NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Montana State waited four long decades to experience the euphoria of winning a national championship.
The Bobcats hit enough of the right notes Monday night in Music City to earn a thrilling 35-34 FCS championship overtime win over Illinois State in front of 24,105 fans at FirstBank Stadium on the campus of Vanderbilt University.
Quarterback Justin Lamson started the game hot and finished with a pass that will be remembered in Bobcat lore for years to come. With the Bobcats trailing 34-28 in overtime and facing a fourth-and-10 play from the 14-yard line, Lamson faded back with pressure in his face and lofted a high-arcing pass to Taco Dowler in the end zone for the game-tying score.
When Myles Sansted booted through the point-after try, Montana State was the national champion for the first time since 1984.
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Lamson completed his first nine passes of the game and scored two rushing touchdowns, but the biggest first-half highlight came late in the second quarter. The Redbirds had closed within 14-7 on a touchdown pass from Tommy Rittenhouse to Scotty Presson Jr. with less than a minute to play before intermission.
On MSU’s ensuing possession, Lamson connected with Jabez Woods for a 20-yard gain and Chris Long for another 22 yards. On the third play of the drive, Lamson completed a short pass to Dane Steel along the right sideline. Steel, a redshirt freshman from Sheridan, Wyo., sprinted toward the end zone and then hurdled an Illinois State defender, managed to keep his balance and lunge into the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown just moments before halftime.
Lamson, who transferred to Montana State from Stanford last spring, was nearly perfect in the first 30 minutes. He completed 12 of 13 passes — the lone incompletion a batted ball at the line of scrimmage — for 228 yards and the TD to Steel. Add in his two rushing scores and Lamson had a hand in all three first-half touchdowns for MSU.
Also in the first half, Dowler caught six passes for 96 yards to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the season. It’s just the seventh 1,000-yard receiving season in MSU history.
But Illinois State didn’t go quietly into the Nashville night. The Redbirds stopped MSU’s opening possession of the second half and immediately drove the field to get into Bobcat territory.
MSU’s defense stiffened in the red zone, but the Redbirds eventually found paydirt when offensive lineman Logan Brasfield recovered a Victor Dawson fumble in the end zone. The point-after try made the score 21-14 in favor of MSU, and ISU had seemingly grasped momentum — especially after batting down Lamson’s first two passes of MSU’s next drive.
But the Bobcat QB found Woods for 21 yards to breathe new life into the Cats’ drive. They capitalized three players later when Dowler took a jet sweep, juked multiple defenders and splashed into the end zone to put Montana State back up 28-14.
Photos: Montana State clips Illinois State to win national championship
That was the score going to the fourth quarter. Five minutes into the period, ISU again made it a one-possession game. Facing a fourth-and-inches play on the MSU 4-yard line, Rittenhouse lobbed a fade to Daniel Sobkowicz, who came down with the touchdown catch to bring the Birds back within 28-21 with 10 minutes to play.
It was Sobkowicz’s eighth touchdown catch of the playoffs.
The momentum shift that had been percolating hit its crescendo five minutes later. After the Illinois State defense forced the Bobcats into a three-and-out, Rittenhouse guided the Redbirds’ offense on a methodical drive down the field.
On the eighth play of the possession — a third-and-9 from the MSU 25 — he completed a short pass to Dylan Lord over the middle. Lord weaved his way through the Bobcats’ defense and broke into the end zone. The ensuing point-after try tied the game at 28 with 5:10 to play.
After another MSU three-and-out, Rittenhouse again drove the Redbirds deep into Bobcats territory — a 33-yard connection to Lord the big play on the drive.
But Jhase McMillan rescued the Bobcats on Illinois State's potential game-winning field goal attempt. The cornerback flew in from the right side and full-length extended to block the kick. Seth Johnson recovered the ball, and the teams went to overtime tied at 28.
The Redbirds got the ball first in overtime and — like they had throughout the second half — easily carved up the Montana State defense. They scored a touchdown in just two plays, the go-ahead score coming on a 10-yard pass from Rittenhouse to Lord.
But Montana State defensive end Hunter Parsons made the play of the game — perhaps the play of Bobcat history. The 6-foot-4 senior got far enough through the Illinois State offensive line to block the point-after attempt, and keep MSU within six points.
After three consecutive three-and-outs to end regulation, the Bobcats finally got a first down to begin their first overtime possession. But they stalled from there and faced fourth and 10 from the 14. That's when Lamson and Dowler connected for MSU's soul-cleansing touchdown.
MOST OUTSTANDING LAMSON: Justin Lamson had the tall task of following in Tommy Mellott's enormous Montana State footsteps. In his first season in Bozeman, he guided the Bobcats to 14 consecutive wins, including historic victories over rival Montana in the semifinal round and Monday's championship victory over Illinois State.
Lamson was on fire to start the championship game, but after completing 12 of his first 13 pass attempts, he was just 6-of-14 passing in the second half. Ultimately, it didn't matter, as he made the biggest play of his career when he found Dowler for the overtime touchdown. Lamson was named the most outstanding player of the game. He finished with 280 passing yards and two TDs to go along with 30 rushing yards and two more TDs.
TACO SUPREME: Taco Dowler will go down as one of the best wide receivers in Montana State history, and he was superb Monday. He finished with 133 yards of offense and two touchdowns. His 1,025 receiving yards are the sixth-most in a single season in Bobcat history. Dowler has 1,873 receiving yards in his career, the ninth-most in program history.
PESKY REDBIRDS: Illinois State, which was unseeded entering the postseason, won four consecutive road games to reach the championship. The Redbirds showed their mettle in the title game, rallying from multiple 14-point deficits and taking their first lead of the game in overtime. They nearly doubled up MSU in time of possession (39:41 to 20:19), Victor Dawson was the center of a physical rushing attack and Tommy Rittenhouse routinely found holes in the Bobcat defense.
Dawson had a game-high 126 rushing yards on 29 carries. Rittenhouse was 33-of-46 passing for 311 yards and four touchdowns. Dylan Lord was targeted 16 times and registered 13 receptions for 161 yards and two TDs.
WHAT'S NEXT: Montana State is staying in Nashville Monday night and will return to Bozeman on Tuesday. According to a spokesperson with the school, the Bobcats should land back at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Montana State begins its 2026 season Aug. 29 at Utah Tech.
