Montana State and Illinois State are set to meet for the first time in the 2025 FCS championship game. Here’s the history of their previous title game appearances.
Illinois State was less than a minute away from winning the FCS national title in 2014.
Montana State hasn’t led in the championship game since, oh, 1984 – and that includes having two opportunities this decade.
One of those two programs will revel in hoisting the NCAA trophy Monday night following the 2025 FCS championship game at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Montana State (13-2) was expected to be there as the No. 2 seed, winning three playoff games at home. Illinois State (12-4) is the surprise, unseeded in the 24-team field and becoming the first team in FCS playoff history to win four road games.
Montana State’s 1984 national championship is the highlight of the two programs’ four combined appearances in the final game of the season.
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1984: Montana State 19, Louisiana Tech 6 (Dec. 15, 1984 in Charleston, S.C.)
Incredibly, the Bobcats went from finishing 1-10 in coach Dave Arnold’s first season in 1983 to a 12-2 record and the national title in 1984 – a 9.5-game improvement from one season to the next that is the biggest in FCS history. In the title game, Kelly Bradley passed for 334 yards and two touchdowns to Joe Bignell, while the defense was stout, nearly posting a shutout before Louisiana Tech scored in the final minute.
2021: North Dakota State 38, Montana State 10 (Jan. 8, 2022 in Frisco, Texas)
MSU quarterback Tommy Mellott, who had been sensational in three playoff wins, was sidelined by an ankle injury after the opening drive, and the Bobcats were overwhelmed in falling behind 35-0. NDSU had a 380-156 advantage in rushing yards, including 268-70 in the first half. MSU’s TD came on a 28-yard pass from Tucker Rovig to Lance McCutcheon with 5:08 left, while Troy Anderson, Callahan O’Reilly and Tre Webb had 10 tackles each in the loss.
2024: North Dakota State 35, Montana State 32 (Jan. 6, 2025 in Frisco, Texas)
MSU entered with a 15-0 record, but, like the 2021 title game, the Bobcats never led against NDSU. However, Mellott accounted for three touchdowns and 261 yards in the second half as they nearly overcame a 21-3 halftime deficit. After MSU closed within 35-32 on Taco Dowler’s 19-yard TD catch with 1:09 left, NDSU recovered an onside kick and whittled away the remaining game clock.
Illinois State Redbirds
2014: North Dakota State 29, Illinois State 27 (Jan. 10, 2015 in Frisco, Texas)
Quarterback Tre Roberson scored on a 58-yard run with 1:38 remaining to put the Redbirds ahead 27-23, but NDSU answered with a six-play, 78-yard touchdown drive, capped by QB Carson Wentz’s 5-yard run at the 0:37 mark. Roberson also passed for three TDs and had 161 rushing yards, joined over the century mark by Redbirds running back Marshaun Coprich (106).
The all-Missouri Valley matchup was the first in FCS championship game history between two teams from the same conference.
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