"They have a pretty good ball club, but we had a better defense and something else they didn't have, the desire to win.
You can measure people's heights and weights and speeds, but you can't measure wants and the size of someone's heart.
That's what made the difference for us today."
- Defensive End Steve Bussoletti after the Eagles won their fourth national title -Â
CHAMPIONS AGAIN!
STATESBORO, Ga. Â - Quarterback Raymond Gross rushed for a game-high 145 yards and the Georgia Southern defense rose to the occasion with a crucial goal line stand early in the third quarter as the Eagles captured their fourth national championship in six years. Â Trailing 14-6 to open the second half, Nevada drove 74 yards in 14 plays to the Eagle 1-yard line. Â The Wolfpack was stuffed on four consecutive plays before Kevin McKelvie missed a 24-yard field goal. GSU answered with a pair of Darryl Hopkins touchdown runs to take a comfortable 27-6 lead midway through the final period. Â After Hopkins' contributions, the Eagles added a 41-yard Mike Dowis field goal and closed the contest when true freshman defensive end Alex Mash returned a Chris Vargas pass 15 yards for a touchdown for the 36-13 final in front of the hometown crowd at Paulson Stadium.
Georgia Southern 31, The Citadel 0
 — First Round — Nov. 24 — Allen E. Paulson Stadium, Statesboro   The Eagles limited The Citadel to eight second half yards in a 31-0 first round rout of the Bulldogs.  As The Citadel's potent wishbone attack came to a screeching halt, GSU broke open a 10-0 halftime advantage with a 35 yard scoring pass from Raymond Gross to Terence Sorrell and TD runs by Karl Miller and Lester Efford.  Gross completed 10-of-13 passes for 173 yards.  Joe Ross led all rushers with 84 yards on 23 carries and scored Southern's first TD.
   After the Gross to Sorrel pass capped Southern's initial series of the second half, Kevin Whitley intercepted a Jack Douglas pass at the GSU 48.  Miller highlighted a 52-yard, 8-play drive with a 20-yard scoring run. Efford's seven yard effort topped an eight play, 72-yard scoring drive.
Georgia Southern 28, Idaho 27
 — Quarterfinals — Dec. 1 — Allen E. Paulson Stadium, Statesboro   Middle linebacker Eugene Hayes' recovery of a fumble at the Eagle 23 yard line with 2:27 remaining halted a possible game winning Idaho drive and Georgia Southern escaped with a 28-27 quarterfinal win over the Vandals.
   After the Eagles took a seemingly commanding 21-7 lead with 53 seconds left in the first half on a 3-yard TD run by Raymond Gross, Idaho countered with 17 unanswered points for a 24-21 advantage.  Gross connected with Karl Miller from nine yards out late in the third quarter for what proved to be the deciding points.
   GSU surrendered a season high 528 yards total offense. Vandal quarterback Steve Nolan riddled the Eagle defense with 372 yards on a then-stadium record 32 completions (43 attempts), while Roman Carter led all rushers with 124 yards on 23 carries.  Idaho passed the Eagle 30-yard line on three of its first four possessions but came away empty.
Georgia Southern 44, Central Florida 7
 — Semifinals — Dec. 8 — Allen E. Paulson Stadium, Statesboro   A swarming defense slammed the door on Central Florida in the second half while the offense ripped off 35 unanswered points as GSU coasted in the semifinals.
   The Knights took an overdose of Southern's defensive front, whose pressure forced 10 sacks.  UCF also saw enough of quarterback Raymond Gross, who threw for two touchdowns in the decisive second half.Â
   Georgia Southern limited Central Florida to 81 yards total offense in the second half.  The Knights generated just six rushing yards and 75 passing yards in the game's final 30 minutes. Joe Ross led all rushers with 72 yards while Karl Miller covered a career high 111 yards on five catches.
1990 - 12-3
Sept. 1   Valdosta State   W  17-10
Sept. 8   at Middle Tenn. State   L  13-16
Sept. 15   at Florida State   L  6-48
Sept. 22   Eastern Kentucky   L  34-42
Sept. 29   Northeast Louisiana   W  33-14
Oct. 6   at Marshall   W  17-14
Oct. 20   at Central Florida   W  38-17
Oct. 27   Savannah State   W  54-7
Nov. 3   James Madison   W  31-13
Nov. 10   at Chattanooga   W  23-20
Nov. 17   Samford   W  31-24
Nov. 24   ^The Citadel   W  31-0
Dec. 1   ^Idaho   W  28-27
Dec. 8   ^Central Florida   W  44-7
Dec. 15   ^^Nevada   W  36-13
^NCAA I-AA Playoff Game,Â
^^NCAA I-AA National Championship (Statesboro, GA)
