2021 NCAA FCS Championship Final - Montana State vs North Dakota State

go texas just north of dallas a championship will be awarded here this afternoon and these two teams and fan bases are so excited to be here the eight seed in the fcs playoff bracket the montana state bobcats up against the powerhouse the bison the number two seed from north dakota state how do these two teams get to this championship game well in the semifinals montana state was dominant against south dakota state north dakota state had to sweat one out against a very good jmu team to meet in this championship game hi everybody dave fleming jay walker stormy bonded tony is with us as well so it's steve shaw our rules analysts we're all expecting a terrific championship game it is an amazing atmosphere inside the fans are so ready for this one jay a surprise team in the bobcats no surprise that the bison are here again the formula really has not changed for this powerhouse program stout defense and a super powerful run game bison dude with bison dude this time here particularly that's what they do when you have the best offensive line in all of fcs football then you should have the ability to rush by committee that's why they average six yards per carry everybody is a threat when they're running behind this offensive line quarterback running back doesn't matter but they make their bread and butter off the power a gap running game we'll see how montana state can defend it today it will not be easy that's for sure so north dakota state they've won eight of the last 10 of these they've never lost a championship game everybody expects them to be here not many people expected the bobcats to be here how did they do it well they made a change at quarterback right before the playoffs began a true freshman who had never started a game has become a folk hero in montana tommy mulatto has been terrific yeah what a gutsy call by head coach brent vegan to make the change to start the playoff his first career start was in the playoff you have to over emphasize that well what does he bring to the table one he's playing over his head and he just doesn't care he's a fantastic athlete one of the fastest bobcats on this team he can catch the football from the quarterback position running is his strength and specialty and he's an above average passer with a calm cool composure that has really exceeded all expectations tommy mulatto if he keeps playing like he's playing right now he's the reason why the bobcats can pull off the upset today yeah we will see it's a huge challenge brent vegan first year as a montana state head coach and of course he played in north dakota state he was a long time assistant there won championships as his assistant with craig bowle he knows the program as well as anybody he's done a terrific job in bozeman third most wins in a first year in big sky history matt ants this is his third year as the head coach of the bison program in his first season 2019 undefeated 16-0 national champions two quality head coaches there you really have to appreciate the job that each of them has done and you have to think if somebody wants to knock off north dakota state here in frisco probably has to come from somebody that knows the program and that's brent vega now the people here in texas are saying man it's so cool it's 46 degrees a little drizzly the people from north dakota and montana think it's spring break they were in the pool yesterday amazing scene it is a heat wave and you can tell they are not affected by the weather and the conditions and you gonna see a lot of kids come out sleepless like you have the kicker right now but it's championship football buckle up they're gonna decide it on the field dave north dakota state one to toss the kicker slipped on the kickoff and the ball is gonna roll out of bounds so the bobcats get a little break they'll have good field position free kick out of bounds on the kicking team bali pledge at the 35-yard line first down montana state and we'll follow that story the turf is a little wet here this morning and this afternoon let's go down to stormy bonnetone dave i know all the talk this postseason offensively for montana state has been about touchdown tommy malott but their leader on that side of the ball all season long running back isaiah afonsey who missed the semifinal game a couple weeks ago dealing with chronic knee pain head coach brent vegan told us he is back today he's ready to go and in terms of touches it's still going to be limited they're going to see how he feels early on feel it out but they're really excited he's able to go today and begin it says a lot about who he is as a person and player to gut it out and be here with his teammates all right that's obviously a big part of the story for the bobcats offense right now it is their star wide receiver lance mccutchen and montana state does a lot of this different formations it's been a good formula with tommy mulatto the true freshman from butte who has become a hero in a short time in the state of montana he's going to run the ball and then fake the run and throw it to mccutcheon out of the backfield for a nice first play from scrimmage immediately into north dakota state territory love it they want to settle the kid down they want to run the football everybody knows that their run first set up a play action let the young freshman quarterback get a throw in early because you're going to need his arm at some point in the game good job of selling this lead block get rid of the football nice play call by taylor house wright the offensive coordinator that's 18 yards on the first play from scrimmage now if i say you heard stormy talking about him he is in the game for the first time until a lot's left and the lot's gonna run the ball on first down takes a big hit right at the line of scrimmage you talked about the run game in the open the north dakota state defense has been so good so for afonse from a lot just an enormous challenge to move the ball today yeah north dakota state wins the battle of trenches on the offensive side of the defensive side but give me a runner that's got over 1500 yards rushing if he can find a couple creases he doesn't need a lot of daylight but he can be a difference maker if he had that little window to explode a single season rushing record in the proud history of montana state football just underway this fcs championship game a lot play fake and he's going to step up and fake a pass sort of stumbling ahead he is no shy runner this young freshman is a tough guy when he's got the football fantastic decision making here young quarterbacks normally they panic they rush they hold on to it he's athletic was gonna go for the throw but decided positive yardage is all you need when you're a run base attack and already we're seeing the footing a little bit of an issue on this wet natural grass surface malat spins through the first tackle and gets the montana state first down i'm telling this this freshman he's not scared he is not running for contact he's playing his style of football making good decisions i'm really impressed with what i see from this young freshman going against obviously the toughest challenge in this young career had never started a game until the playoffs the passing numbers have been good he's protected the ball the rushing numbers have been spectacular he'll throw it here and completes it to mccutcheon again along the sideline for a positive first down game well that's not good he's he's limping a little bit and he's pointing to that calf i don't know what happened on that play but that is not good for the bobcats we'll see second down and a handoff straight ahead of fonseh [Applause] we know he's not afraid to go in and mix it up picking up the yard is it towards the end of it oh it's his ankle so he turned that ankle yeah he's really looking toward the sideline like you want me to tough it out keep going he's going to leave it all on the field but monitor that closely so now third and short this is where milot's running if he's healthy is such a weapon mccutchen leaves the backfield mulatt throws over the top and it is incomplete good coverage there it's fourth down yeah and you have to think if he's not limping they run the football with a little rpo option there but with him not having the ability to run you can tell he's really favoring that right ankle trying to protect it tough break for montana state in the middle of their opening drive wow that is a huge story on the first drive of this game and we'll see 45 yard field goal attempts so the bobcats going to try to get some points with blake bluster and they're faking it lester is gonna punt it so it was a fake field goal and a punt that goes for a touch back that did not work the way montana state wanted it to and and who knows maybe it was an option fake pass or punt the ball that is the story early in this game tommy malott can he get healthy for the rest of this one championship on the line in frisco dakota they share a border that doesn't mean these two campuses are really all that close in fact they're 755 miles apart and the fan bases have turned out in huge numbers coming a long way to north texas for this fcs championship game now the bison of north dakota state have the ball for the first time and a play fake for their young quarterback cam miller who's got a man open and he misses hunter lipke who had the huge game against jmu in the semi-final win that was an opportunity for the bison right away yeah and everybody knows where hunter lipke is going to be on the field cam miller came in took over starting quarterback duties around the middle of the season and he's had success keeping the running game going you see the completion percentage 68 passer on the year to go along with the powerful running game that's how the bison play offense maybe not as dramatically as tommy malott but he took over midway through the year as you're talking about so it's it's been a year of breakout for miller and now good defense from montana state christian watson who is playing today after missing the playoffs all the way through until this championship game slipped and went down for a loss you see coming around here kind of sliding a little jet sweep right there but great recognition by callahan o'reilly weak side linebacker this is a well scouted team what i mean by that is they're going to read their keys montana state with coach brett vegan knows we have to play assignment football good team defense third and 14. listen to how loud it is we're just a few minutes into this game miller throws and it is caught a leaping catch along the sideline by watson first down bison that's why you like having six foot five inch wide receiver he's the speed and the threat to get by you but look at him body up and catch this ball at its highest point before the safety comes over huge conversion for north dakota state that was good throw christian watson who's going to play at the nfl level and that is a very talented young man playing in his final game and finally healthy after missing the playoffs with a hamstring problem first down north dakota state the straight ahead run for turmeric williams for a short game meanwhile with tommy milan in the injury tent montana state's having a lease plan tucker roving who has a lot of playing experience he's won a lot of games he's played in the playoffs before so it's not like he's an inexperienced guy very different kind of player different offense too six foot five inch quarterback likes to throw it more than he likes to run it athletic enough but a lot's going to be the key now we'll see so tucker's got to get ready just in case second and seven miller with the play fake all kinds of time is gonna throw deep and incomplete trying to hit the tight end josh babich third down nicely throwing ball here give your tightening an opportunity to make the catch but puts one hand up instead of two tight ends aren't wide receivers you expect the ymc to come down with that ball with a tight end that radius for catch a little bit smaller not able to come up with it another third and long for the bison so you see number one in the huddle in fact he's going to line up in the backfield alongside the quarterback cam miller he had a monster game against montana state in the playoffs two years ago when these two teams met miller slips as he tries to scramble he's gonna get the first down and more the straight ahead quarterback run into montana state territory as a quarterback if you know your offensive line is not going to let you get hit all you have to do is find a running lane and the moment there was any type of daylight took off running right up the middle easy conversion on third down keeping the drive alive so far i mean it's early but the montana state pass rush which has been a huge part of their success tons of sacks and tackles for loss cam miller's had plenty of time can't get to him right now that's something to keep an eye on you're exactly right though under center and off right side and a lot of room there powerful running hunter lipke with a penalty flag thrown the do-it-all guy for this north dakota state offense [Music] this one may be coming back holding number 67 offense 10-yard penalty from the spot of foul replay first half pretty rare penalty against the true veteran not just of this team but you could say in the history of college football cordell volson the north dakota kid who today is playing his 65th career game as far as we can tell nobody's ever played that many in college football history yeah particularly north dakota state we know that but i think i just saw there's somebody coming back next year for a seventh year of college football next year so record may be in jeopardy when it ends they're coming for you cordell well holding negates the nice run now quincy patterson in for the first time the big powerful running quarterback who was the starter for the bison for the first part of the year that was a good gain on first and long it's something that you're seeing from north dakota state which i'll give them credit they normally don't do they normally win on first down to play ahead of the change but here their first down offense has been pretty bad they've had to play from behind