2025 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game

Last updated

2025 NCAA Division I Football Championship
FCS National Championship Game
2025 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game logo.png
North Dakota State Bison Montana State Bobcats
(13–2)(15–0)
Missouri Valley Big Sky
3532
Head coach: 
Tim Polasek 		Head coach: 
Brent Vigen
STATS Seed
32
STATS Seed
11
1234Total
North Dakota State14701435
Montana State03151432
DateJanuary 6, 2025
Season 2024
Stadium Toyota Stadium
Location Frisco, Texas
MVP Cam Miller
Favorite Montana State by 6.5 points
Referee Matt Overton (CAA) [1]
Attendance18,005 [2]
United States TV coverage
Network ESPN, ESPN+
Announcers Dave Flemming (play-by-play),
Brock Osweiler (color),
Stormy Buonantony (sideline) [3]
International TV coverage
Network Canada: TSN2/TSN+
NCAA Division I Football Championship
 < 2024 2026 > 

The 2025 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a college football game played on January 6, 2025, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The game determined the national champion of NCAA Division I FCS for the 2024 season, [4] and featured the two finalists of the 24-team playoff bracket, which began on November 30, 2024. [5] The Monday night game began at approximately 6:00 p.m. CST and was broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+.

Contents

The game featured North Dakota State and Montana State; North Dakota State won, 35–32, and secured their 10th football championship at this level, all of them occurring since the 2011 season.

Teams

North Dakota State

North Dakota State finished their regular season at 10–2; their losses started and ended the regular season, 31–26 at Colorado on August 29, and 29–28 vs. South Dakota on November 23. NDSU was seeded No. 2, giving them a bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs, where they defeated No. 15 Abilene Christian 51–31, No. 7 Mercer 31–7, and Dakota Marker rival – No. 3 South Dakota State 28–21.

The 2025 FCS Championship game marks the 11th trip to Frisco for the Bison since the 2012 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game game against Sam Houston State, with NDSU being 9–1 in championship games losing their most recent appearance versus South Dakota State 45–21 in 2023, with their last win coming the year before against the Bobcats 38–10.

North Dakota is led by Walter Payton Award runner up Cam Miller who has 3,052 yards passing 31 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, along with 510 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Jerry Rice Award winner Charmar Brown leads the Bison rushing with 1,104 yards and 14 touchdowns; and Barika Kpeenu with 714 yards and 7 touchdowns. Bryce Lance leads the Bison in receiving with 66 catches, 946 yards, and 16 touchdowns for a new school record.[ citation needed ]

Montana State

Montana State finished their regular season with an unblemished 12–0 record, with their highest profile wins over New Mexico 35–31 and UC Davis 30–28. Their playoff schedule started with a bye as they were the No. 1 seed and gave them homefield advantage where they defeated UT Martin 49–17, No. 8 Idaho 52–19, and No. 4 South Dakota 31–17.

Montana State's last championship appearance came against the Bison three years ago where they fell 38–10. The last time Montana State won the FCS title was in 1984 against Louisiana Tech with a 19–6 win in Charleston, South Carolina.

A win would give them a 16–0 record for the season, which has only been done by Yale in 1894 and North Dakota State in 2019.[ citation needed ]

Montana State is led by Walter Payton Award winner Tommy Mellott who has thrown for 2,588 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions while also being the team's third leading rusher at 915 yards and 14 touchdowns. The Bobcats are led rushing by Scottre Humphrey who has 1,360 yards and 15 touchdowns while Jerry Rice Award runner up Adam Jones is second with 1,114 yards and 14 touchdowns. Taco Dowler is the team's leading receiver with 35 catches for 546 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Game summary

2024 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game
Quarter1234Total
No. 2 North Dakota State14701435
No. 1 Montana State03151432

at Toyota Stadium • Frisco, Texas

  • Date: January 6, 2025
  • Game time: 6:03 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Clear •Temperature: 34 °F (1 °C) •Wind: 7 mph (11 km/h) northwest
  • Game attendance: 18,005
  • Referee: Matt Overton
  • TV announcers (ESPN, ESPN+): Dave Flemming (Play-by-Play), Brock Osweiler (color), Stormy Buonantony (sideline reporter)
  • Box score

Statistics

StatisticsNorth Dakota StateMontana State
First downs1719
Plays–yards59–40261–394
Rushes–yards36–20237–199
Passing yards200195
Passing: comp–att–int19–23–013–24–0
Time of possession28:5931:01
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
North Dakota StatePassing Cam Miller 19/23, 200 yards, 2 TD
RushingCam Miller18 carries, 121 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Bryce Lance 9 receptions, 108 yards, 1 TD
Montana StatePassing Tommy Mellott 13/24, 195 yards, 2 TD
RushingTommy Mellott14 carries, 135 yards, 1 TD
ReceivingRyan Lonergan1 reception, 53 yards

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References

  1. ↑ "Coastal Athletic Association crew works the FCS Division I Championship". footballzebras.com. January 6, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  2. ↑ @OptaAnalystFCS (January 6, 2025). "2024 FCS Championship Game Tonight's attendance is 18,005" (Tweet). Retrieved January 6, 2025– via Twitter.
  3. ↑ Hodgkinson, Oliver (January 6, 2025). "Who Are the FCS National Championship Game Announcers on ESPN? Everything You Need To Know About the Broadcast of North Dakota State vs. Montana State". collegefootballnetwork.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  4. ↑ McKinnell, Zachary (January 4, 2025). "FCS National Championship Preview & Prediction: Montana State vs. North Dakota State". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  5. ↑ "2024 Division I FCS Football Official Bracket". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved January 4, 2025.
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