Bobcats Capture First National Title Since 1984 with 35-34 Overtime Victory Over Illinois State
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Justin Lamson and Taco Dowler capped off their season-defining performances with a 14-yard touchdown connection, and Myles Sansted sent the extra point through the uprights to give Montana State a walk-off overtime victory over Illinois State, 35-34, to win their first FCS National Championship in 41 years.
Lamson, who was named the game’s Most Outstanding Player, completed 18-of-27 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns while adding two more on the ground. Dowler caught eight passes for 111 yards and two total touchdowns, including the game-winner to cap off a historic season for the Bobcats at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville. The Bobcats tallied 381 yards of total offense and capitalized on big plays, averaging 15.6 yards per completion while possessing the ball for just 20 minutes and 19 seconds.
The first half was marked by limited possessions and big Bobcat plays. The teams combined for only eight full possessions, but MSU averaged 10.6 yards per play and the Redbirds 5.6. While Tommy Rittenhouse broke ISU’s single-season passing yards record in the first half, they belonged to Lamson.
The next two drives produced more of the same. The Redbirds’ 12 plays, including a running into the kicker penalty that extended the drive, produced 27 yards. It ended, though, in a punt. The Cats marched 80 yards in eight plays, and Lamson scored from two yards out.
The final 5:17 of the second quarter produced drama. The Redbirds finished an efficient 80-yard drive, with Rittenhouse finding Scottie Presson Jr. from six yards out for the score. ISU left the Cats 54 seconds, and MSU only needed 36 of them. Lamson found Jabez Woods for 20 yards on the first play, hit Chris Long for 12 on the second, and found Dane Steel in the flat, and the Sheridan, Wyo., product dashed, twisted, and hurdled his way into the end zone. MSU led 21-7 at the break.
The tide turned Illinois State’s way in the second half as the Redbirds tallied 269 yards of total offense to Montana State’s 105, with Montana State possessing the ball for just over eight minutes. However, a late blocked field goal served as a lifeline for the Bobcats to allow for an overtime shootout for the ages.
Montana State gained 19 yards in five plays to reach midfield before it was forced to punt on the first drive coming out of halftime. Illinois State then drove 85 yards down the field in 17 plays, putting seven points on the board as Logan Brasfield recovered an ISU goal-line fumble in the end zone to cut the Bobcats’ lead to seven, 21-14. The Redbirds’ drive took seven and a half minutes off the clock.
The Bobcats quickly responded with a 64-yard scoring drive of their own, capped off by a Taco Dowler 22-yard touchdown run to extend the lead back to 14 points, 28-14. The six-play drive consisted of three gains of 15 yards or more, including a 21-yard Lamson pass to Woods and a 17-yard rush by Lamson ahead of Dowler’s rushing touchdown.
The Redbirds gained momentum heading into the fourth quarter as ISU’s Rittenhouse turned a fourth and one play into a four-yard touchdown strike to Daniel Sobkowicz with 10:13 remaining in regulation. Montana State went three and out for the first time on the following drive, and Illinois State capitalized with an eight-play, 60-yard drive to tie the game at 28 points apiece with 5:10 to play.
Another Montana State three and out allowed Illinois State to get the ball back with 3:09 on the clock, with the Redbirds setting up a 38-yard field goal attempt to take the lead at the 1:03 mark. However, Jhase McMillan had other plans, batting the kick down while Seth Johnson recovered to give the Cats the ball back. The Bobcats were unable to reach field goal range in the final minute, sending the contest to overtime tied at 28.
Illinois State took the first possession of the extra period and found the end zone on their second snap as Dylan Lord caught a 10-yard pass from Rittenhouse. The Bobcats came away with another blocked kick as Hunter Parsons swatted the extra point down, leaving the Redbirds with a 34-28 advantage.
Montana State then received the ball at the ISU 25-yard line, needing a touchdown to keep the game alive. Julius Davis recorded back-to-back rushes of 11 and three yards, respectively, to help the Cats reach the 14-yard line before a false start on second down set Montana State back to the 19-yard line. Adam Jones gained two yards before an incompletion set up a do-or-die fourth and 10 play from 14 yards out.
Lamson snapped the ball and fired left, finding Dowler in the end zone to tie the game at 34 points apiece. Sansted placed the extra point attempt straight through the uprights to give the Bobcats the 35-34 victory and their first FCS national title since 1984.
Monday’s game was played in front of 24,105 fans, the largest crowd at an FCS title game since 1996 and the seventh-most attended FCS championship game all-time. The Bobcats conclude their season with a 14-2 record, including a perfect 8-0 record in Big Sky play, while winning each of their last 14 games to bring the national championship trophy back to Bozeman.