but they showed the ability to convert on third and long miller back in the quarterback second down we'll pump fake and he's going to run again cam miller takes a big hit and in the area of troy anderson you got to be careful there anderson got a pop on cam miller the quarterback run game is a big part of this bison offense yeah they can get it in the end zone i'm impressed with the 11 touchdowns from the quarterback position you mentioned quincy patterson 6-3 250 pounds he's a load to bring down and cam miller a little bit more shifty as a runner he comes in for this third and long four maybe five for madden's team first quarter of this fcs championship game patterson will fake it to williams and patterson with all kinds of room down the left side there goes patterson inside the 10 and finally pushed out of bounds at about the eighth it'll be first and goal just talked about the production of the running game at the quarterback position and right on cue quincy patterson q patterson delivers great decision in the run game once you see those two white jerseys peak in the backfield it becomes a foot race to the outside great job by the tight end number 81 josh babachik getting there and look at this this close to being a touchdown but good effort to stop him just short of the end zone that was 34 yards the bison are three for three on third down already on their first drive little pitch play broken tackle touchdown hunter lipke just knocking bobcats down [Applause] what a first drive high formation they know lippy's gonna get the ball the bobcat defense was aware of that but they still could not bring him down the offensive line for north dakota state showing why they are the best offensive unit in fcs football impressive drive 11 plays 80 yards and remember that first conversion on third and 14 [Applause] to start the drive and it ends up in the end zone yeah they expect to be here that doesn't mean they don't enjoy it every time they are undefeated in their championship game history and off to a great start the bison with a 7-0 lead [Music] big story on the montana state side is the true freshman quarterback tommy malott and his ankle went down in the first drive has been in the injury tent for a long time he's out of the tent now north dakota state meanwhile goes down the field and scores a touchdown on their first drive matt mckay was the starter for the first 11 games the full regular season the coaching staff decided to make a change heading into the playoffs mckay entered the transfer portal two days before montana state's first playoff game tommy milano never started a game he's 3-0 in the playoffs he's been spectacular but now he's banged up and what you have to tell yourself is can he protect himself he's a running quarterback can he protect himself with an ankle that looks like it's 50 i would say no but you also have to flip it to script and say you know what we won with another quarterback that went 9-2 brought in another quarterback they went 3-0 so tell yourself it's the system not the individual player to keep the confidence of the rest of the team a short kickoff returnable for the bobcats we're going to cut it up field and get out past the 30. so that's a good return for elijah elliot and we saw him a lot go back into the tent again just a moment ago right as that kickoff was starting so no matt mckay who played so much of the year he went into the transfer portal as we told you so it's tucker roving the junior who has played a lot of games he's won 18 games in his montana state career so he's not inexperienced stuck around despite losing the job coming into this season and he will hand the ball off right side and fonsey trying to bounce it's so tough to do and he goes down dawson weber with the tackle for loss you know as an offense in the running game with field conditions going deteriorating quickly you don't want to run sideline the sideline they get you running sideways and all of a sudden look at the yellow jerseys swarming around the football a second and long and fancy in the backfield and now movement bison are convinced that montana state moved and i think they did backup quarterback comes into the game sounds a little bit different with the cadence or the count throw that in there along with a little crowd noise over on that right hash close to the north dakota state sideline they're hearing it right now straight ahead run and say nice broken tackle he puts a big pop on man we saw lipki do it on the other side now if fonzay shows you why he's the single season rushing record in montana state history this is the effort you need when your starting quarterback is out make a great individual play keep the balance keep the legs churning some help with the offensive line with lewis kidd number 76 help him keep his balance but that's the type of effort you're going to need for the rest of this football game if you want to have a chance to beat north dakota state and a bison player is down man that was a tough guy run so while they attend to that player we will take our break and come back for third and four in the first quarter right after this and the bobcats of montana state their starting quarterback tommy mulatto still on the sideline that right ankle injury on a really impressive first drive for the bobcats he went down and that's big news and not good news for the number 18 trying to pull the upset in this fcs championship game big play here with tucker roving on the field third and five justin talbert the player was down for north dakota state did get up and walk off the field play fake grovig throws and a nice catch up ended nate stewart hung on to the football for a first down conversion way to climb the ladder by nate stewart the transfer from akron a little slip screen and you see him go up balls high it gives up his body knows he's gonna get undercut still holds on for the huge play roving throws and incomplete here intended for mccutcheon on first and ten it's gonna take a little while for rovick to get some tempo and pace going in this game on the previous play to nate stewart ball was delivered a little bit late then you need to have for game time speed then trying to throw the out route i'd like to see them give him a couple of easy throws crossing routes hitch routes easy throws completions so he can set up some type of rhythm in the passing game you saw those numbers all the experience from previous years he has not played very much this season second at ten wayne sumner alongside in the backfield roving now designed quarterback run for him and look at roving go first down and much more to the sideline and ducking out of bounds 19 yards how about the right side of that offensive line clearing out space winning their battles good job by tuiasa sopo number 51 the right guard with a nice b gap running lane to run through roving showing some speed for the six foot five inch quarterback taylor tui yasasopo who when he was being recruited by montana state said the only montana i know anything about is joe montana and yet he's had a great career for the bobcats roving this time gets spun to the ground and tackled by jasir cox well coverage of the ncaa men's and women's indoor track and field championships begin on march 13th in birmingham alabama you can catch the championship on espnu the espn app you can also visit ncaa.com the home for all 90 ncaa championships [Applause] first quarter bobcats trail 7-0 on the move here in this fcs championship game first time that montana state has played for a national title since 1984. they've waited a long time to get here [Applause] roving gonna run again and picking his way forward he'll get wrestled down jackson and panky led the way it'll be third down the bison of course are just about annual participants in this game and they've never lost it's their ninth fcs championship game since 2011. they're 8-0 in their first eight trips looking for their ninth title which would add to their record meanwhile first championship appearance since 1984. how about this montana state one of the few programs in america to win a conference championship national championship at three different levels naia division two and fcs or one double a very proud history play fake on third down and the ball is batted down knocked away and that's hanky again who's the do everything middle linebacker he makes a tackle on second down on third down he knocks the ball down the true north dakota kid former walk-on that's always proven himself overachiever good job of reading the quarterback's eyes and then elevating to get that back down to force the field goal attempt that's two big third down stops for the bison defense on the first two montana state drives this will be a 43-yard field goal try and we'll see if they actually try it this time with blake blessner the footing has been a bit of an issue that kick is on the way and it is no good he missed it wide to the right so i think two pretty good drives and what does brent vegan's team have to show for it no points donut zero and got to be disappointing because they move the football they've crossed midfield every time they've gotten some fantastic individual efforts but give credit to that defense for north dakota state with their defensive coordinator david braun bend but don't break matt vince has to be proud of the job that his defense is doing keeping him off the board it's championship football one key play here or there to determine what we see for this outcome so the big tight ends in motion bison get the ball back leading seven nothing and they'll hand it off straight ahead run the power football of ndsu tameric williams [Applause] [Music] a gap power football right that's it that's what they call it everybody knows it's coming number 47. there'll be some power football in that national championship game at the fbs level on monday night presented by a t 8 eastern georgia alabama maybe not a gap power at least a lot of it [Music] look at this they're lining up you give them a seven point lead now north dakota state's gonna make you feel their muscle a little bit and try and gain control of this football game miller in the pocket on second down throws wide open christian watson gets tackled at midfield first down bison they are so happy to have him back man how does that happen i mean the number one offensive weapon for north dakota state was open by 10 yards in the flat route no secondary defender around him easy throw easy catch that's stealing and maybe the highlight he's had a lot of highlights in his career maybe the highlight of his career was against montana state in the playoffs two years ago back-to-back plays from scrimmage 70-plus yards for touchdowns back-to-back plays bobcats people have never forgotten that and he's got the speed to do a difference maker that could absolutely burn here's lipki and he's got a huge hole lefke first down and more making his presence felt okada got him to the grass great kickout block by the fullback we know that lipki plays full back but when they bring in logan hofstede he does a fantastic job with the kickout block coming around there wham that's that lamb block right there springs him that allows lipke to pick up big yardage well you call them the best offensive line in the fcs i don't think there's any doubt about that did you believe me did you think i was lying to you you know the one thing is early in the year they weren't quite playing as well as they expected here's a straight ahead run and another big game this time williams where are they running the ball up the a gap they tell you it's a power that means they're going to run the ball behind the center in between the guards and we're seeing them show that you don't know which direction it's coming but you know it's coming and until you can defend that the north dakota state will absolutely manhandle you already 105 rush yards in the first quarter for the bison final minute of quarter number one lipki in the backfield takes the handoff and he is just carrying defenders with him he gets the first down and this is no surprise this is where the bison could be born at times you talk to the other team they say well number 44 is in the backfield in eye position he's going to get the football but you still can't stop i mean that's giving you a head start saying okay lipki's in the game he's in the backfield you can crowd the box if you want to stop it but this offensive line and his power running game too much to deal with right now for montana state in a way it's sort of the theme of this dynasty they swing one out quickly to watson and there's the burst who knows he might have gotten to the end zone if not for that slip it's a gain of eight maybe nine they call him scoop for a reason family nickname for him was scoop scooter and you saw him turn on the jets in a hurry explosive speed with a phenomenal football talent it's a long way from tampa to fargo but he has thrived with the bison who are looking for fcs championship number nine here today in frisco end of quarter number one they've got a seven nothing lead well the big story so far as we start quarter number two in frisco texas this mcs championship game the young star tommy malone hurt on the bobcats first drive of the game tucker robins actually made some nice plays the backup quarterback coming in the ground game for north dakota state has been unstoppable on the bison as we start quarter number two that first or second down at short lipke untouched his second touchdown let's repeat the scouting report where monolith is in i formation he's going to get the football but the offensive line does such a great job and you see the all-american linebacker troy anderson over pursues lipke with one cut gets into the end zone untouched bison [Music] up early seven plays 74 yards after an 11 play 80 80-yard drive when they first had it and right now that ground game just looks to be unstoppable for north dakota state the guy was the star in the semifinal win against jmu the north dakota state coaches almost told us you know we we kind of hit him this year we didn't use him a lot we got criticized for that a little bit it's time to unveil the secret weapon hunter lipke has been great secret weapon but when i talked to the defensive