61
BOZEMAN, Mont. (Dec. 31, 2025) – The mission is clear. The message is simple. The method is time-tested.
“We try to be really consistent with our approach,” Montana State head coach Brent Vigen said as his Bobcats head to the FCS Championship Game for the third time in his five seasons. MSU faces Illinois State in Nashville on January 5 at 5:30 pm MT.
“We’re trying to be the best version of ourself every week, and to play our best football,” Vigen said. “The ultimate goal is singular, and that’s the national championship.”
Monday’s title tilt marks the first gridiron clash between the Bobcats and ISU, but Vigen is familiar with the Redbirds. During Illinois State coach Brock Spack’s first four seasons at the Normal, Illinois school, 2009-13, Vigen was an assistant at North Dakota State.
“Generally speaking those teams are very well-coached and very talented,” Vigen said. “They’re teams that reflect who Coach (Brock) Spack is. He’s a former defensive coordinator and his teams always have that element of toughness.”
Familiarity, in this case, breeds respect. “I’ve really got a lot of respect for that football program,” Vigen said. “Coach Spack has been there for quite some time, going back to 2009, so I had the chance from 2009 to ’13 to compete against his teams. They were always very well-coached, very talented teams, and that’s certainly the case with this year’s team in 2025.”
A dynamic trio fuels Illinois State’s playoff run. Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse is sixth in the FCS in passing yards with 3,257, running back Victor Dawson’s 1,251 rushing yards is 10th nationally, and Daniel Sobkowicz‘s 1,089 receiving yards is eighth.
The playoffs have proven a force multiplier for that productivity. Rittenhouse throws for around 230 yards and two touchdowns a game in the post-season, while Dawson averages 128.0 rushing yards and Sobkowicz has 38 catches for 403 yards and eight touchdowns in the four playoff games. Those eight scoring receptions would lead the Bobcats for the entire 2025 season. “I think it’s a really confident, high-powered offense right now,” Vigen said.
ISU’s trio of stars has Vigen’s attention. “It starts with their quarterback,” he said. “Rittenhouse has had a heck of a year. Any time you’ve thrown for over 3,300 yards and are almost to 500 yards rushing you can do it with both your arms and your legs. He’s really playing at a high clip, especially in the playoffs. Dawson is certainly a force (at running back), and he’s had a couple phenomenal games the last two weeks in particular. He just keeps getting better the more opportunities he gets. Sobkowicz is certainly going to be near or at the top of the receivers we’ve seen this year, and he leads a really solid receiver corps. It isn’t just him. He’s at 18 TDs right now, and he’s been phenomenal throughout the playoffs.
Montana State’s defense is more sound than spectacular, standing 8th in the FCS in scoring defense and 13th in total defense. Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year Caden Dowler left the semifinal win against the Grizzlies early in the first quarter with an injury, and Vigen said he’s working diligently to return for Monday’s game. The team’s interior linemen, All-America Paul Brott and Alec Eckertprovide a disruptive value, while edge rushers Kenneth Eiden IV and Hunter Parsons have combined for 12.5 sacks and 25.5 tackles-for-loss.
Vigen calls ISU’s defense “a group that’s really playing its best football and causing issues.” Linebacker Tye Niekamp paces the unit with 155 tackles, 14.5 of them behind the line of scrimmage. Garrett Steffen’s seven sacks leads the Redbirds, and Shadwel Nkuba II has a team-high five interceptions with six pass breakups.
“They have just really good personnel on defense,” Vigen said. “Niekamp is the leader with over 150 tackles, all the tackles-for-loss. It’s a really aggressive defense that’s really impressive on film.”
Montana State counters with an offense that Illinois State coach Brock Spack says is reminiscent of “any of the Dakotas and teams in our league.” The Cats roll into the championship game fourth in the FCS with 234.5 rushing yards per game and eighth in scoring offense at 38.1 points an outing. Quarterback Justin Lamson‘s .720 completion percentage is second-best in the FCS, and he’s thrown 24 touchdowns and only three interceptions.
Both FCS championship contenders enter Monday’s game hot, but the streaks take different forms. The Redbirds (12-4 overall) became the first team to win four road playoff games, while the Cats own a 13-game winning streak since starting 2025 0-2.
Vigen said that Illinois State’s playoff run is no fluke, and “it’s not even that they’ve found lightning in a bottle. It’s that they won in Fargo.” After a 17-3 win at Southeastern Louisiana, ISU earned a 29-28 win at North Dakota State, and followed that with wins at UC Davis and Villanova. “They’ve had an impressive run through the playoffs, going on the road four times and coming up on the right side, and you can see them continuing to get better through this stretch,” Vigen said.
ISU and the Bobcats have different and varied championship game history. The Redbirds have played for a title once before, falling to North Dakota State in 2014. Yet ISU has emerged as this year’s representative of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which claims 12 of the last 14 national titles. The Cats have won one FCS title, the 1984 crown when the sub-division was known as Division I-AA, and two championships at lower classifications (NAIA in 1956, Division II in 1976). The 40-year drought includes championship losses in 2021 and 2024.
Monday’s national telecast begins with an ESPN pre-game show at 5 pm MT, followed by the game broadcast at 5:30 pm MT.
