2026 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game

This article is about the FCS (Division I-AA) championship game. For the FBS (Division I-A) championship game, see 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship.

2026 NCAA Division I Football Championship
FCS National Championship Game
Illinois State Redbirds Montana State Bobcats (12–4) (13–2) Missouri Valley Big Sky 34 35 Head coach:  Brock Spack Head coach:  Brent Vigen STATS Seed T17 — STATS Seed 2 2
1 2 3 4 OT Total Illinois State 0 7 7 14 6 34 Montana State 7 14 7 0 7 35
Date	January 5, 2026
Season	2025
Stadium	FirstBank Stadium
Location	Nashville, Tennessee
MVP	Justin Lamson (QB, Montana State) [1]
Favorite	Montana State by 10.5 points [2]
Referee	James Brookhart
Attendance	24,105 [3]
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN, ESPN+
Announcers	Dave Flemming (play by play), Brock Osweiler (analyst) and Stormy Buonantony (sideline reporter) [4]
International TV coverage
Network	Canada: TSN2/TSN+
NCAA Division I Football Championship  ← 2025 2027 →

The 2026 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a college football game played on January 5, 2026, at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. The game determined the national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) for the 2025 season. It featured the two finalists of the 24-team playoff bracket, which began on November 29, 2025. ^[5] The Monday night game began at approximately 7:30 p.m. EST and was broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+.

The game featured Illinois State of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and Montana State of the Big Sky Conference; for the first time ever, the FCS Championship Game ended in overtime, with Montana State defeating Illinois State, 35–34. ^[6]

Teams

See also: 2025 NCAA Division I FCS football season § Bracket

Illinois State

Main article: 2025 Illinois State Redbirds football team

Illinois State got off to a 3–1 start in non-conference play, losing only to FBS opponent Oklahoma. They began Missouri Valley Football Conference play with a home game versus No. 1 North Dakota State and were trounced 33–16. A loss to Youngstown State two weeks later saw them drop to No. 18 in the polls but the Redbirds responded with victories over No. 21 South Dakota and No. 16 South Dakota State before closing out the regular season with a loss to No. 24 Southern Illinois. With a conference record of 5–3 and finishing 8–4 overall, the Redbirds were among the last teams to get into the FCS playoffs, being one of six MVFC teams in the bracket but were also unseeded. They defeated No. 17 Southeastern Louisiana 21–3 to set up a matchup with No. 1 North Dakota State. They pulled off a last-minute upset to win 29–28 and reach the quarterfinals. They then defeated No. 11 UC Davis 42–31 and then beat No. 9 Villanova 30–14 (the largest semifinal win by a road team in the last 30 years) to reach the championship game. They are the first FCS team to win four straight playoff games on the road. ^[7]

This was the 15th consecutive FCS championship game with a team from the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Illinois State's last championship appearance came in 2014 when they lost to North Dakota State 29–27. They were attempting to win their first Division I championship as a program. They were attempting to become the first unseeded team to win the FCS championship since Western Kentucky in 2002. ^[8]

Montana State

Main article: 2025 Montana State Bobcats football team

Ranked No. 4 in the polls to start the year, Montana State got off to a rough start for the season, losing 59–13 to FBS opponent Oregon before falling to No. 2 South Dakota State 30–24 in double overtime. However, the Bobcats did not lose another game for the rest of the regular season, winning nine games in a row to set up a pivotal matchup for the Big Sky championship versus in-state rival Montana; with Montana State ranked No. 3 and Montana ranked No. 2, it was the first top-3 matchup in rivalry history. ^[9] Playing on the road, the Bobcats won 31–28. Both teams received a first round bye, with Montana State being ranked No. 2 only to North Dakota State. The Bobcats defeated No. 24 Yale 21–13, No. 10 Stephen F. Austin 44–28 to set up the first-ever December rivalry game with No. 3 Montana. They trounced them 48–23 to reach the FCS championship game.

This was the third FCS championship game for Montana State in the past six seasons, as they previously lost to North Dakota State in 2021 and 2024. The most recent time that Montana State won the FCS title had been in 1984 against Louisiana Tech with a 19–6 win in Charleston, South Carolina, while the most recent Big Sky team to win the national championship had been Eastern Washington in 2010. ^[10]

Game summary

2026 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game

Quarter	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
No. 17 Illinois State	0	7	7	14	6	34
(2) No. 2 Montana State	7	14	7	0	7	35

at FirstBank Stadium • Nashville, Tennessee

• Date: Monday, January 5, 2026
• Game time: 7:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 57 °F (14 °C) • Wind: 7 mph (11 km/h) south
• Game attendance: 24,105
• Referee: James Brookhart
• TV announcers (ESPN): Dave Flemming (play-by-play), Brock Osweiler (analyst), Stormy Buonantony (sideline reporter)
• Box score

