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A TITLE GAME IN PHOTOS – Brooks Nuanez on Montana State’s victory

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NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Montana State jolted to two-touchdown leads on two occasions in Monday night’s FCS title game here on Monday night.

But 20 unanswered points had MSU trailing 34-28 in overtime against Illinois State. A Hunter Parsons blocked PAT led to Justin Lamson hitting Taco Dowler on a 4th down and 11 yards to go for a 14-yard touchdown. Myles Sansted’s PAT lifted Montana State to a 35-34 victory and its first national title since 1984.

Brooks Nuanez was on hand to cover the first national title by a team from the Big Sky Conference since 2010 and the first title for a team from the Treasure State since 2001.

PHOTOS: FCS National Championship pre-game photo gallery from Brooks Nuanez

Brent Vigen was a part of three FCS national championships as an assistant at North Dakota State. Monday, he led Montana State to his first FCS title as a head coach/ by Brooks Nuanez
Montana State quarterback Justin Lamson threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns while rushing in two more scores to lift MSU to its first national title win in 41 years/ by Brooks Nuanez
Justin Lamson & Julius Davis
Freshman cornerback Jhase McMillan blocked a kick with 1:03 in regulation to help force overtime/ by Brooks Nuanez.

Illinois State senior running back Victor Dawson rushed 29 times for 126 yards and a touchdown on Monday night in Nashville, Tennessee/ by Brooks Nuanez
Illinois State 16th-year head coach Brock Spack stands with senior quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse during the 2025 national championship game/ by Brooks Nuanez

Tommy Rittenhouse threw for 311 yards and four touchdowns against Montana State/ by Brooks Nuanez

Cole Taylor chases down Tommy Rittenhouse
MSU linebacker Cole Taylor (34) had 16 tackles, including this one of Dylan Lord/ by Brooks Nuanez
Montana State linebackers Bryce Grebe and Cole Taylor celebrate/ by Brooks Nuanez
MSU linebacker coach Jody Owens
Bryce Grebe pre game
Taco Dowler gets loose against the Redbirds/ by Brooks Nuanez
Montana State junior Taco Dowler jukes during an evening he had 133 yards from scrimmage and scored two touchdowns, including the game-winner/ by Brooks Nuanez
Montana State senior captain Paul Brott after winning the national title/ by Brooks Nuanez
Captain Kenny Eiden
Montana State junior captain Caden Dowler, the Big Sky Defensive MVP/ By Brooks Nuanez

Montana State sophomore corner Carson Williams/ by Brooks Nuanez
Kory Boyd
Despite getting banged up, Adam Jones had 62 yards from scrimmage/ by Brooks Nuanez
Montana State LT Braden Zimmer was a freshman All-American this year/ by Brooks Nuanez
Montana State senior captain JT Reed with Brent Vigen/ by Brooks Nuanez
Montana State captain Titan Fleishmann/ by Brooks Nuanez
Montana State redshirt freshman TE Rocky Lencioni/ by Brooks Nuanez
Montana State’s Bryant Merideth celebrates one of his six tackles/ by Brooks Nuanez
Montana State’s Taki Uluilakepa had six tackles against Illinois State/ By Brooks Nuanez
Montana State’s Taki Uluilakepa and Zach Black tackle Eddie Kasper/ by Brooks Nuanez

Illinois State freshman Dylan Lord had 13 catches for 161 yards and two TDs/ by Brooks Nuanez
Montana State limited ISU senior Daniel Sobkowicz to five catches for 52 yards/ by Brooks Nuanez
Montana State freshman Jabez Woods had two catches for 41 yards/ by Brooks Nuanez
Montana Stae’s Julius Davis finished his senior year with 1,123 yards and 8 TDs/ by Brooks Nuanez
Brock Osweiler & Justin Lamson

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About Brooks Nuanez

Brooks Nuanez, Director of Operations — Brooks is the co-founder, senior photographer and Director of Operations for Skyline Sports. He is a life-long athlete who enjoys the fierce nature of sports as much as he enjoys the sweet harmony of music. Brooks first gained an interest for photography at a young age, and grew that passion into a craft. Brooks has spent most of his life in Montana, instilling a love for the mountains and the wildlife. The University of Montana alum spent three seasons as a safety for the Grizzly football team while earning a degree in business management, honing his passion for fine wine & craft beer, and his entrepreneurial spirit. In July of 2015, Brooks married his lifelong love, Kaila. Brooks currently works as a regional sales manager for George's Distributing. He and Kaila live happily in Missoula with their sons Ellis (6) and Leo (3). Brooks can be reached at Brooks.nuanez@gmail.com and followed on Twitter @Brooksnuanez and @SkylineSportsMT.

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