coordinator freddie jones freddie banks from montana state he knew lipke was a key guy component but it always goes down to that toughness you know when you talk to maddens about north dakota state bison football he said we owe it to this program to always have the best offensive line in fcs football for the next 50 years that's what they're built on and they build the pieces around it and when you add a talent like lipke six one 240 pound full back with moves like a running back you can see why the bison have so much success yeah and montana states had two good drives already in this game but have been stopped on third down both times right in that sort of no man's land of long field goal go forward punt with milot healthy they probably would have gone for it both times and instead they've come away with nothing so they are in a big hole in this championship game [Music] for the impressive side it is every year to see the bison take over frisco texas out of their fans jay booked the trip here before the season even starts they are very confident group and why not short kick off fair catch so if you're just joining us the true freshman from butte who's become such a sensation has led montana state to this championship game on a nice run that right ankle got twisted and he clearly was hurting he's been in the injury tent for a long time they've taped it up he's been trying to trying to work it out let's go down to stormy for an update on tommy well tommy now has the blue hat his head set on but he's been doing everything he possibly could to get back involved in this game whether it was doing drills cutting getting on the bike pacing the sideline but obviously not in there right now but he has been the number one support system on the sideline as well after roving came off on the last drive he was supporting him hyping him up saying let's go to everybody down here which doesn't surprise me at least one bit based on what the coaches have told us about him this week his emotional maturity and intelligence guys yeah this is what storm he's talking about quarterback quarterback you have to be a leader you have to understand the game and it's bigger than you it's about the team and the programming young man's just a freshman but mature beyond his years second down and seven afonsei straight ahead it'll be third doubts tough guys state montana and tommy malott comes from the tough guy town in the tough guy state butte they called butte america up there in montana and so you know that he's really hurting if he's not on the field he's compromised now third and four tucker roving capable but the game plan changes with him it's a different skill set [Applause] takes the snap and throws that'll be complete nice pass on the left side line to jaden smith for bobcats first down and to give credit you know to the the scheme they've got here the throws are there the plays are there they've got the right play calls to have some success they just need to make sure roving can go out there and execute to finish off a couple of these drives where they've moved the ball all game and they have five first downs bison have seven north dakota state thought that the bobcats moved up front first and ten and the play fake grovig trying to get to the outside just well defended [Applause] [Music] and that's sort of what i'm talking about tommy mulatto in the open field might be montana state's fastest player he has dominated in these playoffs running the ball for the quarterback position roving just he's just a different guy yeah i think what you saw there was a difference in having a 4 4 40 yard dash quarterback and a 4-6 guy you know doesn't seem like a lot that little point to but it's a huge difference on the football field [Applause] play fake on second and eight and that's short completion now to willie patterson across the 40 it'll be third down number 11. another opportunity to get to third and manageable third and four yards gives you an opportunity to not have to become overly aggressive with your play selection they've got infonza in the background backfield he could become a threat coming out in the passing game as well spreading them out right now they must protect the quarterback they like to find one-on-one match-ups and throw the 50-50 ball to lance mcclutchen if they can get that matchup being pressured throws well his receiver got shoved out of bounds jaden smith was on the north dakota state sideline nowhere to be found it's fourth down [Applause] [Applause] bryce layton who has done a nice job as the punter for the bobcats help montana state control field position their semifinal win against south dakota state punch for the first time fair catch right around the 25-yard line that's where this powerful run game of the bison will take over again north dakota state leading 14-nothing [Applause] national championship in indianapolis on monday presented by atnt and we know who it is georgia alabama coverage all day but the game at eight eastern on espn it'll stream live on the app we have lots of different ways for you to take in the national championship game the big question is for georgia can it be different than the sec championship you know you almost feel like alabama's like north dakota state it's going to be hard to go against alabama in a national championship with saban nice run stop by daniel hardy and the bobcats there is a real parallel i think between north dakota state and alabama and what they do at their respective levels the sec championship was not much of a contest they dominate and the bigger the game the more relaxed they play they start to inflict their will on you that's what alabama does bryce young phenomenal year heisman trophy but georgia you got to say hey did you learn something it's all about everybody's going to have a loss how do you rebound from that loss and i will give credit to the bulldogs they look very impressive in their playoff victory second down and law and a run straight ahead and squirting through colby johnson there he goes johnson with watson leading the way touchdown 76 yards wow [Applause] the break we said this was the most important defensive series that montana state was going to face and they failed i mean this right here you have an opportunity to bottle them up they lose track of where the ball carries callahan o'reilly could not spot johnson and kobe johnson does the rest with watson acting as an escort to the end zone that offensive line is just dominating so far extra point is up and good 195 rushing yards already for north dakota state we got 11 minutes to go in the second quarter kobe johnson 76 yards and a three-score bison league [Music] north dakota state and alabama i mean the bison have built a true dynasty eight fcs titles since 2011. they played in eight of these games before today they've won all eight of them craig bowles sort of got him started with three of those titles went to wyoming chris kleiman did a great job he won four championships in fargo and he goes to kansas state now matt ends has taken over looking for his second he won his first in 2019 with trey lance alongside it is a dynasty yeah one of the things you look at it the different coaching styles that they had i remember when craig bull was emerging with that program they had a quarterback named brock jensen who was a tough grind home guy and then they added the star power the trey lance the carson wentz guys of that nature one thing is a concept that offensive line has been great and the fan base is tremendous they expect to win championships in fargo sumner returning this kick outside the 25 the return game's been pretty good for the bobcats so far let's go down to stormy well dave when you say their fans expect it they certainly do a number of them get their tickets and slice to frisco in august but as a team they intentionally don't talk about their former championships here head coach matt and said they don't let the players wear national championship clothing in the weight room or in the facility they don't dwell on the past the focus is always forward and to next year and about this year's opportunity to advance the program you know stormy they always say that but i think deep down you have to expect to go there you don't want to be that team that did not win the championship roving across the middle and it's intercepted dawson weber's having a big game and that's a bobcats turnover it's all bison right now [Applause] this throw just looks like it gets away from him here fakes the pitch and supposed to didn't just misfires great job by dawson weber reading the keys and things just not going well for montana state in this first half and tucker rovin has to find a way to get it together to give this team a chance to try and get back in this football game we did get a penalty and i'm assuming it's some sort of celebration penalty good officiating crew here this afternoon for this championship game led by the referee nolan dumas [Music] we also have steve shaw with us here in the booth our rules expert so they're talking about this down on the field steve yeah they're really looking at the numbers here they're trying to get help to get all the numbers of a group of players on the field with an interception after the play was over unsportsmanlike conduct number two defense it's a 15 yard penalty from the dead ball spot the first down is 10 to north dakota state that is number two's first unsportsmanlike conduct foul of the game so they went with the player that was leading it there was a whole group that went down there very difficult to pick up all the numbers so they went with the leader that's why i want to know steve if if i get the interception i run down to the end zone i'm not responsible for who comes with me well it could have been on that entire group but that's difficult to get all those numbers sometimes but now if number two gets another unsportsmanlike penalty he is ejected from the game yeah that'd be tough one he was the guy that got the interception so nitpicking a little bit but tough one 21 to nothing the ground game has been unstoppable that's lipki who's already got two rushing touchdowns he hadn't done that all season and he's had two rushing touchdowns in the first half here today it's probably the wrong term to call him a secret weapon because he's not a secret we know he's one of their very fast players but sometimes i think north dakota state fans this year felt like a little underutilized they spread the ball around so judiciously so democratically in this offense sometimes i think they want let's get the ball to number 44 a little more you know you don't say this normally with a running back particularly somebody like him but you have to have his low management he's not running away from contact so you don't need him getting 25 power carries a game he'll throw out into the flat what a catch by kobe johnson who had the great touchdown run that was a spectacular catch for a short game you know what's missing right here we talk about lipke and everything else but running back by committee but the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield that was a tremendous catch by kobe johnson that ball easy could have been batted in the air and would have been an interception by eric zimbrono number one who was in the vicinity good play by kobe johnson third down has been no problem for ndsu in this first half they give it to lipke lipke will go down this time that was a good tackle from the bobcats o'reilly i think been one of the standouts in the first half for montana state you'll see number 47 with the pursuit angle he lost kobe johnson earlier but this time realizes he has to have the momentum cannot let forward progress get to the first down yardage and finally montana state defense makes a stop and forces a punt [Applause] surprise they're punting the ball away on fourth and two from midfield but up three touchdowns don't want to give i guess montana state any reason to have some hope and their defense has been so good so the bobcats offense will come back on the field meanwhile we've got to remind you our week 18 nfl double header is coming up later today we got two games for you on espn chief broncos at 4 15 eastern then cowboys eagles at eight eastern tonight on abc espn espn plus espn deportes our nfl countdown coverage begins at 3 eastern noon pacific so the offense from montana state back on the field without their young star true freshman quarterback tommy malott ankle injury on the first series of the game it's changed this whole championship game yeah they lose speed in the pocket [Applause] they're going to have that little it factor right there in the quarterback back up tucker rovix come in and completed a couple throws but it's just such a difference offensive mindset when you've got a 6'5 more of a pocket passer compared to a lot who's the six foot running quarterback first you know the the whole story of the offense this year for montana state it was not their their team was led by defense they had a great defensive year the offense was inconsistent and that led to the quarterback change leading into the playoffs and their offense has been so much better in the three playoff games with moat leading the way and on fan that's sumner just nowhere to go and i think we're seeing what a difference malat has been you know the offense although they were nine and two before malawi started offense was always suspect he comes take over and all of a sudden the offense is potent and they're winning games putting more points on the board because they really you see that graphic there they've won their playoff games by two touchdowns plus all three of them now a movement along the right side of the line as roving was trying to make a call number 72 offense five yard penalty still third down tj session the right tackle and i tell you brent vegan just wants this first half to be over with so he can get in the locker room and try and regroup come up with another game plan be careful right here this is dangerous territory an incomplete pass is not the worst thing that can happen to you right now through montana state rovig will throw and it is going to be caught how about that lance mccutcher the big play guy for a first down who saw this