FCS National Championship

FCS TITLE GAME MATCHUPS – red-hot Bryce Lance vs. MSU secondary

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Bryce Lance’s one-handed touchdown catch two weeks ago against South Dakota State was so good, at first nobody was sure if he had caught it or not.

A one-handed grab…but incomplete, one announcer said.

Lance himself turned back towards the camera, half raising his arms in a questioning touchdown signal.

It took the officiating crew multiple minutes to determine that yes, Lance had caught the ball one-handed while tapping his outside foot, confirming the touchdown that sent North Dakota State to yet another FCS title game.

The play instantly became, along with Tommy Mellott’s stumbling touchdown run for Montana State, one of two iconic highlights from a semifinal round that ended with the Bison and the Bobcats paired up in Frisco for the second time in four years.

And if MSU wants to flip the script from that Bison beatdown in 2021, they’ll certainly need to stop the breakout receiver who’s become so much more than “Trey Lance’s brother.”

“He’s extremely dangerous,” Montana State head coach Brent Vigen said. “He can run. He’s got great size (6-foot-3, 204). His body control, catch radius, all those things have continued to improve and evolve. And I would imagine along with that, the confidence that he has, the confidence that (quarterback) Cam (Miller) has in him, the confidence that (offensive coordinator) Jake Landry has calling those plays – you can just see that growing throughout the year.”

Lance has been far and away the top target for an offense that wins with depth much more than individual greatness.

Eleven players have at least 100 receiving yards for the Bison this season – but other than Lance, nobody else has more than 400.

Ten players have caught a touchdown from Miller – but other than Lance, nobody else has more than four scores.

The redshirt junior from Marshall, Minnesota, on the other hand, is at 66 catches, 964 yards and 16 touchdowns – the latter of which is a new NDSU single-season record.

It’s been a big-time breakout for the athletic Lance, who had just one catch for seven yards a year ago – and he doesn’t appear to be slowing down as the season progresses.

In the biggest game of the year two weeks ago against South Dakota State, Lance finished with six catches for 125 yards and three of the four touchdowns that the Bison managed in their 28-21 win.

“I think this year, he’s no longer Trey’s little brother, and I think he’s made a name for himself just by the way that he plays and the way that he carries himself,” Miller said. “He’s been tremendous for us the entire season, and I expect him to be great on Monday.”

At 6-foot-3, Lance’s speed, body control and ball skills made him a nightmare cover for SDSU. He beat one-on-one coverage easily to the outside to open the scoring, sprinted straight up the seam for a crucial fourth-quarter score and then pulled off his miracle one-handed grab to put the Bison ahead late.

That was against one of the best secondaries in the nation – Jackrabbits safeties Tucker Large, Colby Huerter and Matthew Durrance and cornerbacks Dalys Beanum and Colby Humphrey all received MVFC all-conference recognition.

Now, Montana State’s defensive backs get their shot at slowing down Lance, who’s caught at least one touchdown in six of NDSU’s last seven games.

Although the Bobcats’ run defense gets plenty of praise, the secondary has also been a crucial part of MSU’s success this season. The Bobcats allowed just 190 passing yards per game, 30th in the country.

Safety Rylan Ortt and corner Andrew Powdrell both received all-Big Sky recognition (Interestingly, Powdrell and Simeon Woodard, Montana State’s other top cornerback, are returning to their home state of Texas for this matchup).

And, most encouragingly when faced with a problem like Lance, Montana State has generally shut down the star receivers it’s gone against this year.

Idaho State’s Christian Fredericksen had just six catches for 60 yards against the Bobcats. Eastern Washington’s Efton Chism III, who led the country in receptions, had nine catches for 78 yards – a good day but well below his season average of 109 yards a game, which was also tops in the nation. In their regular-season matchup, Idaho’s Jordan Dwyer had just two catches for 14 yards, while Montana’s Junior Bergen had six for 27.

“I think that both their safeties are very good,” Miller said. “They like to bring #26 (Ortt) into the run fit, and he makes a lot of plays for them. And #2 (Dru Polidore) is good in coverage as well. And I think their DBs do a really good job in man coverage.”

That trend has suffered in recent months, though. UC Davis’s Chaz Davis had four catches for 128 yards in a 30-28 loss in mid-November, making him the first player to go over 100 yards receiving against Montana State all season.

UT-Martin’s Trevonte Rucker had 107 yards and two touchdowns in a second-round playoff loss, making him the first player to catch multiple scores against the Bobcats.

And in a quarterfinal rematch, Dwyer went crazy against the ‘Cats despite a 52-19 Vandals loss, finishing with 11 catches for 189 yards and two touchdowns.

As Miller mentioned, Montana State likes to play plenty of man coverage, which makes this one of the highest-risk/highest-reward matchups for both teams.

For Montana State, shutting down NDSU’s superstar receiver threatens to shut off the Bison passing attack completely.

But if the Bison can get their top target going…well, he’s already proven capable of carrying NDSU to huge playoff wins – and doing it, sometimes literally, single-handedly.

“He’s been making a bunch of plays for them,” Ortt said. “The first step is knowing where he’s at every play. They try to disguise it a bunch of different ways, get him in positions that they like and find matchups that they like. So if we’re just aware of where he’s at, what he’s trying to do, I’m confident with our guys on the perimeter that can match up with him and go make plays.”

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About Andrew Houghton

Andrew Houghton grew up in Washington, DC. He graduated from the University of Montana journalism school in December 2015 and spent time working on the sports desk at the Daily Tribune News in Cartersville, Georgia, before moving back to Missoula and becoming a part of Skyline Sports in early 2018.

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