MONTANA STATE VS. NORTH DAKOTA STATE

Yes, it will be Alabama versus Georgia Monday night in a rematch of the Southeastern Conference College football championship won by the Crimson Tide, but there’s also anticipation for the Saturday morning FCS championship clash between North Dakota State and Montana State.

The contest will be played at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Tx., with a Mountain West Time kickoff scheduled for 10 a.m.

For the 2nd-ranked Fargo school North Dakota State program, it’s that time of the year again as it seeks its 16th NCAA championship and 8th FCS title. The Bison has won more games then any other FCS team, and that of course includes the championship trophies it has hoisted.

For 8th-ranked Montana State, it’s been a drought of 38 years since the Bobcats won the national title. That was in 1984 and followed those won in 1956 and 1976.

They have played perennial power North Dakota State in the playoffs in 2010, 2018 and 2019, the first time in the second round, the second time in the finals, and the third time in the semifinals, and none of the games were close.

Both got past familiar opponents in the semis, with the Bobcats ousting James Madison and the Bison disposing of South Dakota State.

North Dakota State, which has dominated the Mountain Valley Conference and has a gaudy record of 36-3 in the playoffs, arrives with a 13-1 mark and Montana State of the Big Sky Conference comes in at 12-2, with the Bison favored to add another championship. Both teams feature a menacing ground game, but when needed, will put the ball in the air.

Quarterbacking the Bobcats is freshman Tommy Mellott. He has turned in a stellar campaign, but has yet to face the defense of the Bison. He does run the option well, but sticks mostly to the ground game led by junior Isaiah Ifanse.

But North Dakota State, with junior Tamerik Williams replacing former starter Brian Andersen, who switched to linebacker after last season, has more balance in its rushing attack. It has rolled up an average of 406 yards per game, with eight of its players accounting for over 100 yards a game, and it is third in the country with 2,736 rushing yards for the season.

Montana State, though, has added confidence with a defense that has been successful in stopping the run, and now needs it to continue in this, it’s biggest test. But North Dakota State hasn’t changed through the years, still a big physical team that leans heavily on the ground game.

The word is that the biggest threat for the Bison is 6-foot-1, 216-pound All-America fullback Hunter Luspce. He is the team’s best athlete, is versatile at picking up big yards carrying the ball and receiving it. It’s been said that he is  the “Heartbeat of the Bison offense.”

The Bulldogs’ head coach is Brent Vigan, a former Bison player who turned down the vacant head coaching job there to remain at Montana State, and Matt Entz was named North Dakota State head coach.

Montana State hails from Bozeman and began its football program way back in 1897. It is 3-1-2 in the playoffs, with all three wins coming in the title games, and the other school to win each in different divisions. The North Dakota State football first took the field back in 1894, and has sent numerous players to the national Football League.

Both programs are known to have similar styles, with the label “old school football” applied. Now it’s time to kick off, with neither school challenging Alabama or Georgia, but in quest of their own national championship two days before Bama and the Dawgs rumble in Indianapolis.