| Year Game Played: | 1991 |
| Game Name: | NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship |
| Subheader: | I-AA National Championship Game |
| Visitor Name Short: | Youngstown State |
| Visitor Nickname: | Penguins |
| Home Nickname: | Thundering Herd |
| Visitor School: | Youngstown State University |
| Home Name Short: | Marshall |
| Football Season: | 1991 |
| Home School: | Marshall University |
| Visitor Record: | 11–3 |
| Home Record: | 11–3 |
| Visitor Conference: | Independent |
| Home Conference: | SoCon |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 3 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 3 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 19 |
| Home 2Q: | 0 |
| Home 3Q: | 17 |
| Home 4Q: | 0 |
| Visitor Coach: | Jim Tressel |
| Home Coach: | Jim Donnan |
| Visitor Rank Ncaa: | 13 |
| Visitor Seed: | — |
| Home Rank Ncaa: | 8 |
| Home Seed: | — |
| Date Game Played: | December 21 |
| Stadium: | Paulson Stadium |
| City: | Statesboro, Georgia |
| Attendance: | 12,667 |
| Us Network: | CBS Sports |
| Us Announcers: | Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Dan Jiggetts (color)[1] |
| Different Previous: | 1990 |
| Different Next: | 1992 |
The 1991 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Youngstown State Penguins and the Marshall Thundering Herd. The game was played on December 21, 1991, at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia. The culminating game of the 1991 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Youngstown State, 25–17.[2]
The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1991 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.[3] The location of the final, the Georgia Southern Eagles' Paulson Stadium, had been predetermined via a three-year agreement the university reached with the NCAA in February 1989.[4]
See also: 1991 Youngstown State Penguins football team. Youngstown State finished their regular season with an 8–3 record.[5] Unseeded in the tournament and ranked 13th in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll,[6] the Penguins defeated Villanova, top-seed Nevada, and Samford to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Youngstown State in a Division I-AA championship game.
See also: 1991 Marshall Thundering Herd football team. Marshall also finished their regular season with an 8–3 record (5–2 in conference).[7] Unseeded and ranked eighth in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll,[6] the Thundering Herd defeated Western Illinois, third-seed Northern Iowa, and second-seed Eastern Kentucky to reach the final. This was the second appearance for Marshall in a Division I-AA championship game, having lost in 1987.
After a low-scoring first half, Youngstown State held a 3–0 lead at halftime. Marshall then scored all of their points in the third quarter, taking a 17–6 lead. Youngstown State rallied for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and a 25–17 win.