coming here a little bit too soft on the outside you have to reroute the wide receiver you cannot that's destin talbert who we're good to see back in the game but you have to reroute the wide receiver cannot give him a free release big play for the bobcats now roving is going to run on first down goes down but got positive yardage now a north dakota state player is hurting that's their star safety first team all-american michael tutsi who's been a huge part of this program do you feel like you're finally starting to see a little life a little energy ever since the lot injury coming from montana state with that big completion yeah they need it hopefully tutsi's okay we'll step aside still in the first half of this fcs championship game for montana state in this first half it's been all bizarre coming up at halftime championship game media day why georgia and alabama each can feel confident heading into the national championship game on monday night i think it's joe tess and jesse palmer and roman harper are going to be with you at halftime [Music] no tommy malott for the bobcats so tucker roving played a lot of football for montana state bobcats have not been shut out in the first half all year trying to get down the field and put some points on the board before halftime here today consecutive good plays for the bockhead offense the third down conversion and picked up five yards on first down showing some signs of life and the crowd is trying to get behind them straight ahead man he is a tough tough running back it was amazing during the break montana state fans were making so much noise nothing's gone right for them their first championship game since 1984. the folks from montana are so happy to be here and they're trying you couldn't tell they were down by 21 points they're trying to encourage their boys out there on the field showing some fighting now some signs of life they're starting to get some consecutive plays maybe the team is feeding off the energy brought by the bobcat fan base lafontaine got just enough for a bobcat first down near midfield play clock all the way down to one play fake and down the left sideline it is incomplete knocked away at the last moment [Applause] i think that was destined talbert who this would not qualify as his most spectacular play in the playoffs but it's still pretty good and maybe mccutchen just dropped it the nicely thrown ball from roving give credit this is the ball where you want your big wide receiver to come up to him hit him in that left bicep albert able to disrupt just enough to force the incompletion but you got to watch mccutcheon the six foot three inch 200 pound senior out of bozeman montana he had 1100 receiving yards this year for a team that didn't throw the ball that much another play fake they're going down the sideline again and this one is knocked away incomplete more good coverage and mccutchen had another opportunity this time montana state fans thought there should have been a flag [Music] when they get one-on-one match-ups they believe in going for it they think they've got a chance of converting not much content you got to make that catch this is the championship you're a senior this is the championship game you've got a backup quarterback there i don't need you to be average i need you to be above average to great you're the go-to wide receiver consecutive plays we thought he had an opportunity to make a big play not able to convert got to make one of those down 21-nothing it's third and 10. pressure comes real big throws and it's incomplete stewart the intended receiver fourth down and i like that play call by the defense of north dakota state quarterback's starting to get into a rhythm he's a backup bring a blitz see if he knows his protection and i think by the pressure coming that forced rovit to get rid of that ball quicker he had a nice pocket there but a little bit antsy got rid of the quick incompletion forced the punt those two plays down the field oh those were opportunities absolutely nicely thrown passes but no help from the supporting cast fair catch and a little bobble there by jayden price at about the 15 yard line 37 yards fun the bison run game you said it right at the top it's been awesome yeah running back by committee you know they want to run the ball up the middle you saw lipke there showing the power he's had a tremendous first half you know he's going to get the ball but how about this they give it to kobe johnson play design to be run up the a gap bounce outside gets it to the end zone for a huge play that was really a dagger in this part of the defense for montana state they're coming to herd there they are that offensive line led by cordell volson but they got a lot of studs up front i mean it's almost unfair you know when i go through the practice and the walkthrough this is the biggest fcs football team i've seen i mean they are big like fbs teams you talk about cordell volsa he's your right tackle he's six seven 313 pounds and then you go to the left side with cody mock he's 6-6-301 those are your tackles those are your bookends i mean big number 70 with the red air flow on cody machi you're talking about they also told us oh as an aside you know he's big he's strong he's tough he's missing his two front teeth missing his two front teeth a former tight end that they bulked up to become a dominating left tackle patterson in the game at quarterback and he will keep it left side uses the stiff arm penalty flag thrown face mask offensive face mask [Applause] seems to me like quincy patterson grabbed the defenders coming up to make the tackle and held on to the face mask [Applause] number two offense that penalty is half the distance to the goal from the end of the run replay second down [Music] all right so repeat that again steve so the offensive player is allowed to put his hand on the mask and push but if he grass twist and turn which you see there he's pulling that thing down that's a good call that's an offensive face mask i agree with that right there dang it's all about player safety you have to protect the defensive players as well quincy patterson there with a little tug and twist so now second and 12. and miller back in they throw the pass get a block on the outside and get some positive yards and then a collision on the sideline man hopefully all right over there and that play should not have had the success it had but eric zimbron on the cornerback took an inside pursuit angle gave up outside contain allowed them to make a little bit more third manageable [Applause] patterson back in interesting how they're doing that i think they're trying to set him up right now you think patterson's coming in they're gonna run the football with him there don't be surprised they do a little two-man rpo game with the pass option as well patterson instead straight ahead power football still going and he's going to get the first down man so hard to bring down and that offensive line once again i mean they have the courage to say you know what it's third and six we can get behind the horses up front add a 250 pound quarterback to go to 240 pound hybrid backing lip key and just move the pile the old-fashioned way four or five on third down and you're right that was third and six no problem just run the ball fully confident they're gonna get it williams in the backfield and he slipped so miller slips montana state got a little help from the turf daniel hardy ended up helping make the play there a loss of a couple yards it looked like a little bit not miscommunication but they slipped and we talked about the field conditions are deteriorating this is a natural grass surface here it's been misty and there are just clogs of dirt piles all over this field we've seen a lot of players lose their footing and that's why north dakota state probably has the lead because they don't try to run wide they're trying to run in between the tackles less cutting involved miller scrambling and now he's going to be tackled hardy who piled up the sack numbers this year's had a pretty quiet first half that won't go as a sack but still a good play you need to call his name because believe it or not when you talk about montana state their scouting report the strength of this team is their defensive line andre williams daniel hardy chase benson but we have not called their names today because the bison offensive line has been winning those battles third and long final two minutes of this first half miller steps up he's going to throw and he's got his man complete for another conversion on third down that's babbage the tight end and the offensive line given having protection enough time for a good job with pocket presence to step up keep his head envisioned downfield and find babbage come open late for another third down conversion babbage has done a nice job sort of stepping in noah jindorff was a very good receiving tight end who's got a chance to play and the nfl got hurt late in the year he's out for the rest of this year he's going to come back and play another year in fargo they're going to pitch it back to miller from lipke he throws everybody slipping and incomplete well josh stuffle another one of those tight ends let you know how how big they are stuff run is six for 245 pounds he's the smallest height than they have so you talk about losing gender food 66260 then you bring in babbitt who's 6-6-255 who's had an impact in scuffle the smaller tight end but it's a big football team in america i'm telling you if you've never seen the bison play before and in person they're even more impressive patterson in at quarterback he'll fake it with lipki leading the way as a blocker man he can do it all you'll see lipke come across the formation number 44. once he gets his hands on you right there the quarterback has the option to go inside or outside trey webb number two the safety for montana state kind of got out of the way of quincy patterson would not be shocked if he saw some form of that play again with the success they had so 58 rush yards for patterson now 219 first half rushing yards for ndsu here comes lifty patterson with more blocks there goes patterson quincy patterson inside the 30. [Music] montana state just can't stop it yeah where are the linebackers they're doing run stuffing blitzes and they're not accounting for the quarterback in the running game where are the linebackers you're relying on your safeties and secondary defenders to make tackles 10 yards downfield miscommunication or better yet tremendous execution by the offensive line of north dakota state troy anderson one of the all-time true all-time great montana state players having a hard time making an impact on this game miller fakes the run then was going to throw didn't have anybody open he buys some time there's sanderson yeah he heard you talking about him there and came over and delivered a lot out of frustration there you see he got there in a hurry but i really like troy anderson first charge because he comes in there like a missile pound linebacker they say he is the fastest person on this montana state football team [Music] bobcats have not had a player drafted since 2016. it's been a while he's going that streak is going to he's going to be drafted now they've stopped play here and i believe they're taking a look at this for a potential targeting we've got steve shaw in the booth with us the national coordinator of officials our rules analysts here today for this fcs championship game steve what'd you think so what you're looking at is the receiver the first thing you have to find out is the receiver defenseless and he's turning it upfield and if he's not defenseless then it would only be a crown of the helmet hit um if you deemed him defenseless you know there you could see it as targeting so what replay is looking at is do they feel like this player transitioned to a runner and if he transitioned to a runner clearly this is not you know and the football player me says troy anderson 6-4 five roger nelson is five eight one seventy you have to go low to make contact you have to i thought he did a good job of keeping his head up and running through the tackle [Music] well it is it's a big question do you think that the the receiver runner was defenseless or not that may ultimately be the toughest part of making this call it is and and what the rule book says is when in question we make them defenseless the question you're looking at is you see the receiver turn up field can he defend himself and he's really in that transition of he's starting to lower his body to defend himself so this is a tough one for the replay official if you made him defenseless it could be targeting but you know i think here well we'll see what replay does with it but you know the question is now can he defend himself and he's trying to come through with the shoulder i think troy anderson tried to come through with his shoulder had to lower his pad level to make contact what do you see i'm putting you on the spot yeah i think that you know this is not classical targeting in any aspect but if you made him defensive let's see what the referee has second down so no targeting i think that was the right call you know it's a difficult play but you really didn't see a launch or an attack so i think this is a good job by the replay official take a look at it there's no place for sentiment i mean the replay officials aren't allowed to use a motion or that would be a truly lousy way for the career of one of the all-time greats to come to an end so personally i'm glad it's not true wow yeah i didn't think about that that close to having his career in right there yeah on a football play i mean i'm a tall guy i know what it's like to get leverage and have to drop the shoulder pad level let's see if he's got a couple more plays like that in him a guy who's been a star running back an all-american quarterback a defensive player of the year linebacker in his montana state career straight ahead run for the quarterback cam miller well the bison got a first down they're inside the 20. on the move at the end of this first half under a minute to go with all their timeouts so the clock should not be a factor here what a first half performance for lipke for north dakota state i mean they just