Jan. 9—NASHVILLE — The Roadbirds were excellent, and the Bobcats were somehow, some way, just a little bit better.
Montana State quarterback Justin Lamson capped an MVP performance with a fourth-down, 14-yard touchdown pass to Taco Dowler in overtime, and Myles Sansted's point-after kick gave the Bobcats their first national title since 1984 with a 35-34 win over Illinois State Monday.
A crowd of 24,100 at Vanderbilt's FirstBank Stadium saw a game for the ages. Illinois State, down 21-7 at halftime and 28-14 with 3:18 left in the third quarter, tied the game and appeared ready to win it at the end with a field goal.
Then Jhase McMillan blocked the 39-yard attempt and Seth Johnson recovered for the Bobcats, setting them up at ISU's 45 in the final minute.
That drive, like all but one in the third and fourth quarters for MSU, went nowhere and the game advanced to overtime.
Illinois State (12-5) kept the momentum, scoring in two plays from the 25-yard line. Dylan Lord, who had a huge game with 13 catches for 161 yards, hauled in a 10-yard strike from Tommy Rittenhouse.
More photos from the sidelines — Montana State outlasts Illinois State 35-34 in FCS Championship overtime thriller
Incredibly, MSU's Hunter Parsons blocked the ensuing PAT kick.
"They got us back in the game," said Lamson, the MVP after throwing for two touchdowns and running for two more. "Then just headed into overtime, it's like we say on offense: Who's going to make the spark? It was the defensive guys that did that and they're a big reason we won that game.
"We've got dudes all over the field, making plays. That's what Montana State football is."
Lamson threw for 280 yards, completing 18 of 27 passes, but had 223 of those yards in the first half.
The Bobcats, who suffered through a slow start a year ago in a 35-32 loss to North Dakota State in the Division I Football Championship, went up 14-0 Monday on Lamson's twin 2-yard scoring runs. The latter came at 10:49 of the second quarter.
Illinois State rallied with a lengthy drive — get used to that — capped by Tommy Rittenhouse's 6-yard scoring strike to Scotty Presson, Jr., with 54 seconds left in the half.
In what ISU coach Brock Spack called possibly the key stretch of the game, MSU went 75 yards in three plays go back up by two scores. Lamson hit Jabez Woods for 20 yards, Chris Long for 30 and then Dane Steel took a 13-yard pass and turned into a twisting, hurdling, lunging 33-yard score with 18 seconds left in the half.
Illinois State was able to close to 21-14 on an odd play, right tackle Logan Brasfield falling on a fourth-and-goal fumble by running back Victor Dawson.
MSU got those points back with Dowler's 22-yard end around, capped by a leap into the end zone at 3:18 of the third quarter. But from there until McMillan's block, it was almost all Redbirds. Rittenhouse marshalled drives that went 15 and eight plays, capped by TD passes to Daniel Sokowica and Lord.
It appeared, after Lord took a pass 33 yards deep into MSU territory with 2:00 left, that the "Roadbirds" would win a fifth playoff game away from their home stadium. They were hunting their first title.
"The momentum had really shifted to the point where they got the ball in their hands with a chance," said Vigen, whose club ran just 51 offensive plays to ISU's 84. "I think again that belief comes into play. I mean it's just 'overload block' and he knows he has to get a good jump off the edge, and I know the snap hit the ground. And Jhase is probably our fastest guy, and he found a way to get his hands on it."
There were 57 seconds left in regulation, but the heroics would have to wait. The Bobcats lost 20 yards on a snap; they added to a false start total that eventually reached nine.
After the ninth it was fourth-and-10 at the 14 in OT; then Lamson found Dowler — who had eight catches for 111 yards — in the corner.
"Coach (Pete) Sterbick liked what he saw on the second play of that drive," Lamson said. "Insideout read and I think the first one, I threw a little behind Bez (Woods) and he couldn't catch it. But Taco was open on the corner and we came back to it.
"That's just good stuff from a really good OC. Taco was wide open. I got hit, so I just gave him a chance and the rest is history. Myles did his thing and that was the game."
It was the 14 th straight win for the Cats, and by far the toughest — but also rewarding after the title-game losses of last year and 2021.
"Forty-one years," Vigen noted of the gap between the 1984 title and this one.
Rittenhouse was 33 of 46 passing for 311 yards for the Redbirds; Dawson ran for 126 yards on 29 carries.
Adam Jones and Julius Davis combined for 69 rushing yards, leaving Lamson — who didn't get to participate in spring drills with the Cats following his transfer from Stanford — to do a lot of heavy lifting. He threw or ran for 42 TDs for the 2025 national champions.
"I thought about this moment; to be here is a little bit different, you know what I mean?" he said. "You think it's going to happen, and now that it's happened and I'm just trying to take it all in."
Montana State celebrates with the FCS National Championship trophy after their 35-34 overtime victory over Illinois State at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville on Monday, Jan. 5. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Illinois State tight end Javon Charles (85) is tackled by Montana State cornerback Taki Uluilakepa (2) after a reception in the third quarter in the FCS National Championship at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville on Monday, Jan. 5. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Montana State wide receiver Taco Dowler (14) scores a touchdown on a 22-yard run in the third quarter against Illinois State in the FCS National Championship at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville on Monday, Jan. 5. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Montana State defender Jhase McMillan (1) blocks a field goal attempt by Illinois State kicker Michael Cosentino in the fourth quarter during the FCS National Championship at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville on Monday, Jan. 5. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
