman   5 3         8 3  
Hampton   5 3         6 5  
Delaware State   5 3         5 6  
Morgan State   4 4         6 6  
Norfolk State   3 5         5 7  
North Carolina A&T   1 7         3 9  
Winston-Salem State*   0 0         3 8  
Howard   0 8         1 10  
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
  • * Not eligible for conference championship
Rankings from AP Poll
2008 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#4 Northern Iowa $^   7 1         12 3  
#11 Southern Illinois ^   7 1         9 3  
South Dakota State   6 2         7 5  
Western Illinois   4 4         6 5  
North Dakota State   4 4         6 5  
Missouri State   3 5         4 7  
Youngstown State   3 5         4 8  
Illinois State   2 6         3 8  
Indiana State   0 8         0 12  
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll
2008 NEC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
Albany $   7 0         9 3  
Monmouth   6 1         7 5  
Sacred Heart   4 3         8 3  
Central Connecticut State   4 3         7 4  
Robert Morris   4 3         5 6  
Duquesne   2 5         3 7  
Wagner   1 6         3 8  
Saint Francis   0 7         0 11  
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll
2008 Ohio Valley football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#19 Eastern Kentucky $^   7 1         8 4  
Jacksonville State   6 2         8 3  
Tennessee-Martin   6 2         8 4  
Tennessee State   5 3         8 4  
Murray State   4 4         5 7  
Eastern Illinois   3 5         5 7  
Southeast Missouri State   2 6         4 8  
Austin Peay   2 6         2 9  
Tennessee Tech   1 7         3 9  
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll
2008 Patriot League football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#16 Colgate $^   5 0         9 3  
Holy Cross   5 1         7 4  
Lehigh   4 2         5 6  
Lafayette   3 3         7 4  
Bucknell   2 4         5 6  
Fordham   1 5         5 6  
Georgetown   0 5         2 8  
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll
2008 Pioneer Football League standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
Jacksonville $   7 1         9 4  
San Diego   6 2         9 2  
Dayton   6 2         9 3  
Butler   4 4         6 5  
Drake   4 4         6 5  
Morehead State   4 4         6 6  
Davidson   3 5         4 7  
Valparaiso   2 6         3 8  
Campbell   0 8         1 10  
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll
2008 Southern Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#5 Appalachian State $^   8 0         11 3  
#9 Wofford ^   7 1         9 3  
#17 Elon   6 2         8 4  
Furman   4 4         7 5  
Samford   4 4         6 5  
Georgia Southern   4 4         6 5  
The Citadel   2 6         4 8  
Western Carolina   1 7         3 9  
Chattanooga   0 8         1 11  
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll
2008 Southland Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#12 Central Arkansas $   6 1         10 2  
Texas State ^   5 2         8 5  
McNeese State   4 3         7 3  
Northwestern State   4 3         7 5  
Nicholls State   3 4         3 6  
Southeastern Louisiana   2 5         5 7  
Sam Houston State   2 5         4 6  
Stephen F. Austin   2 5         4 8  
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll
2008 SWAC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
East
Jackson State x   6 1         7 5  
Alabama A&M   4 3         5 7  
Alabama State   2 5         3 8  
Mississippi Valley State   1 6         3 8  
Alcorn State   1 6         2 10  
West
Grambling State x$   7 0         11 2  
Prairie View A&M   6 1         9 1  
Southern   5 2         6 5  
Arkansas–Pine Bluff   2 5         3 9  
Texas Southern   1 6         4 8  
Championship: Grambling State 41, Jackson State 9
December 13, 2008
  • $ Conference champion
  • x Division champion/co-champions
Template:2008 Division I FCS independent football standings

Conference champions

Automatic berths

Conference Champion Record*
Big Sky Conference Montana 11–0, 8-0
Colonial Athletic Association James Madison 10–1, 8–0
Missouri Valley Football Conference Southern Illinois 9–2, 7–1
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference South Carolina State 10–2, 8–0
Ohio Valley Conference Eastern Kentucky 8–3, 7–1
Patriot League Colgate 9–2, 5–0
Southern Conference Appalachian State 10–2, 8–0
Southland Conference Texas State 8–4, 5–2

