North Dakota State vs. Montana State: Preview, updates, how to watch FCS title game
Mellott wins Payton Award
Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott won the 2024 Walter Payton Award as the best offensive player in FCS football, beating out fellow top-three finalists Cam Miller (North Dakota State) and Targhee Lambson (Southern Utah). Mellott is the first Montana State player to win the award in its 38-year history.
Click or tap here for some of his top moments
Earlier in the day, Mellott won the NCAA's elite 90 award.
Getting ready for game day
North Dakota State and Montana State have arrived in Frisco and are getting ready for game day on Monday night. Both teams practiced on Saturday and participated in media day. Take a look at some of the content from media day below.
Film breakdowns
“It’s college baby, all you need is one” breaks down the footage of his one-handed TD from the Semifinals of the x
— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS)
More
How well do you think you’d do? 🤔 attempts to guess things from 1984 based on emojis 🤣
— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS)
xxx
How to watch the 2024 FCS championship
Here's how to watch the 2024 FCS semifinal game between North Dakota State and Montana State:
- Date: Monday, Jan. 6, 2025
- Time: 7 p.m. ET
- TV/Streaming: ESPN
- Location: Toyota Stadium in Frisco, TX
- Live stats: Click or tap here
Storylines, players to watch in the semifinals
Here are some of the top storylines and players to watch entering this year's FCS semifinal game between North Dakota State and Montana State.
Storylines
- How they got here
- North Dakota State entered the postseason on a loss and fought off an early scare from Abilene Christian in the second round to win by 20 points. In the quarterfinals, the Bison beat Mercer 31-7. In the semifinals, North Dakota State defeated South Dakota State for the second time this year to advance to the championship game.
- Montana State has dominated the competition all season long as the only undefeated team remaining in the FCS. The Bobcats didn't play a close game in the first two round of the playoffs after averaging 50.5 points scored and a 32.5 margin of victory. In the semifinals, Montana State held off South Dakota to advance to the championship game.
- Past matchups
- North Dakota State is 5-1 in the all-time series against Montana State. Most recently, both teams met in the FCS playoffs. The Bison won 35-34 in the 2023 playoffs and when the two met in the 2021 title game, the Bison won 38-10. Montana State hasn't won since 2005, NDSU's second year in the FCS.
- Coaching
- Montana State's Big Sky Coach of the Year Brent Vigen will face North Dakota State's Tim Polosaek who's in his first year. Vigen was also named the Eddie Robinson Award winner as the FCS coach of the year. Both coaches were on staff at North Dakota State in 2011 and 2012, the first two years the Bison won FCS titles.
- What's at stake
- North Dakota State is on its longest title drought since its first title back in 2011 as the Bison haven't lifted the trophy since 2021. A win would lift the Bison back atop the FCS world.
- Montana State is still chasing its 1984 FCS championship. The Bobcats have only made one return to the title game since (2021), the first year of the Brent Vigen-Tommy Mellott era. A win would cap off the new era of Bobcat football.
Players to Watch
Here are some players to watch from North Dakota State.
- MVFC Offensive Player of the Year: QB Cam Miller
- Newcomer and Freshman of the Year: RB CharMar Brown
- 1st Team | QB Cam Miller
- 1st Team | OL Mason Miller
- 1st Team | OL Grey Zabel
- 1st Team | WR Bryce Lance
- 1st Team | DL Eli Mostaert
- 1st Team | LB Logan Kopp
- 2nd Team | RB CharMar Brown
- 2nd Team | PK Griffin Crosa
- 2nd Team | RS Jackson Williams
Here are some players to watch from Montana State
- Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year: QB Tommy Mellott
- Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year: DL Brody Grebe
- Big Sky Freshman of the Year: RB Adam Jones
- 1st Team | QB Tommy Mellott
- 1st Team | RB Scottre Humphrey
- 1st Team | FB Rohan Jones
- 1st Team | OL Marcus Wehr (unanimous)
- 1st Team | OL Conner Moore
- 1st Team | DL Brody Grebe (unanimous)
- 1st Team | LB McCade O'Reilly
- 1st Team | DB Rylan Ortt
- 1st Team | PR Taco Dowler
- 2nd Team | OL Titan Fleischmann
- 2nd Team | OL Cole Sain
- 2nd Team | DL Paul Brott
- 2nd Team | LB Danny Uluilakepa
- 2nd Team | DB Andrew Powdrell
- 2nd Team | P Brendan Hall
North Dakota State vs. Montana State: How they stack up
At the end of the season, North Dakota State was ranked No. 4 and Montana State was ranked No. 1 in the FCS Coaches Poll. The Bison were ranked No. 3 and the Bobcats No. 1 in the STATS Perform Poll to close the regular season.
Here's how the programs stack up based on this season's results.
| North Dakota State | 2024 STATs | Montana State |
|---|---|---|
| 13-2 (7-1) | Record (Conf) | 15-0 (8-0) |
| No. 3 | FCS Coaches rank | No. 1 |
| No. 4 | FCS STATS Perform rank | No. 1 |
| 38.3 | Points per game | 41.3 |
| 17.7 | Points allowed | 17.3 |
| 318.7 | Yards per game | 484.1 |
| 225.9 | Pass yards per game | 183.1 |
| 192.7 | Rush yards per game | 301.0 |
| 316.3 | Yards allowed per game | 299.1 |
| 197.0 | Pass yards allowed per game | 190.2 |
| 119.3 | Rush yards allowed per game | 108.9 |
| QB Cam Miller 3,052 yds, 31 TDs, 4 INT |
Passing leader | QB Tommy Mellott 2,564 yds, 29 TDs,2 INT |
| RB CharMar Brown 1,104 yds, 14 TDs |
Rushing leader | RB Scottre Humphrey 1,360 yds, 15 TDs |
| WR Bryce Lance 66 rec, 964 yds, 16 TDs |
Receiving leader | WR Taco Dowler 35 rec, 546 yds, 10 TDs |
| LB Logan Kopp 69 tkl, 8 tfl, 3 Int |
Defense | DL Brody Grebe 35 tkl, 8.5 sk, 10 tfl |
FCS playoff bracket entering the championship
Here's what the FCS playoff bracket looks like entering the semifinals.
Click or tap here to view the bracket.
