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01/04 05:00 CST Illinois State plays Montana State seeking 1st FCS title after
historic playoff run
Illinois State plays Montana State seeking 1st FCS title after historic playoff
run
By TERESA M. WALKER
AP Sports Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) --- The Illinois State Redbirds already made history by
becoming the first team to win four straight playoff games on the road to reach
the Football Championship Subdivision title game.
Now, one of the last four teams into the 24-team playoff wants much more from
its final road game Monday night: its first FCS title.
"As long as we get a bid in that playoff spot, we got a shot for everything,"
Illinois State linebacker Tye Niekamp said. "And yeah, I think we don't care
about any expectations outside of what's in our locker room, and I think that's
kind of shown in proving people wrong."
The Redbirds (12-4) took the long way to the program's first berth in the title
game since 2014. They play No. 2 seed Montana State (13-2), with the Bobcats
back for a second straight season, a third in five years under coach Brent
Vigen and a fourth appearance ever.
Montana State is looking for its first national championship since 1984. The
Bobcats also won the 1976 Division II title and 1956 NAIA championship.
"It's a standard at this point," first-year Montana State quarterback Justin
Lamson said of playing for titles. "It's a very high standard, which is
stressful sometimes. You want to be in this game, and you want to win this
game. That is the standard for Montana State football. And I think that's huge."
After spending the past 15 years in Frisco, Texas, the FCS championship game
will be played at least twice at FirstBank Stadium, home to Vanderbilt of the
Southeastern Conference. The game was played in Chattanooga between 1997 and
2009.
Road warriors Not only did the Redbirds win four straight in the playoffs to reach this game, they are very comfortable playing away from home. They are 15-3 on the road the past two seasons, with two of the losses coming to FBS teams. Illinois State lost at Iowa in 2024 and opened this season with a 35-3 loss at Oklahoma. The Redbirds avenged the other road loss during this playoff run. They lost in the second round of the 2024 playoffs to UC Davis and won on Dec. 13 against the eighth-seeded team in this postseason. Since these playoffs expanded to 24 teams in 2013, Illinois State leads all of FCS with nine playoff road wins.
Offensive Bobcats Lamson runs an offense that ranks eighth in FCS scoring at 38.1 points a game. He is why they lead all of FCS by completing 71.9% of passes, and the Bobcats average 437.1 yards of total offense per game. That's good for 17th nationally. The quarterback transferred to Montana State in June from Stanford, replacing Tommy Mellott. He has had plenty of help from running backs Julius Davis, who has run for 1,110 yards, and Adam Jones with his 1,047 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns.
Illinois State's quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse is capping his career with his best play. He has thrown for 3,257 yards, completing 64% of his passes. He has the single-season record with 36 TD passes, and Rittenhouse has run for seven more scores. The senior quarterback shook off being picked off a career-worst five times in the second round of the playoffs at No. 1 seed North Dakota State, winner of 10 of the last 14 FCS titles, on Dec. 6. Rittenhouse threw two TDs in the final minutes, and he hit Scotty Presson with a pass for a 2-point conversion for a 29-28 victory.
Defensive Bobcats Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year Caden Dowler has six of Montana State's 16 interceptions this season, the most for a player at this program since 1993. The Bobcats give up 18 points a game this season, which ranked eighth in FCS, and 13th by giving up just 319.3 yards per game.
Defend Sobkowicz Illinois State wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz has seven TD catches in wins over North Dakota State, UC Davis and No. 12-seed Villanova. He has 40 career TD receptions and leads the program with 257 career receptions. He ranks second with 3,507 yards receiving and needs 59 yards Monday night to take over that mark by himself. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Road warriors Not only did the Redbirds win four straight in the playoffs to reach this game, they are very comfortable playing away from home. They are 15-3 on the road the past two seasons, with two of the losses coming to FBS teams. Illinois State lost at Iowa in 2024 and opened this season with a 35-3 loss at Oklahoma. The Redbirds avenged the other road loss during this playoff run. They lost in the second round of the 2024 playoffs to UC Davis and won on Dec. 13 against the eighth-seeded team in this postseason. Since these playoffs expanded to 24 teams in 2013, Illinois State leads all of FCS with nine playoff road wins.
Offensive Bobcats Lamson runs an offense that ranks eighth in FCS scoring at 38.1 points a game. He is why they lead all of FCS by completing 71.9% of passes, and the Bobcats average 437.1 yards of total offense per game. That's good for 17th nationally. The quarterback transferred to Montana State in June from Stanford, replacing Tommy Mellott. He has had plenty of help from running backs Julius Davis, who has run for 1,110 yards, and Adam Jones with his 1,047 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns.
Illinois State's quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse is capping his career with his best play. He has thrown for 3,257 yards, completing 64% of his passes. He has the single-season record with 36 TD passes, and Rittenhouse has run for seven more scores. The senior quarterback shook off being picked off a career-worst five times in the second round of the playoffs at No. 1 seed North Dakota State, winner of 10 of the last 14 FCS titles, on Dec. 6. Rittenhouse threw two TDs in the final minutes, and he hit Scotty Presson with a pass for a 2-point conversion for a 29-28 victory.
Defensive Bobcats Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year Caden Dowler has six of Montana State's 16 interceptions this season, the most for a player at this program since 1993. The Bobcats give up 18 points a game this season, which ranked eighth in FCS, and 13th by giving up just 319.3 yards per game.
Defend Sobkowicz Illinois State wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz has seven TD catches in wins over North Dakota State, UC Davis and No. 12-seed Villanova. He has 40 career TD receptions and leads the program with 257 career receptions. He ranks second with 3,507 yards receiving and needs 59 yards Monday night to take over that mark by himself. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