Invitation

Conference Champion Record*
Great West Conference Cal Poly 8–2, 3–0
Big South Conference Liberty 10–2, 5–0
Northeast Conference Albany 8–3, 7–0
Pioneer Football League Jacksonville 9–3, 7–1

Abstains

Conference Champion Record*
Ivy League Brown 7–3, 6–1
Southwestern Athletic Conference Grambling State 11–2, 7–0

*Overall record, Conference record

Postseason

NCAA FCS Playoff bracket

First Round[6]
November 29
Campus Sites
Quarterfinals
December 6
Campus Sites
Semifinals
December 12 and December 13
Campus Sites
National Championship Game

December 19
Finley Stadium
Chattanooga, Tennessee

            
Wofford 35
1 James Madison* 38
1 James Madison* 31
Villanova 27
Colgate 28
Villanova* 55
1 James Madison* 27
4 Montana 35
Texas State 13
4 Montana* 31
4 Montana* 24
Weber State 13
Weber State 49
Cal Poly* 35
4 Montana 7
Richmond 24
South Carolina State 21
2 Appalachian State* 37
2 Appalachian State* 13
Richmond 33
Eastern Kentucky 10
Richmond* 38
Richmond 21
3 Northern Iowa* 20
Maine 15
3 Northern Iowa* 40
3 Northern Iowa* 36
New Hampshire 34
New Hampshire 29
Southern Illinois* 20

* Host institution

SWAC Championship Game

Date Location Venue West Div. Champion East Div. Champion Result
December 13 Birmingham, Alabama Legion Field Grambling State Jackson State Grambling State, 41–9[7]

Gridiron Classic

The Gridiron Classic is an annual game between the champions of the Northeast Conference and the Pioneer Football League that has been held since December 2006.

Date Location Venue NEC Champion PFL Champion Result
December 6 Albany, New York University Field Albany Jacksonville Albany, 28–0[8]

Final poll standings

Standings are from The Sports Network final 2008 poll.

Rank[9] Team Record
1 Richmond Spiders 13–3
2 Montana Grizzlies 14–2
3 James Madison Dukes 12–2
4 Northern Iowa Panthers 12–3
5 Appalachian State Mountaineers 11–3
6 Villanova Wildcats 10–3
7 Weber State Wildcats 10–4
8 New Hampshire Wildcats 10–3
9 Wofford Terriers 9–3
10 Cal Poly Mustangs 8–3
11 Southern Illinois Salukis 9–3
12 Central Arkansas Bears 10–2
13 South Carolina State Bulldogs 10–3
14 Liberty Flames 10–2
15 Harvard Crimson 9–1
16 Colgate Raiders 9–3
17 Elon Phoenix 8–4
18 Maine Black Bears 8–5
19 Eastern Kentucky Colonels 8–4
20 William & Mary Tribe 7–4
21 McNeese State Cowboys 7–4
22 Texas State Bobcats 8–5
23 Jacksonville State Gamecocks 8–3
24 Grambling State Tigers 11–2
25 Prairie View A&M Panthers 9–1

See also

Notes and references

  1. Associated Press (2008-12-19). "Richmond cruises to first football title". ESPN. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
  2. "Armanti Edwards wins 2008 Walter Payton Award". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
  3. "Greg Peach captures 2008 Buck Buchanan Award". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
  4. "NCAA Football Rules Committee Proposes Rules to Enhance Student-Athlete Safety and Encourage Consistent Pace of Play" (Press release). NCAA. 2008-02-13. Archived from the original on 23 December 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
  5. Olin Buchanan (2008-02-13). "More new timing rules among NCAA proposal". Rivals. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  6. "2008 Playoff Bracket". NCAA. Archived from the original on 27 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
  7. Associated Press (2008-12-13). "Grambling St. 41, Jackson St. 9". ESPN. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
  8. Associated Press (2008-12-06). "Albany, N.Y. 28, Jacksonville 0". ESPN. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
  9. "Final Sports Network's 2008 FCS College Football Poll". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
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