can't tackle him yeah call timeout right now maybe after picking up another successful run running behind jalen sundell and those guards nash jensen jake kubis can't say enough about this you know the ball is coming between the guards but they move the pile and keep the legs going forward lean a load to bring down this is a rushing clinic on display by north dakota state on this play and just about every play that they've run in the first half i mean even this you don't call this two-minute offense it's like five-minute offense 13 plays they've already gone 79 yards [Music] for years what they've always done is they make the little things look easy if it's third and two you always knew they were going to convert if it's fourth and one they always convert they don't hurt themselves but i go back to that opening series when they overcame third and long with some key passes to keep that drive alive and to take the lead early they had the feeling it was kind of the bison type of day the second or two miller the quarterback leaves the backfield they direct snap it to lipke lipke touchdown his third of this championship game [Applause] when hunter lipke is in the game in the i-4 major position the a position they get him the football and this time you've got two lead blockers there shows the patience and now it's all about shoulder pad level and the will to get into the end zone and oh yeah give me a little buck kick i don't know what that was but he's a celebration he's had three different he worked on his celebration game because he scored three touchdowns already and he's had three different celebrations a kid who doesn't say much but obviously has a passion for the game well i mean nice patient there then gets little the great runners are going to sniff that end zone now somebody from the bison nation tell me what is this right here [Laughter] i'm a city boy i don't know but i bet you somebody out there in fargo can give me a definition of what that was [Applause] they'll be imitating that as soon as they get back home you see the youngsters like that kind of goes back to what cordell volson told us growing up his whole life i always wanted to be nothing but a bison for north dakota state they breed them up there in that part of north dakota and lipke who's from a small town in wisconsin was a state champion wrestler was a center fielder all-state baseball player football player sort of do everything kid crossed over into north dakota to play for north dakota state has become a star so another one of these sort of designed shorter kickoffs and summer is going to return with a half minute now less to go in the first half a first half that has been dominated by north dakota state and unfortunately for montana state fans they must be having some flashbacks because the last two meetings in the playoffs really the last three meetings but the last two times montana state was in the playoffs they got walloped in 2018 it was a little closer than the score indicated in 2019 still a lopsided final score it's happening again here today yeah in this case you have to say what if there'll be a big asterisk next to this one because if a lot would have stayed healthy you have to think this game would be a lot more competitive than what we've seen i mean i have no doubt their beats for the points on the board almost intercepted by destin talbert who became a hero after the semifinal clinching interception against jmu almost had one here in the championship game and it's time to take a knee and get to the locker room if you're montana state 21 seconds left you're down by 28. i think you need to regroup and find a way to motivate this team a little bit i wouldn't be in a hurry to throw the ball right now i want to kind to take my chances in the second half i think i'm with you even though they're down four touchdowns they swing that one out for a very short game to elijah elliott out of the backfield you know let's not underestimate the job that brent vegan has done there i thought he was a strong candidate to be a national coach of the year first year coaching the wildcats first full year but that look sort of says it all about how today is going yeah yeah it's one of those days but opening loss to wyoming and then lost to montana but i think the job he did after they lost the last game of the season to their in-state rival montana able to have the run that they had to make it here to frisco is impressive well you mentioned at the guts to make a quarterback change leading into the playoffs roving kind of heaves one up incomplete with pressure on it's fourth down with 12 seconds to go until halftime i mean that i know tommy mulatto impressed everybody all year he got some chances to play wildcat quarterback had been a great practice player it's still you're going into the playoffs as the number eight overall seed with a buy earned and you still decide we got to make this quarterback change that takes some courage he's a better man than me because i don't think i would have done it yet almost hard to justify i mean you're a national seed in the postseason with the top eight teams in the country and you're gonna change your quarterback to go with the true freshman let you know he had a good pulse with his team yeah and he he was vindicated right away i mean obviously it was the right move another montana state punt with six seconds to go until halftime and the what if game for the bobcats tommy they've tried everything he was in the injury tent for a long time he was running up and down he was on the bike we heard stormy tell us all the things he was trying to do to see if he could get that right ankle loose just couldn't do it you know i saw in the lobby hotel that came by i'm talking about quarterbacks at montana state and i did not know he was a quarterback there dennis erickson overhead coach for the kings he flew in town that's how badly these bobcat fans have been waiting to get this opportunity so many former players here and you know they're discouraged it is tough going up against the bison dynasty vegan and group regroup and the halftime locker room not going to be easy down 28 nothing and north dakota state gets the ball when we start the second half first let's go down to stormy well coach hart described a much better start for your group what's allowed them to dictate play on both sides well we've been able to run the football pretty effectively we've been able to get quincy in the run game with our quarterbacks camp's made some big hits as far as he's just being efficient with the football right now and then defensively we've been able to get some big stops a little fresher you know we missed a third down uh conversion down here third and short we gave up a big third long and a silly penalty but otherwise we're playing a relatively clean game right now i know the mission isn't accomplished just yet how do you maintain that edge in the next half we'll we'll find a way you know that's that's a motivated group in that locker room and so i don't think there'll be a problem with the energy coming out second half thank you thank you matt thank you stormy i don't doubt that they will find a way to keep the edge two quarters away from another fcs championship hunter lipky and company event dominant after the break joe roman and jesse at the studio halftime report [Music] start the second half and the powerhouse bison of north dakota state what a performance in the first that the quarterback injury for the bobcats obviously a big part of the story but the rushing attack in particular jay for north dakota state was so impressive yeah you really can't take anything away from them even though montana state does not have the ability to score points they would have been a track meeting the north north dakota state offense came out on fire established dominance on the line of scrimmage ran the football effectively when needed impressive performance for mountain squads oh tommy milot's injury on the very first series of the game the freshman who transformed the montana state offense and his ankle he's got the helmet on but you and i just watched him for a few minutes on the sideline i think it's unlikely we're going to see him back in the game yeah you have to think they have to protect him and i don't think he can defend himself out there on the football field with his style of play so i would be shocked if we saw him touch the field in the second half which is tough for the bobcats kickoff is going to go out of bounds so that will draw a penalty flag on the kickoff freaking out of bounds on the kicking team the ball be played hey fleming jay walker stormy bonnett tony great to have you back with us here i you know whatever you think about the quarterback injury and how that impacted montana state it's just so impressive every time the bison are here in this spot in the biggest games they play like this yeah i think we see why they're undefeated undefeated when they come down here to frisco texas dominant they play better the bigger the stage of platform that they're on it's been very impressive i think america's seeing why north dakota state has won those eight fcs national championships and they're on their way to a ninth they're using both quarterbacks they're using their full backs and running backs the whole playbook has been there and it's all been successful quincy patterson on the first play from scrimmage of this second half let's go down to stormy well dave montana state head coach brent vegan talked to me during the break and he said yes we faced a lot of adversity losing tommy but we are not going to lay down we need to get some stops and defensively he said we've relied on this group all season long they weren't themselves in this first half and we need to see them turn it around so that's what he's hoping for a better defensive effort obviously that 268 yards on the ground and four touchdowns was not cutting it for that group for a defense statistically that's been outstanding [Applause] flipkey got dragged down right before he got to the first down mark by troy anderson i mean how big is this and we heard stormy give you the numbers almost 270 yards rushing in the first half montana state average giving up 108 yards rushing per game for the whole game so they're shell shocked they're not used to being pushed around like this particular guy like troy anderson had two tackles in the first half two that's not montana state football no i mean they've been even better that rush defense you're talking about in the playoffs miller's gonna push it ahead and behind those big boys no problem getting a yard it's first down ndsu and a simple play like that is why you have to like north dakota state quarterback sneak everybody knows it's coming you need a yard they lean forward they pick up three they make it look easy where we've seen other teams particularly in college football struggle with the quarterbacks neat i mean it frustrates me every time a spread offense runs a shotgun play it's third and six inches and you snap the ball back five i just i'll never understand that one look at this formation you think they want to play some smash mouth football i believe they do they've been doing it for a decade for several decades handoff that's kobe johnson on the long touchdown run he breaks a tackle of troy anderson man he's good too lipky and patterson and miller and williams but don't forget about kobe johnson kobe johnson the speed back but a great job by tameric williams the other running back in the backfield number 22. you'll see him come across the lead blocker once he forces anderson to take that shuffle step that allows johnson to get outside to pick up big yardage two rushes 94 yards look at that average he's saying give me the ball a little more now a misdirection play wide open babbage the tight end touchdown [Applause] [Music] 35 yards unstoppable you pay attention so much to the running game nobody even saw babbage come across the formation he started off lined up to the right came across with a drag route wide open focusing so much on the run they were able to sneak the tight end across the formation now you talked about how big their line is their tight ends are that's a tight end who's a big dude who can move a little too took him five plays to add to their lead 35-nothing bison impressive i have a feeling there are going to be some more beverages consumed on the north dakota state side with what's going on in this fcs championship game just stunning 35 nothing for the powerhouse bison and they have been so impressive and that's a tradition there let's talk of the international first time i saw a cup snake winnipeg winnipeg the blue bombers they had they do it all the way up the stadium then north dakota brings it there then we saw some more teams bringing more stateside i see the cup snake i think wrigley field personally okay fair catch on to kick off [Applause] but let's take a look at why they're able to get so wide open here so on this play here babish is going to line up but take a look at callahan o'reilly he's the inside linebacker you don't allow somebody to cross your face and not wonder or know where he's going to he looks in the backfield allows babbage to come right across his face you have to say o'reilly what are you looking at he's crossing your face for a reason he's not going to block the coach he's going to get open in the passing game or to lay a block mental error there the eyes not being where they're supposed to be and very unusual for a good player second team all-conference player isaiah fonte give him credit he's been banged up he missed the semifinal game playing here today and playing tough despite not being 100 that's what you say we know he's not 100 now and then they lose they're starting quarterback there so he's showing you the toughness that allowed him to rush for 1500 yards during the season [Applause] you have to think this whole montana state team is just stunned the way the game started they looked ready to play first play from scrimmage was a nice game they were moving down the field and their sensational young quarterback got hurt and the whole game changed on one play and now this is the time where you know you want that mental toughness we know there's