NASHVILLE – Two blocked kicks – one a would-be go-ahead field goal and the other a blocked extra-point in overtime – and a touchdown pass on 4th down and 11 yards (and the season) to go helped send Bobcat Nation into a euphoria that it has never felt in the 129 years of the existence of Montana State University.
The Bobcats took an earth-shaking 35-34 win when Justin Lamson hit Taco Dowler on fourth and 11 from the 14 in the first overtime to knock off Illinois State, the Cinderella of the FCS playoffs this year after taking out the defending champions from North Dakota State. Myles Sansted converted the extra point and MSU won its first national championship in 41 years.
“If you followed our season, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. It was rocky at times,” Dowler said. “We had a blue-collar mentality. And breathing – we do breathing exercises to be calm. The game today is a great testament to the good men in the program and I couldn’t be prouder of the guys.”
Montana State’s 14th straight victory after an 0-2 start helped avenge last season’s 35-32 loss to the Bison and helped boost MSU to its fourth national title overall.
“What a hard-fought game. These things aren’t supposed to come easily,” Vigen said. “The first thing I want to do is credit Coach Spack and that team. We knew their track record and we knew they wouldn’t go away. We certainly had some moments in the second half where we could’ve extended the lead and we just didn’t do it.
“A ton of credit goes to them but also a ton of credit goes to us, our players, our coaches. I remember sitting up at this podium in Frisco a year ago. That belief that maybe pulled us through doesn’t come easy. Our players and their constant work and their constant wanting to be coached, I can’t say enough about our mindset.”
Vigen not only graduated or lost seven All-Americans this last off-season but he also saw half of his coaching staff leave, too. Rather than endure a rebuild, MSU had a rebound that turned into a resounding moment that will never be forgotten by Bobcat Nation.
“Putting a new coaching staff together, that group coming together to figure it out, continuing to find ways to put our guys in the best position on Saturdays and in this case on Monday, it’s impressive,” Vigen said.
“And I want to give tons of credit to Bobcat Nation. That was a scene and we’ve seen some scenes back home. To take our fan base down to Nashville that was certainly impactful tonight, so it’s been a long time coming. Forty-one years in the making. I couldn’t be more proud of our players. That’s what you keep coming back to because players win games. When you’re in fourth and long and you need a play like those two made. Those guys were the stars.”
MSU suffered eight egregious false start penalties and totaled 14 penalties throughout the game. While the Bobcats scored touchdowns on their first two possessions despite four of those fouls, the miscues caught up to them in the second half. The Bobcats allowed 14 straight points in the fourth quarter to squander a 28-14 lead. Then they went three-and-out on their ensuing possession to give the ball back to the soaring Redbirds, who burned the clock down until it sent kicker Michael Cosentino out to kick a potential game-winning field goal with 1:03 to play.
Bobcat’s cornerback Jhase McMillan, who ran a 10.3 100-meter dash in high school, blew in from the right end and blocked the 38-yard attempt. MSU’s Seth Johnson scooped it and ran it to the ISU 45. Lamson hit Dane Steel for eight yards on the next play and just like that MSU was on the verge of getting a game-winning field goal attempt of its own. But just as quickly as the Bobcats turned the game around, they gave it all back when Lamson was sacked for a six-yard loss and fumbled the next snap to lose another 20 to send the game to overtime.
Dylan Lord, a freshman who finished with 13 catches for 161 yards, scored on ISU’s second play of OT and sent Cosentino out to make it a seven-point lead. But this time, the Bobcats sent pressure up the middle and blocked the extra point, which gave the opportunity to win the game with a touchdown and extra point.
Not so fast.
The Bobcats advanced the ball to the 11. But the latest and last false start set the drive back before Illinois State pushed MSU’s season to the brink. Facing a 4th down with the season on the line, Lamson threw a perfect pass through contact that settled perfectly into Dowler’s bread basket to tie the game.
“Coach (Pete) Sterbick likely saw on I believe it was the second play of that drive – it’s a play we call flag banger – and an inside-out read,” Lamson said. “The first one was little bit behind Jabez (Woods) and he couldn’t catch it, but Taco won on the corner, so he came back to it and that’s just good stuff out of a really good OC. Taco was wide open. I got hit so I just kind of gave him a chance and the rest is history and Myles did his thing. It was a great play call. Taco and I just did what we were supposed to do.”
The roller coaster ride of emotions, which also included an unpenalized face mask after MSU picked up the block extra point and began running back for what could’ve been two points for the Bobcats, over the last minute and overtime was about all Vigen could handle.
