This is a cache honoring the Bison with a "Bison" hide. The hide is a quick and easy one, but does not reflect the difficulty the Bison \\m// faced getting to double digits with FCS Championships.
The game was a rematch of the 2021 Season Championship, but this turned out to be a very close matchup with two teams that looked a lot alike.
The Bison drew first blood with a gutty td run by Gutty 2 yard QB Miller run smashing his way into the endzone, after a 75 yard drive 12 play drive. The extrapoint and the bison are up by 7. Montana went 6 plays for 30 yards and had to punt. The march was on from the bison 8 yard line and after six plays were on the NDSU 36. QB Miller took the shotgun snap and the line opened up giving him a 64 yard scamper for a TD. End of 1st Quarter NDSU 14 Bobcats 0.
The second Quarter MT State marched down to the NDSU 14 and settled for a field goal. The NDSU responds with a 3 and out, including a personal foul pushing the bison back to the 12. Montana state then went 18 yards in 7 plays, but went for it and turned over on downs at the Bison 44. NDSU's response was to go 10 plays 56 yards ending in a Bryce Lance TD catch from the 1 yd line with the quarter ending. Don't forget the Tommy Mellot Trash Can Tip.
NDSU 21 MT State 3 at the Half
The second half was a different game in favor of the #1 ranked undefeated Bobcats.
It took QB Mellot 6:44 to go 75 yards for thier first td. NDSU could not respond and punted after 6 plays on thier side of the field. Montana State pounced on the chance in 2 plays and 57 seconds to score again. Finishing the 3rd Quarter NDSU 21 MSU 18.....
NDSU starts the quarter going up another td on a pass to Stoffel. MSU Fueled in part by a 44 yard QB Mellot run brought it within 3. The teams traded punts then NDSU went 66 yards on a grueling minute 5:06 minute drive, ending with a 3 yard TD rush by C. Brown.
NDSU 35 MSU 25
Montana took a minute and a half to respond and make it a 3 point game with 1:15 left on the clock.
NDSU survived the onside kick and were abe to ice the game and time ran out on a 45 yard punt.
Bison win 35-32!!!!!
North Dakota State
North Dakota State finished its regular season at 10–2; its losses started and ended the regular season, 31–26 at Colorado on August 29, and 29–28 vs. South Dakota on November 23. NDSU was seeded No. 2, giving the Bison a bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs, where they defeated No. 15 Abilene Christian 51–31, No. 7 Mercer 31–7, and Dakota Marker rival – No. 3 South Dakota State 28–21.
The 2025 FCS championship game marked the 11th trip to Frisco for the Bison since the 2012 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game game against Sam Houston State, with NDSU being 9–1 in championship games, losing its most recent appearance against South Dakota State 45–21 in 2023, with its last win coming the year before against the Bobcats 38–10.
North Dakota State was led by Walter Payton Award runner-up Cam Miller, who entered the game with 3,052 yards passing, 31 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions, along with 510 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Jerry Rice Award winner CharMar Brown led the Bison's rushing attack with 1,104 yards and 14 touchdowns, with Barika Kpeenu adding 714 yards and 7 touchdowns. Bryce Lance led the Bison in receiving with 66 catches, 946 yards, and 16 touchdowns for a new school record.
Montana State
Montana State finished its regular season with an unblemished 12–0 record, with its highest-profile wins over New Mexico 35–31 and UC Davis 30–28. Its playoff schedule started with a bye as it was the No. 1 seed and gave it home-field advantage, where the Bobcats defeated UT Martin 49–17, No. 8 Idaho 52–19, and No. 4 South Dakota 31–17.
Montana State's last championship appearance came against the Bison three years ago where the Bobcats fell 38–10. The last time Montana State won the FCS title was in 1984 against Louisiana Tech with a 19–6 win in Charleston, South Carolina.
A win would have given the Bobcats a 16–0 record for the season, which has only been done by Yale in 1894 and North Dakota State in 2019.
Montana State was led by Walter Payton Award winner Tommy Mellott, who came into the game having thrown for 2,588 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions while also being the team's third-leading rusher with 915 yards and 14 touchdowns. The Bobcats were led in rushing by Scottre Humphrey, who had 1,360 yards and 15 touchdowns while Jerry Rice Award runner-up Adam Jones was second with 1,114 yards and 14 touchdowns. Taco Dowler was the team's leading receiver with 35 catches for 546 yards and 10 touchdowns.