a hurdle with montana state having their season ended by north dakota state still early in this game if you get a score with some momentum and a turnover you can try to force it but right now they have to show that they have the ability to put some points on the board so the defense doesn't lose faith in them say not a lot of running room on first down and the chances of coming back and winning this game are obviously minuscule but stormy told us she talked to fred vegan the head coach of montana state and he's looking for his team to find a way to compete in his second half you can understand though as a player you know all these expectations coming in championship dreams and then the game's going this way young men out there got to keep him motivated how about the question she asked coach matt is now what do you do to keep your team motivated that sort of fake run pass play that we saw earlier derek snell the tight end with the catch and run for 17 yards they opened the game with this play when they have a lot of quarterback here you think that you're gonna run a little slip pass to the tight end derek snell middle to field big game for the bobcats hard play to defend especially if you're a run first offense which is what montana state is on first down that throw is low can't do that let me give you a little football okay football what does montana state do well they run the football they come in here they want to run the ball 40 times running teams have to win on first down so you get the big completion now you have to establish you can run the football run the ball worst thing a running team can do is have an incomplete pass on first down because they're not built for second long third and long so i'm just gonna make that question mark there establish you can run the football if you're a running team don't start getting into a pass happy offense when it's not your style second attempt quarterback run play and roving gets wrestled down after a gain of five see i love that play on first down because then we'll be looking at second and five now we're looking at third five you know there's a difference there however they may be thinking it's four down territory when you're down by this score right here i would hope so it's never going to be four down territory it's now this has been the part of the field where they've struggled fonsi broke a tackle lunges ahead and didn't quite get there a little short all game even though you've crossed midfield gut check time tighten up your chin strap downhill football if fonzay didn't get the handoff they throw it up mccutcheon fights for the ball and comes down with it [Applause] yeah you say why well if you'd have given the ball to the running back then he would not have gotten it ifonte would have been short then just give it chance one on one they like their chances and mcclutchen who didn't make those big catches in the first half comes up big here so 24 yards to make it first and goal montana state that's the first smile in a while on the bobcat side they've got troy anderson in at quarterback under center and that was just beautifully defended by north dakota state interesting wrinkle and look he's one of your all-time greats he was a great running quarterback a couple years ago when he was the starter and a third team all-american for the full season that lasted one play yeah well showed you the athleticism tried to get think about it they tried to get their starting mike linebacker on the edge for a jet sweep before a jet sweep and talk about a pure football player this is him freshman of the year as a running back all-american quarterback 2018 rushed for 21 touchdowns now one of the best linebackers in college football handoff and fonte just nowhere to go nowhere third and goal eli mostar big player in the middle really good players look at that little extra pushing and shoving all right so some fight baby i have a feeling the message at the end of that play from the bison side was yeah have you seen the scoreboard lately roving play fake jump ball incomplete man his guy was there mccutcheon was there yeah he boxed him up well had him squared up to elevate make that catch there would have been nothing at the defensive back jaden price would have been able to do i mean this is how you body up right here this is a good job he's got him square if that ball is thrown anywhere in the vicinity back shoulder that's a touchdown catch but throw off target now brings up a field goal attempt short field goal montana state fans were not happy that the field goal team was coming out there [Applause] and i understand why you want to put some points on the board in the championship game that field goal is up and good from 26 yards away they're on the board but it's still 35-3 bison [Music] fcs championship game started promisingly for montana state the underdog team but their true freshman quarterback got hurt on the first drive he was obviously compromised they tried but they just could not get tommy malone good to go and it might not have mattered because the north dakota state offense has just been unstoppable on the ground through the air lipke with three touchdowns in the first half he's been a star the power of north dakota state's been on display conor lipke [Applause] three touchdowns early [Applause] i don't think there's any doubt that montana state would have more than three on the board with their quarterback in there but whether they'd have enough against his powerhouse team i don't know a lot injured lipke the three touchdowns six different ruptures combining for 298 rush yards we got seven and a half minutes to go in the third quarter and they're gonna eclipse 300 yards rushing with so much more to play this could be a 400 yard rushing day for the bison very impressed very impressed we knew he's gonna get the ball everybody knew it but they have not been able to bring him down he's in i formation again look for him to get an opportunity to do some more damage usually he gets the ball when he's standing back there and usually the defense can't stop it even if they know it's coming number three we talked about how they distribute the ball they have all those rush yards now over 300 they don't have a hundred yard rusher you know i i tried to give you a little heads up in the open this is running back by committee behind the nation's best offensive line did you doubt your partner it's a committee of 10. if you include those big guys up front which you should and off lipke again this time strung out anderson there to wrestle him down [Applause] packed january sports calendar nfl double header later today national championship game of course coming up on monday it's chiefs broncos cowboys eagles today on espn and abc georgia alabama on monday now you got real madrid in barcelona the semifinal of the super copa on wednesday and don't i can't dive too deep on that one particularly but all kinds of stuff all month long across our networks third and five miller design quarterback run it looks like got knocked off balance and he got stopped the defense coming up with the stop there anything can happen one of the few times we've seen north dakota state not able to pick up a first down [Music] [Applause] daniel hardy who's playing his final game he's been a great player for the bobcats an opportunity to get the ball back in pretty good field position if they can get a decent return who knows maybe give themselves a little bit of hope they pressured the punt it wasn't a great punt and they will have good field position about the 39-yard line [Applause] so the 34-yard punt can the bobcats get another drive going we'll find out after this we got a lot of ways to watch the national championship game our mega cast monday eighties during our national championship presented by atnz the main telecast film room with jimbo command center skycast spanish language broadcast the hometown radio channels the national radio broadcast the halftime bands and a whole lot more you can find it all montana state gets the ball back down big rovig another one of those run pass plays and the ball was dropped and treyton pickering had it for a moment and maybe it got knocked away incomplete they've had success doing this and catchable ball he has to secure that football not able to secure the football maybe a little slippery because of the rain that's picked up a little bit but they've had success with that play something that they've obviously scouted out coming in this game and knew they have at their disposal another star wide receiver lance mccutchens missed a couple chances downfield to make big catches that was a drop there second at 10 and a handoff that is the straight ahead run for lane sumner gain of six out to the 45. [Applause] [Music] sophomore from huntley montana so many of these montana state kids and north dakota kids from small towns in those states one of the most fun parts about getting ready for a game like this learning from those players asking about where they come from those hometowns some amazing stories and a huge amount of pride in both states that fonsey couldn't quite get there man he got russell to the ground so it's fourth and one you know i like to talk to the small cow kids you know my thing was what was the closest fast food place and when they say the answer is probably about 30 minutes away just for some fast food that lets you know you're talking about the rural tier of america fourth and one now comes alongside roving the quarterback who's going to throw on fourth and short and he's going downfield it's incomplete well last time they had it that's what they did on fourth and short this time it doesn't work yeah the head scratcher they want to go to the one-on-one match-up but they went where the wheel route is but that's a lot of cushion that they were giving up on the outside by dom jones number 10. he was willing to give him the short throw but they went for the home run ball and jones almost came away with the interception i thought they had a better match up on the left side of the field one on one bumper run coverage with one safety hive been one of those days for montana state defense for the bison gets a stop roving has gone cold now the drop was a big play on that series but the quarterback tucker roving three for his last 12. yikes not equipped to come from behind this montana state team handoff and that is tumeric williams one of the hometown kids not a ton of players from the state of texas in this game turmeric is from the houston area but he started his college career at smu not far at all from where we are here in frisco he was excited to come back i mean averaging seven yards again a carry here today i mean this offensive line is a story and you see the vision there i think i think their top you know their running style you have to teach people how to run in between those guards instead of bouncing off tackle like most runners like to do is when you get in trouble get back to the inside and lean and pick up positive yardage second down and short lipke straight ahead for a north dakota state first down you talk about the kids from the small towns the right tackle play in his 65th career game cordell volson we asked him about his hometown he's from balfour north dakota so he said all right so how many folks are in balfour cordell he thought about it for a second he said uh i think at last count it was 27 27 from a hometown of 27.5 i said do you know him all he goes yeah i know him i was going to say don't forget your little quip answer do you know him he said he knew them all and how about this he went to a high school that had 300 kids 300 they played nine-man football have you heard of nine-man football yeah some some kids in montana play six-man football with the small numbers first down by so let's go down to stormy yeah cordell playing nine man football plays on the offensive line defensive line tied in full back linebacker puncher and kicker said he's available if they need him to kick all good but the funnest thing i think about that small town was he said everybody does their part to make it go and said no joke like the woman who ran the beauty salon when he was in high school also drove one of the buses for school and she also waited tables at the restaurant in town they do it all gotta pitch in everybody carry your weight right they say everybody carry on weight now i was wondering he's six seven three in a pound at six seven he could have played quarterback but he must not have an arm at all that's one position he said he never played and off left side for williams folsom went to his head coach before this year i mean he's been around forever playing his 65th game and he made a list of goals for his head coach that he shared with his coach before the season started and one of them was i want to be the greatest north dakota state player of all time he's a very humble he's not a yeah he's not wouldn't brag he wasn't bragging but he is certainly one of the all-time greats first team all-american his coach did not hesitate that right there is the best offensive lineman in fcs football [Applause] second and seven patterson in the game at quarterback o'reilly with the stop [Applause] [Music] you know in the mantra you know hanging around all these bison players bison players forgive me because they all say and i think we heard first from cordell volson was we have to leave it in better shape than it was when we got here it's hard to do that which is hard to do but every year they try to do it and let's think about it they've got a brand new 50 million dollar indoor facility coming which is going to make things even more impressive for the buys and making more difficult to beat but that's how you keep the dynasty going third and seven play fake miller's gonna throw end zone incomplete well babbage was there he already has one touchdown catch today and just a little too far a little too far but i'd like to see this young man make this catch that's a tough one that is a tough one we always talked about it earlier tight ends have a smaller catch radius than the wide receivers a little bit off target with that throw there's bison football you don't make the catch get back in there on special teams your shoulder pads sticking