“Well, we’re still alive,” Vigen said of flurry of dramatic plays. “I know that much. We picked up that ball, and we got face masked and that’s one way to tackle a guy. It’s an automatic decline; I didn’t know that rule. If tonight did not reinforce this group’s never say die attitude, I don’t know what will. That’s not easy to come by.
“The great thing about this team, and I think it ultimately does push us over, is the main thing is the main thing going into this team. That’s just us trying to play as one. We are at our best when we play as one.”
The MSU fans turned out in droves for the game, which was the second highest attended in FCS/I-AA history with 24,105, and that fact wasn’t lost on the Bobcats.
“They just keep surprising me,” Lamson said of MSU’s fan base. “They had the Super Brawl last week. I didn’t’ think they could top that and we almost filled out all of Vandy Stadium. I continue to say it takes an army. It takes a lot of people behind us. It’s not just the players, it’s the alumni, it’s the town. It’s all these people that are coming together to support us. The reason I say that is because it hasn’t happened in 41 years, but people laid the foundation for us and they continue to support us throughout those 41 years. I’m just thankful that we were the group to bring it back to Bozeman.”
MSU looked as if it would cruise to a win, especially after Dane Steel made a catch along the sideline, broke a tackle, hurdle an ISU defender, kept his balance, broke another tackle and then dove into the end zone to cap off a quick three play, 75-yard drive with :36 left in the half to go ahead 21-7 knowing that it would get the ball to start the second half.
“If I look back a key play in the game was the score right before the half,” ISU head coach Brock Spack said. “They had three big chunk plays and it was bang, bang, bang touchdown.”
The Redbirds rose to the occasion and began to steadily build momentum throughout the second half as they stopped the Bobcats on their first possession and put together a mesmerizing 17 play, 85-yard drive and after MSU’s last score of regulation a 15 play, 81-yard drive that culminated with a four-yard touchdown pass on fourth down from Tommy Rittenhouse to Daniel Sobkowicz to make it a 28-21 game.
With MSU needing to score to slow the Redbirds down, the ISU defense didn’t fold, getting the ball back with 5:10 to play and with Lord hauling in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Rittenhouse that he used to maneuver his way to the end zone.
That set up one of the most dramatic finishes media, fans and players had ever seen.
“That’s what I told the team in there,” Spack said. “It’s hard for them to understand right now. That it all comes down to one play, well it wasn’t the field goal, it wasn’t the extra point. There’s a lot of things that could’ve happened in that game. If you make one of those plays you win a game like this. I think they’ll see that someday, I hope.”
The game had prolific performances from multiple players on both sides of the ball. Lamson would be named the game’s Most Outstanding Player for his 18 for 27, 280-yard performance with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for touchdowns on MSU’s first two possessions and had 30 yards rushing. Rittenhouse totaled four touchdowns as well as he went 33 for 46 for 311 yards and four touchdowns against no interceptions.
ISU running back Victor Dawson ran the ball 29 times for 126 yards, while MSU’s Dowler had eight catches for 111 yards plus a 22-yard rushing touchdown and the game winner. Sophomore linebacker Cole Taylor collected 16 tackles.
The Bobcats, long known for their propensity to run the ball, did so just 24 times, which is about half their average. They gained 101 yards but had more pass attempts than rushes.
The Redbirds played a big part in that as they controlled the ball for nearly 40 minutes during regulation limiting MSU in doing so. ISU ran 84 plays and averaged 5.6 yards per play to just 51 plays that got 7.5 yards per play for the Bobcats. ISU started the game 0-5 on third downs but finished seven for 14.
Monday night matched MSU’s fourth national championship. The first came in 1956 in the NAIA, the next was an NCAA Division II title in 1976, the third was in I-AA in 1984. MSU has won its last three after slow starts to the season with all the losses coming in September. This season started at 0-2, 1984 it was 2-2 and 1976 it was 2-1. They never lost another game once the calendar hit October in those years.
Montana State and the University of Montana have combined for six titles with all of them coming after collecting wins on the rivals home field. The last one came in 2001 a span of 24 years, which is the longest stretch that neither school brought home a trophy since MSU’s 1956 title.
Montana State is the first Big Sky Conference team to win a national championship since Eastern Washington accomplished the feat in 2010.
“I think you always dream of winning a national championship and I really do think that’s become the standard at Montana State,” said Lamson, the title game Most Outstanding Player. “I know we lost a lot of guys coming out of last season and that’s all I heard coming into the season. But coming in, I already knew we had dudes, guys not a lot of people were talking about.
“I thought about this moment but to be here is a little bit different. You think it’s going to happen. But now that it’s really happened, it’s a dream come true. I’m just trying to take it all in.”
PHOTOS BY BROOKS NUANEZ, BLAKE HEMPSTEAD, JASON BACAJ
