1985 Eagles Celebrate First Football National Championship
Photo by: Frank Fortune - Georgia Southern Athletics
Throwback Thursday
9/5/2013 2:51:00 PM | Football
Fledgling Eagles open improbable season Sept. 7, 1985
Still a brand-new program on the college football landscape, Georgia Southern had just two years of NCAA competition to its name. The Eagles opened their 1985 season on September 7th against Florida A&M on a warm, sunny day at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville in the Bold City Classic. Little did anyone guess that this particular team would not only win its first national championship, but set the foundation for the legacy of Georgia Southern Football.
The Eagles posted a 9-2 record in the regular season and earn its first-ever I-AA playoff berth. The higher rankings beside the names of the opponents mattered not to Coach Erk Russell or the Eagles in the postseason. One by one they fell, with the Eagles going against Jackson State and then top-ranked, undefeated Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro. Russell told his team to "repeat the things that make you successful," and they avenged one of their losses from earlier in the year.
The cold and ice of Northern Iowa was no match for the gnat-infested, mystical waters of Eagle Creek. Coach Russell filled a plastic milk jug and ceremoniously sprinkled contents of the jug over both UNI Dome endzones. The game was settled eight touchdowns, five field goals and more than 1,000 yards of total offense later with Georgia Southern the winner headed to meet Furman in the national championship game in Tacoma.
Coach Russell told his team, "there ain't no tomorrow," as the Eagles prepared for the final contest of 1985. Much like the weather that enveloped the city, Georgia Southern's offense was in a fog and the team found itself in a rare spot – behind by 22 points. Tracy Ham and the Eagles went to an aerial attack and scored three of their four straight touchdowns on passes to take a one TD lead. Furman tied the score at 35 and then went ahead 42-38 with just 92 seconds left.
This was it. This was the last chance. It was near maddening. After a penalty that brought the Eagles back to their own 18, Ham hit freshman Frankie Johnson for a pass that Johnson converted into 53 yards. Ham was then able to get out of bounds and pick up a few yards with the clock stopped at 52 seconds. A sack and incomplete pass took more time off the clock, but didn't put any points on the scoreboard for the Eagles. On fourth and 11, they got another chance as a Furman miscue set up a Ham to Belser pass for 17 yards.
Time was ticking. After throwing the ball away to avoid a sack, only 14 seconds were left on the clock. As improbable as the Eagles' season had been, it had come down to one last play on third down. Offensive coordinator Paul Johnson called a play the Eagles had run earlier, but unsuccessfully. This time, Ham threw what can only be described as a strike of a pass between defenders into the raised arms of Johnson and his feet land in the endzone to give the Eagles the lead.
Though the last 10 seconds seem inconsequential after that amazing touchdown, it was far from the case. Furman would still try and make something happen. The Eagle defense, however, forced the Paladin quarterback's desperate pass incomplete and Georgia Southern had won its first national championship.
It was a long way back across the country for the Eagles, but thousands of Georgia Southern fans welcomed their team back at the airport and at Hanner Fieldhouse when they returned to celebrate this improbable title.
Additional information used from the book, "Just One More Time," by Jim Halley and Mark McClellan.
The Eagles posted a 9-2 record in the regular season and earn its first-ever I-AA playoff berth. The higher rankings beside the names of the opponents mattered not to Coach Erk Russell or the Eagles in the postseason. One by one they fell, with the Eagles going against Jackson State and then top-ranked, undefeated Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro. Russell told his team to "repeat the things that make you successful," and they avenged one of their losses from earlier in the year.
The cold and ice of Northern Iowa was no match for the gnat-infested, mystical waters of Eagle Creek. Coach Russell filled a plastic milk jug and ceremoniously sprinkled contents of the jug over both UNI Dome endzones. The game was settled eight touchdowns, five field goals and more than 1,000 yards of total offense later with Georgia Southern the winner headed to meet Furman in the national championship game in Tacoma.
Coach Russell told his team, "there ain't no tomorrow," as the Eagles prepared for the final contest of 1985. Much like the weather that enveloped the city, Georgia Southern's offense was in a fog and the team found itself in a rare spot – behind by 22 points. Tracy Ham and the Eagles went to an aerial attack and scored three of their four straight touchdowns on passes to take a one TD lead. Furman tied the score at 35 and then went ahead 42-38 with just 92 seconds left.
This was it. This was the last chance. It was near maddening. After a penalty that brought the Eagles back to their own 18, Ham hit freshman Frankie Johnson for a pass that Johnson converted into 53 yards. Ham was then able to get out of bounds and pick up a few yards with the clock stopped at 52 seconds. A sack and incomplete pass took more time off the clock, but didn't put any points on the scoreboard for the Eagles. On fourth and 11, they got another chance as a Furman miscue set up a Ham to Belser pass for 17 yards.
Time was ticking. After throwing the ball away to avoid a sack, only 14 seconds were left on the clock. As improbable as the Eagles' season had been, it had come down to one last play on third down. Offensive coordinator Paul Johnson called a play the Eagles had run earlier, but unsuccessfully. This time, Ham threw what can only be described as a strike of a pass between defenders into the raised arms of Johnson and his feet land in the endzone to give the Eagles the lead.
Though the last 10 seconds seem inconsequential after that amazing touchdown, it was far from the case. Furman would still try and make something happen. The Eagle defense, however, forced the Paladin quarterback's desperate pass incomplete and Georgia Southern had won its first national championship.
It was a long way back across the country for the Eagles, but thousands of Georgia Southern fans welcomed their team back at the airport and at Hanner Fieldhouse when they returned to celebrate this improbable title.
Additional information used from the book, "Just One More Time," by Jim Halley and Mark McClellan.
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