out go block for the kicker who boots it right on through from 37 yards out everything going right for matt ends looking for his second national championship in three years as the head coach [Music] you know they lost a game they're 13-1 they lost the game and that's news in fargo you lose the game it's like man wait what's going on i think that's why montana state thought they had hope because north dakota state was beat by south dakota state during the regular season and montana state absolutely trounced south dakota state but the one thing about the fan base i'd say is they appreciate it so if they would have come in here and lost this game they're not so losers they would have said hey montana state got us today they just had our number because in their rivalry with james madison it's mutual respect and this is a knowledgeable fan base a little bit crazy we've seen that they show the crazy side that's what they call them fans for fanatics but they love this bison football team still to me one of the all-time memorable college game day scenes where the crew went to fargo a few years ago [Music] didn't they name did they name a calf corso [Music] lee corso big in fargo big return for montana state and a good return special teams has been a bright spot for the bobcats elijah elliott almost to [Applause] well midfield capital one cup standings teams competing for a combined five hundred thousand dollars in student athletes scholarships from capital one on the men's side clemson washington georgetown up there northern arizona how about that wisconsin leading on the women's side how about northern arizona that would have been a shocker for a lot of folks flagstaff got a lot going on in flagstaff yeah it snows in northern arizona [Music] [Applause] final 30 seconds of the third quarter in frisco texas home away from home for the bison of north dakota state no pass out of the right flat snell the tight end he's got a little juice into north dakota state territory he's he's from anchorage alaska okay how about spreading your geographic portfolio showing diversification throughout the united states nobody recruits alaska like the bobcats rovig is going to run it tucker roving tumbles forward for another bobcats first down and now a bison player back in the backfield is down [Applause] that's james kaser good linebacker senior he's been the guy he battled adversity all season long had been bit by the injury but pretty much all season and unfortunately looks like he's got to come out for a couple plays now but he showed the perseverance how about james james got married during the bye week in the regular season what'd you do for the bye week yeah well no i got married now they didn't get the place snapped the clock started [Applause] so we've come to the end of the third quarter tough day for the bobcats the celebration hasn't started but it's getting revved up for the bison i have to love the scene of the fans here in huge numbers with even bigger enthusiasm the costumes two totally passionate fan bases from north dakota state from montana state and even though the game has been lopsided and the quarterback gets hurt for the bobcats to sort of take the air out of the balloon early in the game and still the fans are engaged here in frisco as we start the fourth quarter will play fake across the middle too high incomplete intended for mccutchen nearly intercepted it'll be second down really like to go back your point there with the fans and the passion they appreciate their program they really have i mean they're going blow for blow champ for chant cheer for cheer all in a classy way there and it's been a fantastic site this week down here in frisco texas trovig will hand the ball off if fonse isaiah fonse who should be back next year i mean montana state fans are going to be disappointed by this but get the young quarterback tommy mullatt healthy bring back some of your big playmakers on the offensive side the defense should be solid again you got a head coach you have to love in his first year brenda vegan the future seems bright yeah i think these two programs will be battling for years to come the freshman quarterback reliable rebound go along with the playmakers this program is definitely trending in the right direction throw sideline caught on third down short so bobcats are going to go for it on fourth down [Applause] here's brent vegan the head coach former bison player coordinator now on the other sideline fourth and three trovig was pressured incomplete into traffic trying to get the tight end snell and the pressure got to him eli most start braden thomas both were there two of the stalwarts for ndsu a big in this championship game [Music] to grow on the bison side we remind you coming up this afternoon week 18 season finale and we've got a double header chiefs broncos and 415 cowboys eagles at eight eastern on espn on abc on espn deportes on the app coverage nfl countdown kicks off at 3 eastern noon pacific so soon north dakota state churning towards a ninth fcs championship and they have the ball back a little jet sweep action on first down and that was well defended now the game's been out of hand for a while monsanto state's defense has been better in the second half better that was phoenix sproles who's been a great contributor in a lot of ways to this ndsu program he's a good story for college football it's a young man that got his playing time on the field by paying his dues and becoming the number one blocking wide receiver on the roster he was such a factor in the running game blocking so hey let's give him a little bit more time and he's made the most of his opportunity 20 catches on the season coming into today that last play he counts as the seventh different ball carrier christian watson goes backwards he got swarmed watson who's playing his final game with the bison he accepted an invitation of the senior bull you were talking about his talents earlier in the broadcast had missed all three playoff games with a hamstring injury he's out there today and been a huge factor in the game super talented we talk about you know tough blocking right so watson he's the speed guy now bottom half of your screen you'll see number 11 just chicken fighting the guy number seven taking them on all the time wide receivers contributing the run game the toughness of a rushing attack does not happen just between the tackles it's those guys on the perimeter as well third down anderson comes with pressure and gets a hit on and yet miller completes it to watson for a first down man that was a tough guy throw for cam miller because he took a pop from the all-american that's what you want from watson first thing you have to do is respect the speed so the db's in the trail position uh-oh you think he's going fire cuts on a dime accurate throw first and ten bison four catches 61 yards size speed combo he's got real talent [Applause] they clocked him running 21 miles an hour on a hamstring that was 80 at 80 percent yeah they do all that biometric sort of tracking stuff that's cole payton the freshman quarterback getting a chance to take a snap and run with the ball and maybe cam miller well maybe he just needed to play so cole payton came in and now miller back in he needed some time to pick the the grass out of his helmet from that hit on that big completion good job that offensive coordinator tyler roll is done with bringing along the freshman quarterback cam miller who's been very solid down the stretch of the season after losing the job in fall camp he'll run and get dragged down just before he got there daniel hardy with the tackle [Applause] sophomore from iowa played last year and really before he was ready in the playoffs it wasn't pretty north dakota state i say last year it was the spring season they've crammed so many of these games into the last calendar year because of the pandemic didn't play real well in the playoffs then lost the starting job was down on himself it's kind of a cool story how well he's played down the stretch able to emerge and you're going to be the quarterback at north dakota state you have to have thick skin and you have to be tough it's hard to follow the likes of carson wentz and trey lance that the bar is so high they did not get it on third and short so on fourth down cam miller is coming to the sideline it looks like volson's yelling at the sidelines saying let's go for it but nobody's listening to big cordell fourth and one quarterback sneak they don't convert [Applause] and maybe a little sportsmanship involved it's 38-3 in the fourth quarter booming punt was going to bounce into the end zone so that'll be a touch back and it sends us to a timeout with 9 51 to go north dakota state playing for a championship again in frisco [Music] to take away their a gat power they run exceptionally well in between their guards when in trouble when the running backs do take it back to the inside and huna lipki's done a good job here looks outside nope one step get back to the middle field that's where the power comes from another look right here bring a lead rusher through no you don't run to the outside avoid contact they like to take on contact at the teeth of your defense is where north dakota states offense shows their a gap power at the end of the day it all comes down to that that's what it's all about 203 yards in the a-cap the b-cap's okay and outside's okay but the end of the day in these conditions it's been the power of their a gap running attack which has gotten it done imposing their will on the bobcats a little a gap run for montana state straight ahead this is gonna be number nine they will go nine for nine i mean to me one of the most amazing aspects of this dynasty in fargo is this is their ninth fcs championship game they're gonna be nine for nine nine and uh and when you think of modern sports dynasties you know obviously you put north dakota state there but let's think about the nba what was the last dynasty we saw chicago bulls and the key thing about that was michael jordan with 6-0 in championships that's what kind of makes him the goat if you ask me i am going to push back i mean the warriors i don't know warriors how many rings are there that's three though okay i just told you six six and oh michael jordan and nobody else got a ring until jordan took a little two-year hiatus point point is a good one though the undefeated record in that championship level first down and a short pass fonte is so tough to bring down all-time fcs championships this is going to be number nine add to their elite georgia southern of course is now playing at the fbs level young town state with their great history they've got four of them you know i compete competing i played one double-a or fcs football there that georgia southern stuck around they would have won some more to talk about that marshall squad was on their way to winning a lot before they moved up as well but i still that being said i still don't know if the appalachian states of the world know them would have been as impressive as this run is from north dakota state some other teams are going to take a step up sam houston state james madison some of the powerhouse teams are going to be on the move up by the way another reminder ncaa men's and women's indoor track and field championships coverage on march 13th is when it starts from birmingham 9 30 eastern on espnu on the app for more info visit nca.com home for all 90 ncaa championships [Applause] eight minutes to go countdown is on for title number nine and on third and short good effort but stop short sumner number those things are going to kind of get at you it's fourth and one let's see if quarterback lines up in shotgun so you already got to make up four yards to get to the line of scrimmage something that we see a lot in college football i'm not a big fan of it we'll see if they can pull it off and fonze gets the first down and plenty more almost to midfield the second fourth down conversion of the game for the bobcats [Applause] there have been a lot of big plays today jay for montana state especially early they've had 15 first downs but a lot of big third and medium third and short where tommy malott in the playoffs had been unstoppable just so hard to defend with his speed from the quarterback spot they really needed him i mean offensively you can tell this offense is geared around because everybody around the conference calls them the kid the kid is special he's got that special net that it factor and when you take away that take away the leading offensive threat from an offense then you're in for a long day offensively played seven plays today in this championship game [Applause] and had to leave with that ankle injury i mean it's really it's such a such an amazing story it's hard to find a parallel had never started a game until the playoffs they make the quarterback change he plays three games against some of the power programs at this level all the past yards the rush yards 11 touchdowns in three weeks leads them to the championship game as the eighth seed when i see those numbers a defensive coordinator's worst nightmare is a dual threat quarterback one that can hurt you with his legs as well as his arm and he saw that 400 yards rushing 400 yards passing and responsible for 11 touchdowns this kid's going to be an impact player for the next couple years on the fcs level [Applause] bounces it right breaking tackles along the sideline for another bobcats first down [Applause] [Music] they were talking about tommy malott when he was hurt in that semi-final game against south dakota state defense was hurt he carried the ball 34 times in that semifinal game was he playing running back or is he playing quarterback 34 rushes from the quarterback play fake over the top mccutcheon jump ball touchdown 28 yards and the first touchdown of this championship game for montana state they're still here [Applause] [Music] look at these fans do they know what the scores of the game they don't care you talking about supporting your football team i love it great football play here when you're six foot three and the defensive back that's covering you is 510 go up and get it at its highest point well executed extra point up and good 508 to go something positive