North Dakota State staved off a second-half comeback by Montana State to end the Bobcats’ undefeated season and win the 10th FCS title in NDSU history Monday night with a 35-32 victory .
After Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott, winner of the 2024 Walter Payton Award for best player at the FCS level, cut North Dakota State’s lead to 28-25 on a 44-yard touchdown run with 11: With 25 to go, the Bison (14-2) closed out the game with a nine-play scoring drive later in the quarter.
The two teams traded punts after Mellott’s touchdown run before CharMar Brown scored on a 3-yard run with 2:41 left to give NDSU a two-score lead again.
Montana State (15-1) cut the lead to three with 1:09 left on a fourth-down touchdown pass from Mellott to Taco Dowler, but the Bison recovered Montana State’s onside kick attempt and time expired as a punt of NDSU was moving forward slowly. rolling through the field.
The Bison led 21-3 at halftime after spending more than 10 minutes of the first quarter on two touchdown drives. NDSU opened the game with a 12-play drive that took just over seven minutes, and then QB Cam Miller ran for a 64-yard touchdown on the team’s second drive after Montana State simply had no one in the middle. of the field.
The Bobcats responded with a drive that lasted 11:13 and lasted a remarkable 17 plays. However, NDSU held firm near the end zone and forced Montana State to score a field goal.
Montana State had a chance to cut NDSU’s lead to one possession just before halftime, but the Bobcats were stopped on fourth down at the NDSU 44-yard line with 59 seconds left. That gave NDSU a chance to extend the lead, and the Bison covered 56 yards and ran 10 plays in just 47 seconds when Miller hit Bryce Lance, the brother of NFL quarterback and former NDSU star Trey Lance, for a 1-yard touchdown.
The catch was Lance’s 17th touchdown catch of the season, and he finished the game with nine receptions for 108 yards.
Miller totaled four touchdowns while throwing for two and running for two. He also threw just three incomplete passes all night, as he completed 19 of 22 passes for 199 yards and also rushed for 121 yards.
Montana State was looking for its first title since 1984
The Bobcats’ undefeated season included a season-opening victory over New Mexico, an FBS team. The Bobcats beat each of their three previous playoff opponents by multiple scores and Mellott entered the game with 43 total touchdowns.
Mellott also finished the game with 135 rushing yards and became the third Montana State player, along with running backs Scottre Humphrey and Adam Jones, to cross the 1,000-yard mark this season.
It was by far Montana State’s best chance to win its first national title since 1984, a season that came after a 1-10 campaign in 1983 and before a 2-9 season in 1985. But the dynasty FCS North Dakota State got too far ahead as Montana State had just three first-half drives before getting the ball back with four seconds left in the second quarter.
The victory gives NDSU a remarkable 10-1 record in FCS title games. The school won its first FCS title in 2011 and the 2019 team is the only FCS team to go 16-0. Montana State would have been second with a win Monday night.
NDSU coach Tim Polasek is also a national champion in his first season coaching the team. Polasek replaced Matt Entz, who led the team to national titles in 2019 and 2021. Entz left to work as an assistant coach at USC after the 2023 season and was recently hired as Fresno State’s head coach. Polasek is the fourth coach to lead NDSU to a national title alongside Entz, current Kansas State coach Chris Klieman and former Wyoming coach Craig Bohl.