The last time the Montana State Bobcats played in the FCS National Championship Game (2021), they fell 38-10 to the North Dakota State Bison. Their opponent in the 2024-2025 title match? North Dakota State.
Here’s how the Bobcats positioned themselves for a rematch on the biggest stage and a shot at their first national championship win in 40 years.
How Montana State Made the National Championship Game
The Bobcats have made the FCS playoffs every year — excluding the canceled 2020 season — since 2018. However, North Dakota State has been their kryptonite, defeating them in the dance four times:
- 2018 second round 52-10
- 2019 semifinal 42-14
- 2021 national championship 38-10
- 2023: first round 35-34
However, there are several reasons why 2024 is shaping up to be the year Montana State exorcises its Bison-shaped demons.
The Bobcats finished the regular season 12-0, with only two games — a Week 1 FBS win over New Mexico and a ranked win over UC Davis — coming within one possession.
Postseason play hasn’t been any different, with head coach Brent Vigen’s squad averaging a 26.3-point margin of victory across three games.
Much of Montana State’s dominance has come on the heels of the ground game, which has ranked second in the FCS in rushing yards per game over the past three seasons.
Behind an opposing offensive line — all starters stand at least 6’4″ and 300 pounds — the Bobcats have led the nation with 51 rushing TDs and a 6.59 yards-per-carry average.
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Here’s what the rushing attack has done this year:
- Week 0 vs. New Mexico: 362 yards
- Week 1 vs. Utah Tech: 329
- Week 2 vs. Maine: 344
- Week 3 vs. Mercyhurst: 256
- Week 4 vs. Idaho State: 268
- Week 6 vs. Northern Colorado: 232
- Week 7 vs. Idaho: 360
- Week 8 vs. Portland State: 323
- Week 10 vs. Eastern Washington: 316
- Week 11 vs. Sacramento State: 508
- Week 12 vs. UC Davis: 159
- Week 13 vs. Montana: 328
- First round vs. UT Martin: 201
- Second round vs. Idaho: 283
- Semifinals vs. South Dakota: 134
Yeah, the Bison are in for a physical battle on Jan. 6.
Players Who Led the Montana State Bobcats
Why is the number 23 significant? That’s how many senior players Montana State returned this season, including dynamic QB Tommy Mellott. The Bobcats boast FBS-level talent across the board and proved as much by upsetting New Mexico in Week 1, 35-31.
Redshirt freshman RB Adam Jones, a Jerry Rice Award runner-up, and Mellott, the 2024 Walter Payton Award winner, headline the offense. However, 5’11” and 210-pound sophomore Scottre Humphrey is the team’s engine, averaging 7.2 yards per carry toward 1,360 yards and 15 scores.
EDGE Brody Grebe leads the defense, finishing ninth in the Buck Buchanan Award voting after leading the team with 10 TFLs and 8.5 sacks.
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The unit as a whole is, unsurprisingly, among the best in the nation across several key statistics, such as scoring defense (17.13 ppg, sixth), total defense (306.0 ypg, 12th), and third-down rate (32%, 13th).
Heck, Montana State is even 16th in fewest penalties per game (4.67), and 6’9″ punter Brendan Hall has perfected his craft over the years, averaging 45+ yards per punt and nearly four seconds of hangtime over the last two seasons.
The Bobcats are poised for redemption, bringing their most complete team in decades to Frisco, determined to rewrite their championship legacy against North Dakota State.
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