#GoCatsGo
“We try to be really consistent with our approach,” Montana State head coach Brent Vigen said as his Bobcats head to the FCS Championship Game for the third time in his five seasons. MSU faces Illinois State in Nashville on January 5 at 5:30 pm MT.
“We’re trying to be the best version of ourself every week, and to play our best football,” Vigen said. “The ultimate goal is singular, and that’s the national championship.”
Monday’s title tilt marks the first gridiron clash between the Bobcats and ISU, but Vigen is familiar with the Redbirds. During Illinois State coach Brock Spack’s first four seasons at the Normal, Illinois school, 2009-13, Vigen was an assistant at North Dakota State.
“Generally speaking those teams are very well-coached and very talented,” Vigen said. “They’re teams that reflect who Coach (Brock) Spack is. He’s a former defensive coordinator and his teams always have that element of toughness.”
Familiarity, in this case, breeds respect. “I’ve really got a lot of respect for that football program,” Vigen said. “Coach Spack has been there for quite some time, going back to 2009, so I had the chance from 2009 to ’13 to compete against his teams. They were always very well-coached, very talented teams, and that’s certainly the case with this year’s team in 2025.”
A dynamic trio fuels Illinois State’s playoff run. Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse is sixth in the FCS in passing yards with 3,257, running back Victor Dawson’s 1,251 rushing yards is 10th nationally, and Daniel Sobkowicz‘s 1,089 receiving yards is eighth.
The playoffs have proven a force multiplier for that productivity. Rittenhouse throws for around 230 yards and two touchdowns a game in the post-season, while Dawson averages 128.0 rushing yards and Sobkowicz has 38 catches for 403 yards and eight touchdowns in the four playoff games. Those eight scoring receptions would lead the Bobcats for the entire 2025 season. “I think it’s a really confident, high-powered offense right now,” Vigen said.
ISU’s trio of stars has Vigen’s attention. “It starts with their quarterback,” he said. “Rittenhouse has had a heck of a year. Any time you’ve thrown for over 3,300 yards and are almost to 500 yards rushing you can do it with both your arms and your legs. He’s really playing at a high clip, especially in the playoffs. Dawson is certainly a force (at running back), and he’s had a couple phenomenal games the last two weeks in particular. He just keeps getting better the more opportunities he gets. Sobkowicz is certainly going to be near or at the top of the receivers we’ve seen this year, and he leads a really solid receiver corps. It isn’t just him. He’s at 18 TDs right now, and he’s been phenomenal throughout the playoffs.
Montana State’s defense is more sound than spectacular, standing 8th in the FCS in scoring defense and 13th in total defense. Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year Caden Dowler left the semifinal win against the Grizzlies early in the first quarter with an injury, and Vigen said he’s working diligently to return for Monday’s game. The team’s interior linemen, All-America Paul Brott and Alec Eckertprovide a disruptive value, while edge rushers Kenneth Eiden IV and Hunter Parsons have combined for 12.5 sacks and 25.5 tackles-for-loss.
Vigen calls ISU’s defense “a group that’s really playing its best football and causing issues.” Linebacker Tye Niekamp paces the unit with 155 tackles, 14.5 of them behind the line of scrimmage. Garrett Steffen’s seven sacks leads the Redbirds, and Shadwel Nkuba II has a team-high five interceptions with six pass breakups.
“They have just really good personnel on defense,” Vigen said. “Niekamp is the leader with over 150 tackles, all the tackles-for-loss. It’s a really aggressive defense that’s really impressive on film.”
Montana State counters with an offense that Illinois State coach Brock Spack says is reminiscent of “any of the Dakotas and teams in our league.” The Cats roll into the championship game fourth in the FCS with 234.5 rushing yards per game and eighth in scoring offense at 38.1 points an outing. Quarterback Justin Lamson‘s .720 completion percentage is second-best in the FCS, and he’s thrown 24 touchdowns and only three interceptions.
Both FCS championship contenders enter Monday’s game hot, but the streaks take different forms. The Redbirds (12-4 overall) became the first team to win four road playoff games, while the Cats own a 13-game winning streak since starting 2025 0-2.
Vigen said that Illinois State’s playoff run is no fluke, and “it’s not even that they’ve found lightning in a bottle. It’s that they won in Fargo.” After a 17-3 win at Southeastern Louisiana, ISU earned a 29-28 win at North Dakota State, and followed that with wins at UC Davis and Villanova. “They’ve had an impressive run through the playoffs, going on the road four times and coming up on the right side, and you can see them continuing to get better through this stretch,” Vigen said.
ISU and the Bobcats have different and varied championship game history. The Redbirds have played for a title once before, falling to North Dakota State in 2014. Yet ISU has emerged as this year’s representative of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which claims 12 of the last 14 national titles. The Cats have won one FCS title, the 1984 crown when the sub-division was known as Division I-AA, and two championships at lower classifications (NAIA in 1956, Division II in 1976). The 40-year drought includes championship losses in 2021 and 2024.
Monday’s national telecast begins with an ESPN pre-game show at 5 pm MT, followed by the game broadcast at 5:30 pm MT.
#GoCatsGo