The Montana State University football program has been in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs three times in its past three fall seasons. It has been in the FCS playoffs seven times in its last 11 campaigns.
Relative to all the other teams in the FCS, that’s a lot. Relative to all the other teams in the Big Sky Conference, that’s a lot. Relative to North Dakota State University, it pales by comparison. The Bison have been in the playoffs every year since 2010 – 12 straight – and have been to the FCS title game eight times without losing. NDSU has won eight of the last nine national titles and have lost a total of nine fall games since the beginning of 2011.
On top of all that the Bobcats have lost to the Bison in all three playoff meetings between the two teams during the span.
The Big Sky Conference champion Bobcats were leading NDSU, 17-14, early in the fourth quarter in 2010 only to see the wheels fall off in a 42-17 loss. NDSU has lost just two post season games since that initial spark; the victory was North Dakota State’s first as a Division I member after moving up from D-II in 2004.
Some years and two head coaches later, Jeff Choate’s Bobcats never threatened the Bison in 2018 or 2019, losing 52-10 in Choate’s first playoff appearance and 42-14 the following year in a semifinal clash that served as MSU’s first trip to the final four since 1984.
MSU has won eight playoff games during that time frame, while NDSU has won 39. The Bobcats have lost six playoff games, while the Bison have faltered just three times: a 38-35 overtime loss in the quarterfinals to eventual national champion Eastern Washington in 2010; 27-17 to eventual national champion James Madison in the semifinals of the 2016 playoffs and last spring.
“It’s one of those things that you never want to take for granted,” North Dakota State third-year head coach Matt Entz said. “NDSU has been to the national championship game a number of times but as we say every year, every team is different. And this team, it was one of the goals for us to have this opportunity. They have earned it up to this point and now we are playing a really good Montana State football team.”
In the three seasons the Bison didn’t make it to the championship game, NDSU still made it to the semi-finals twice. The Bobcats have managed just two semi-final appearances over the last 37 years, in each of the last two fall seasons.
What does all that mean? It all depends on who you ask.
Obviously, the NDSU administrators and fans are quite familiar with the surroundings, the logistics of getting to and around the Frisco area, which is a Dallas suburb. Any of the players that were suited up for the 2017, 2018 or 2019 title games are much more familiar with the stadium, practice fields and perhaps most importantly the pressure associated with such a big game. So, to them it means a lot.
Somewhat hidden in all of NDSU’s experiences is MSU head coach Brent Vigen. It was nearly a decade ago, but the former NDSU offensive coordinator does have some experience with FCS championship games played in Frisco. And perhaps more consequentially the time gap between the semifinal games and title game, a three-week span each team has navigated since punching tickets to the title game with home semifinal victories on December 18.
“From a disadvantage perspective, we were gaining momentum certainly in that three-week run,” Vigen said of the long three-week break. “That’s why getting them back here this week (Dec. 28) and getting them going again is so important. If you take too many days off, you lose some of that (momentum). We’re real particular about our schedule over these three weeks.”
There’s also a positive side for the Bobcats.
“Having been through that with NDSU and also having a four-week break for our last bowl game at Wyoming gives me some familiarity,” Vigen said of the long three-week break. “Knowing how to navigate that a little bit and at least having a road map for me was helpful in planning this out as well.”
“It’s definitely nice to kind of get your body back,” said defensive end Daniel Hardy. “It’s a long season. The longest season I’ve ever been a part of. The other great part is the time to prepare. (The Bison) are a great team for a reason. They do a lot of stuff and they’re very precise about it. The time to prepare, watch film, get reps is invaluable. The more you see it on the field or in the film room the quicker you get to react to it in the game. It was also nice to get home and be around family and get away from football for a minute, but now it’s back to business. Picking up the briefcase, tighten the tie.”
The Bobcats came out of both of their bye weeks, which are essentially two-week breaks, this season and performed well. They knocked off Eastern Washington on the road in a game that the Eagles also had an extra week to prepare for in Cheney, Wash. They won their first playoff game over UT-Martin on the heels of their worst showing of the season against the Grizzlies in Missoula.
Knowing that bodes well for MSU’s confidence, but those are the kinds of games (regular season and early playoffs) the Bobcats have a lot of experience with, while the championship game is not as familiar. They have been moving up the playoff ladder incrementally – quarterfinal, semifinal and now final – each season with a new learning lesson on the way up being dealt out by the Bison. They’re certainly planning on showing NDSU that they don’t need another schooling.
“I know they felt like they got really close in 2019 and this was a really determined outfit when I took over in February,” Vigen said. “We implemented some changes along the way and for us to be in this position two years later, I couldn’t be more excited.
“To have NDSU as our opponent, to our guys, is nothing more than the opponent we are playing.”
