Montana State's football team has a hierarchy of objectives it set out to fulfill this season.
The Bobcats already checked off most of them: Go unbeaten in league play, lock up a consecutive Big Sky Conference title and then book a return trip to the FCS championship, which they achieved Dec. 20 with a 48-23 victory over rival Montana in the playoff semifinals.
There's now just one last thing to accomplish.
"The top tier is singular, it's a national championship," said coach Brent Vigen during Monday's media availability. "That's obviously something that's evaded this program since 1984. So that it is the ultimate goal."
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Completing that goal will require beating Illinois State of the Missouri Valley Football Conference in the upcoming national title game at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., next Monday. Kickoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. Mountain time.
Unseeded ISU (12-4) will be making its second appearance in the FCS title game, with the other having come in 2014.
After losing to Southern Illinois 37-7 in their regular season finale, the Redbirds got red-hot in the postseason, winning four-straight road contests — including toppling defending champion North Dakota State in the second round — to setup the first meeting between ISU and MSU..
"They're not here here by accident," said Montana State senior offensive lineman J.T. Reed of the Redbirds. "We're not here by accident and neither are they. They've been through a lot of adversity this season just like us, just like you should in a football season.
"They're a super good defense, they fly around. The biggest thing is making sure we play our game. It's not about them it's about us."
For graduating players like Reed or defensive lineman Paul Brott, prevailing in the final game of their college careers is going to come down to carrying the same mentality that they have throughout their time at MSU.
"I'm just treating it like any other game like we've been doing, that's what's working" said Brott. "I have a bunch of stuff going on after this but right now my mind is on winning this game at all costs."
The Bobcats (13-2) reached the title game after surging past archrival Montana in the semifinals in an unprecedented playoff meeting between the two programs. It was the 125th all-time collision between the teams and the victory pushed MSU's win streak to 13.
Montana State is now set to face a team they've never played, though Vigen had experience coaching against longtime Illinois State coach Brock Spack, who took over the program in 2009 when Vigen was the offensive coordinator at fellow Missouri Valley member NDSU.
"Got a lot of respect for that football program," said Vigen. "Coach Spack has been there for quite some time ... so (I) had a chance from '09 to '13 to compete against those teams. They were always very well coached, very talented teams and that's certainly the case with this team in 2025. They've had an impressive run through the playoffs."