for those bobcat fans young and old [Music] championship on monday the two powerhouse dynasties in college football right now these north dakota state buys in the alabama crimson tide this is going to be number nine for north dakota state alabama going for number six in the last decade plus two first-round quarterbacks on each side the overall record i mean it is amazing the comparisons you can make between those two programs they let you know how dominating they've been and for north dakota state get number nine well they play anybody how about this next year they're going to play the university of arizona that is going to be their first game against an fbs team in six years you know why they don't want to play them nobody nobody wants to play them they beat too many of them yeah i think their last game they played against an fbs team was iowa state they went there and beat them and everybody said that's enough for a while but good to see these guys going to get an opportunity to play an fbs program next year [Music] 40 and three all time in the fcs playoffs 40 and three [Applause] you could just you could go on and on but with different head coaches different quarterbacks different rosters obviously and the success just does not stop and the style of play has been different you know when they had craig bowle it was power football he established the offensive line running the football and then when carson wentz came he was a prototypical passer they were getting him ready for the drop back in the play-action game started throwing the ball a little bit more and when trey lance came along they just opened it up i mean they said we know we run the ball but he's too talented to hand it off 35 times a game so we give credit to matt inc and his staff said we got to highlight this kid get him ready for the nfl as a thrower and he made it now this year what did they go to kind of a little bit of a go back to the running game go back to the things that work and put the running quarterback up in the play and heck they were all happy about it but they were all i mean nobody expected trey lance to be so good so fast to where he'd only essentially be there for one year i mean he just was so dominant and then the pandemic interrupted last year brock got it all started at least in this era easton stick was a great player 49 career wins a walter payton award winner call brock jensen to og saw brock here he's here spoke to the team and spoke to everybody else we played a couple years in the cfl as well but that's an impressive list there all those guys went on to play professional football brock was a two-time mvp of this fcs championship game so many former players on both sides are here in texas to watch this game proud of their alma maters quincy patterson tough running for him first down that's how you use 245 pounds your quarterback is 245 pounds short yard situation the linebacker can't bring you down you're just as big as he is forward first down coming up here let's go down to the sideline to stormy dave you mentioned all those big names at quarterback for north dakota state and i talked to cam miller about that qbu and he said it means so much to him to be a part of that and kind of a next stage in this progression of quarterbacks but that it's a lot of pressure and the fan base there's a lot of pressure there as well and so part of his goals this year and moving forward was to prove himself right and to prove the fan base and prove to this team that he could lead them to a national championship so you know this moment means so much to him absolutely i mean replacing the legend is tough enough and the expectation level that storm we just talked about they have a level of expectation at north dakota state and rule number one is we don't care about the passing yards and touchdown the interception ratio win they judge their quarterbacks by dubs how many w's can you bring us and it must end here in frisco to be considered a bison legend [Applause] that is williams on the move into montana state territory another bison first down i think they would like to end this game with the football two minutes to go until another national championship and you talk about the winning and winning for me in college football it starts at the top you know academic athletic building and north dakota state's going to lose their president who's a retiring dean roushani when you talk to coach it's about him he said meant a lot to me and what he's done for this university and i think the key was they weren't satisfied with just winning a championship they wanted to keep winning investing in their program and they're gonna have a change in leadership i think it's a job well done for president for shawnee so a big old cody mauk have to sort of limp off the field didn't look real happy to have to come out of the game when we're finished we got the trophy ceremony coming up following the game so stick with us for that rising over 500 total yards now on the afternoon final snaps here for cordell volson and his incredible career 65 college games oh that was surprised they had coach he wasn't ready for that one they say he's a player's coach and he understands how good that cold bath feels final snaps on the other side for troy anderson his incredible montana state career will always be a legend in the history of that program three years two national titles for maddens and a year that wasn't quite his spot but look they're going to end up 14-1 still wasn't as smooth as the 16-0 just total utter dominance of his first year as a head coach maybe makes it a little more satisfying in a way this is going to be the final snap of this national championship game incredible they've done it again fcs championship number nine for north dakota and they are headed up into the concourse before the final seconds tick off with the band to the stage to celebrate another national title in fargo incredible they've done it so many times they know where the trophy presentation is as soon as the game ended they ran to get in front of the band and say come on this is part of north dakota state football we end the season on the concourse with our t-shirts and caps give us our trophy home away from home nobody knows this place like these guys do let's go down to stormy well congratulations coach an unstoppable performance as seen from your team from start to finish what impressed you most about how they got this done ability to run the football a build good football team over there very well coached and uh just how our guys hand this was the 369th day we've been playing football we started last january 4th and we finished here today and our coaches our players unbelievable you said this is a moment that you guys have been thinking about since the postseason ended for you early last year what does this moment just mean to you all as a group for the hard work you put in i don't think we talk about it much but i think in the back of our minds this is where we thought we should be but we just kept attacking one game at a time and we have a process our kids believe in it and it works backfield it was cold enjoyed it thank you yeah it looked cold he'll warm up soon [Music] they asked the fans not to come on the field how can you keep them from wanting to celebrate national championship number nine for this dynasty program north dakota state we will step aside when we come back we're gonna have the trophy celebration and ceremony from frisco 38 the final score bison on top again [Applause] monatoni back here in frisco texas where the bison of north dakota state it doesn't get old for those players coaches and fans fcs championship number nine in dominant fashion 38 to 10 over the bobcats of montana state and look we thought this was going to be a more competitive game and i think it would have been tommy mulatto tremendous young quarterback seventh play from scrimmage got hurt a couple more plays couldn't stay in the game was out the rest of the way and from there it was the ground attack for north dakota state absolutely i mean tommy touchdown timing was a focal point for the offense and when that didn't happen you wondered where would the offense come from but north dakota state came here with game plan we're going to pound the football we're going to do it the good old-fashioned way with our power running attack give me some flashes of speed in there to show that we're a well diversified rushing attack and this was an impressive performance by the bison here in frisco just dominant 500 plus total yards 380 rushing yards they're typically stout defense might have been a little different i'm not sure the final result would have been different though even if milan had been able to play the whole game that's how good though the rushing attack was for the visa well this is the team that's battle tested they know how to win whenever they're pushed they know how to fight back to punch back to give themselves every opportunity for success and they're still undefeated here in frisco they played in nine of these things they are 9-0 in fcs championship games amazing they know it they appreciate it they expect it year after year and i don't see it stopping anytime soon they've got 12 seniors that are pretty good players but they've got a young core that's coming back that's how you build a successful dynasty [Music] and coach ents talked to us about it they had the spring season they took like literally two or three days off and then started preparation for this year this group of players and so many across fcs football it has been a year of almost non-stop grind and work and they lost last year rare didn't make it to the championship game and i'm sure all that hard work is worth it right now in the putter perspective they lost this year kind of in the spring football season so they kind of say oh it was a spring but they took their lumps they learned from it and they called it unfinished business and he really has to say he said something that you know the two parts of the season you're gonna know when when it starts and when it ends and they're gonna end with another championship alabama has has done it at the fbs level to such an incredible degree over the last decade plus equal to or even more impressive at this mcs level what the bison and north dakota state have done i think about guys like cordell volson and turner lipke and the veterans who have led the way who played so many games and even folks like that guy the celebration has been going on for him for a long long time all right ceremony will commence let's go down to stormy well let's hear it everybody for your national champion north dakota state byzantine let's also make sure that we thank all of the wonderful montana state fans players and coaches for all the hard work they have put into being here and this season but we have some hardware to deliver so to help me out thor bajorn division one football committee chair is going to hand out the most outstanding player of the game thank you so much and congratulations north dakota state [Applause] here you go come on over here congratulations hunter three first half what got into you early that helped your team get to this victory today we had a lot of juice going through our veins today a lot a lot of yards on the ground run the ball fantastic defenses lights out today go bison three touchdowns in three different touchdown celebrations how much thought went into those yeah i had to get a shout out noah gindorff like dab [Applause] congratulations thank you hunter thank you thank you thank you and now for our national championship trophy thor [Applause] congratulations kojets on behalf of the fcs committee in the ncaa another national championship for the bison here you go [Applause] what does it mean to your team and this fan base to reach the ultimate reward yet again i think it means quite a bit as you can tell we have the best fans in the country and once again we took over frisco and i'm so excited for these players it's been a long year but they've put in a ton of work they bought into our process they brought into our vision and uh i can't wait to go home with another trophy for this program it is the ninth national championship since 2011. it's hard to get on top even harder to stay there what is it about this program that is continued dominance well i think it's the way we approach each game and each season this was the first championship for this team and so we try to make every year the most special opportunity for our kids we sell them talk about past championships we're always looking ahead and trying to move forward enjoy this congratulations don't believe me i'm gone [Applause] let's hear it i believe coach nsj when he says he is going to enjoy this one everybody will absolutely they deserve it you know it's that time of year where it becomes fargo texas and they're going to take it back to frisco north dakota these two cities are almost intertwined because of the success of this program but a job well done being the man is hard stay in the man is even harder good job to the bison it was 27 degrees below zero yesterday in fargo i don't care they're dancing in the streets up there in north dakota the bison win another national championship for jay for stormy darren owens our producer for mike griffin our director for our whole crew dave fleming saying so long from frisco texas fcs championship number nine for the north dakota state bison [Music] [Music] man [Music] [Music] here we go [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] what's up [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] we thank you for your attendance [Music] we hope to see you again next january [Music] including tickets as a reminder if you've been drinking please make sure to arrange for a designated driver and arrive home safely [Music] [Music] [Music] so um [Music] my [Music] you

Channel: Wally the Bronco Too

Views: 21,091

Keywords: 2021 NCAA FCS Championship Final, Montana State, North Dakota State

Id: jsiT7yu_MEk

Length: 137min 21sec (8241 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 09 2022

Reddit Comments

[u/dumkopf604]

Do they have some obligation to keep 'FCS' in the branding? I would seriously just call it 'NCAA championship' lol