The 1984 Troy State Trojans football team represented

Troy State University Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. It was one ...

during the

1984 NCAA Division II football season The 1984 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began in August 1984, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football ...

, and completed the 64th season of Trojans football. The Trojans played their home games in at Veterans Memorial Stadium in

Troy, Alabama Troy is a city in and the county seat of Pike County, Alabama, United States. It was formally incorporated on February 4, 1843. Between 1763 and 1783, the area where Troy sits was part of the colony of British West Florida.The Economy of Bri ...

. The 1984 team came off a 7–4 record from the previous season. The 1984 team was led by coach

Chan Gailey Thomas Chandler Gailey Jr. (born January 5, 1952) is a former American football coach. Most recently in 2020, he was the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). Gailey has previously served as the hea ...

. The team finished the regular season with a 9–1 record and made the NCAA Division II playoffs. The Trojans defeated the

North Dakota State Bison The North Dakota State Bison are the athletic teams of North Dakota State University (NDSU), which is located in the city of Fargo, North Dakota. The teams are often called the "Thundering Herd". The current logo is a bison. Sports sponsored ...

18–17 in the National Championship Game en route to the program's first NCAA Division II Football Championship and second overall national championship.

The National Championship Game

The title game between Troy and North Dakota State proved to be a good one, as it pitted the #3-ranked team against the #1-ranked team. The game was shown nationally on

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

. The game was close throughout, with both teams playing good defense in a low-scoring affair. Troy State trailed 17-15 late in the contest and, with 1:30 remaining in the game, Carey Christensen returned to lead the Trojans on their final drive to try and win the game. Starting from its own 10-yard line, Troy State eventually reached the NDSU 32 yard-line. With the clock running and the Trojans out of time-outs, the Trojans and freshman kicker Ted Clem took the field with :08 seconds remaining on the clock as it was ticking down. Just as time was about to expire, the Trojans got the snap off, and Ted Clem hit a 50-yard field goal to give Troy the lead and the win over North Dakota State.

Schedule

References

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

Troy Trojans football seasons NCAA Division II Football Champions Gulf South Conference football champion seasons Troy State {{collegefootball-1984-season-stub