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Illinois State Montana State 1 4:51 10 90 5:50 Montana State Justin Lamson 3-yard touchdown run, Myles Sansted kick good 0 7 2 10:49 8 80 3:26 Montana State Justin Lamson 2-yard touchdown run, Myles Sansted kick good 0 14 2 0:54 10 80 4:23 Illinois State Scotty Presson Jr. 6-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Rittenhouse, Michael Cosentino kick good 7 14 2 0:18 3 75 0:36 Montana State Dane Steel 33-yard touchdown reception from Justin Lamson, Myles Sansted kick good 7 21 3 5:32 17 85 7:32 Illinois State Logan Brasfield 0-yard touchdown run, Michael Cosentino kick good 14 21 3 3:18 6 64 2:08 Montana State Taco Dowler 22-yard touchdown run, Myles Sansted kick good 14 28 4 10:13 15 81 8:01 Illinois State Daniel Sobkowicz 4-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Rittenhouse, Michael Cosentino kick good 21 28 4 5:10 8 60 3:52 Illinois State Dylan Lord 25-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Rittenhouse, Michael Cosentino kick good 28 28 OT 2 25 Illinois State Dylan Lord 10-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Rittenhouse, Michael Cosentino kick failed (blocked) 34 28 OT 5 25 Montana State Taco Dowler 14-yard touchdown reception from Justin Lamson, Myles Sansted kick good 34 35 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 34 35

Statistics

Team statistical comparison [11] Statistic Illinois State Montana State First downs 33 20 First downs rushing 10 7 First downs passing 20 12 First downs penalty 0 2 Third down efficiency 7–14 3–9 Fourth down efficiency 2–2 1–1 Total plays–net yards 84–471 51–381 Rushing attempts–net yards 38–160 24–101 Yards per rush 4.2 4.2 Yards passing 311 280 Pass completions–attempts (percent) 33–46 (72%) 18–27 (67%) Interceptions thrown 0 0 Punt returns–total yards 2–-1 0–0 Kickoff returns–total yards 4–70 4–114 Punts–average yardage 4–40.0 5–39.2 Fumbles–lost 1–0 1–0 Penalties–yards 5–55 14–93 Time of possession 39:41 20:19

Illinois State statistics [11] Redbirds passing C–A Yds TD–INT Tommy Rittenhouse 33–46 311 4–0 Redbirds rushing Car Yds TD Victor Dawson 29 126 0 Tommy Rittenhouse 6 20 0 Seth Glatz 2 13 0 Wenkers Wright 1 1 0 Redbirds receiving Rec Yds TD Dylan Lord 13 161 2 Daniel Sobkowicz 5 52 1 Victor Dawson 5 33 0 Eddie Kasper 3 16 0 Javon Charles 2 18 0 Scotty Presson Jr. 2 16 0 Luke Mailander 1 12 0 Wenkers Wright 1 5 0 Seth Glatz 1 -2 0

Montana State statistics [11] Bobcats passing C–A Yds TD–INT Justin Lamson 18–27 280 2–0 Bobcats rushing Car Yds TD Adam Jones 5 46 0 Justin Lamson 12 30 2 Julius Davis 5 23 0 Taco Dowler 1 22 1 Bobcats receiving Rec Yds TD Taco Dowler 8 111 1 Adam Jones 3 16 Chris Long 2 55 0 Jabez Woods 2 41 0 Dane Steel 2 41 1 Rocky Lencioni 1 16 0

References

1. "Crown the Cats: Two blocked kicks help Montana State to first FCS title since 1984". Daily Inter Lake. January 6, 2026. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
2. McKinnell, Zachary (January 5, 2026). "FCS National Championship: Montana State vs. Illinois State Preview & Prediction". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
3. "Montana State wins the 2025-26 FCS football National Championship". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved January 6, 2026.
4. Gray, Nick (January 5, 2026). "What channel is the FCS national championship game on today? Time, TV schedule to watch Montana State vs Illinois State". The Tennessean.
5. "2025 Division I FCS Football Official Bracket". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved December 21, 2025.
6. "Montana State tops Illinois State in wild FCS title game". ESPN.com. January 5, 2026. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
7. Cohn, Jaden (December 20, 2025). "ISU football makes history as Redbirds advance to national championship game". WGLT . Retrieved December 21, 2025.
8. Haley, Craig (December 15, 2025). "FCS Champions by Seed: From No. 1 to Unseeded in the Playoffs". Opta Analyst. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
9. "No. 3 Montana State comes through 31-28 over No. 2 Montana in Brawl of the Wild classic". Montana Sports. November 22, 2025. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
10. "Montana State wins Brawl rematch, advances to FCS national title with win over Montana". The Spokesman-Review . December 20, 2025. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
11. "ISU 34, MSU 35 - FINAL". Statbroadcast. January 5, 2026. Retrieved January 6, 2026.

Further reading

• Becton, Stan (December 29, 2025). "How Montana State and Illinois State reached the FCS national championship game". NCAA.org. Retrieved January 2, 2026.

External links

• Game statistics at statbroadcast.com
• Gamecast at ESPN.com