Montana State suffers lopsided FCS championship loss to North Dakota State
FRISCO, Texas — As North Dakota State football players and fans wrapped up another long on-field celebration, Brent Wigen felt a jolt of emotion.
Wigen realized on Saturday, just 11 months after Montana State appointed him as head coach (February 8, 2021). He remembered walking up to Bozeman and sitting in the Bill Ogle Hall of Fame room at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, talking to his first group of players.
“A transformation of just being in that Hall of Fame room and seeing a group of wide-eyed people who were ready to listen,” Vigen said, pausing for several seconds as the tears welled up. "... ready to believe, ready to buy."
It was a difficult end to an exciting, emotional 11 months for Wigen and his team. North Dakota State, where Wigen played and coached from 1993-2013, took on MSU 38-10 in the Football Championship subdivision title game at Toyota Stadium on Saturday. A dominant offensive line and injury to MSU quarterback Tommy Melott helped the Bison (14-1) secure their ninth FCS title in 11 seasons.
The Bobcats, who won their first national title since 1984, finished the season with a 12–3 record. It was their fourth national championship game in the program's history and their first loss. MSU won the NAIA title in 1956, the NCAA Division II title in 1976, and the 1984 Division I–AA championship.
“Our men continued to fight and fight, and especially our fifth and sixth year groups of people who are going to take off the pads for the last time today,” Wigen said. "We just didn't intend to get here, so it leaves a very sour taste in your mouth. It hurts."
Melott completed an 18-yard pass to Lance McCutcheon in the first play of Saturday's rainy day in northeast Texas. But the drive ended without a point and Melot in the tentacles injured.
Melott appeared to injure his right ankle, which was taped by the trainers. Butte's freshman came limping on a deep unfinished pass for McCutcheon in the final offensive of the drive, even though he hadn't slid on the wet grass and hit the throw. Wigen wasn't sure, but believed Melot was hurt in the play before a third-down pass on a three-yard run from Isaiah Ifanse. Melott got up to slow after that game.
Tommy Mellott came up limping after this play...#FCSChampionship #NorthDakotaState #Bison #BisonPride #BisoNation #MontanaState #Bobcats #BobcatBuilt #GoCatsGo #CollegeFootball pic.twitter.com/UrjXj8CpHV
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthewCFB) January 8, 2022
Redshirt junior Tucker Rovig, in his final game as a cat, filled the rest of the way for Melot. Rovig completed 13 of 28 passes for 156 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and he ran for 51 yards on eight carries (6.4 yards per carry).
"We were limited in what we could do when running on the perimeter," said Ifanse, who finished with 84 yards on 18 carries (4.7 ypc). "But I thought we got over it."
Rovig started the final 12 games of the 2019 season, including a 42-14 loss to NDSU in the FCS semifinals.
Blake Gleisner lined up for a 45-yard field goal after Melott's injury and incompleteness, but Bryce Leighton threw the ball to Glesner on a clear fake. Instead of passing it, Glesner punts in the end zone.
"We were probably within Blake's range, but it was a two-way game and it didn't work out for us," Wigen said. "We certainly didn't want to make it into the end zone, but it didn't work out."
Bison responded with an 11-play, 80-yard drive, capped by an eight-yard touchdown run from Hunter Lupke, who ran for two more TDs. The junior fullback from Wisconsin, who covered 84 yards on 14 carries (5.9 ypc), was named the game's most outstanding player.
"The O-line was blocking pretty well today, and the holes were huge, so it made my job a lot easier when my number was called," Lupke said.
NDSU took a 28–0 lead at halftime and built two 35-point leads, 35–0 and 38–3, in the third quarter. After a three-yard loss to Troy Anderson, Glasner scored a field goal in three plays, from 26 yards.
Anderson is MSU's starting "Mike" linebacker who earned Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year and FCS Athletic Directors Association Defensive Player of the Year honors. He finished second in voting for the Buck Buchanan Prize, which was presented Friday night in Frisco.
Anderson was an All-American quarterback in 2018 and earned Big Sky Freshman of the Year, running back and forth as an outside linebacker prior to the season. He also played OLB in 2019, committing offenses frequently.
Anderson is one of 19 seniors on MSU's roster. Another is Lance McCutcheon, who caught five passes for 106 yards and MSU's lone TD. The Bozeman native broke the program record for receiving yards in a season with a 30-yard pass from Rovig in the second quarter. McCutchen finished the season with 1,219 yards, surpassing Joe Bignell's previous MSU single-season receiving record of 1,149 yards in 1984.
What a catch by Lance McCutcheon for the @MSUBobcats_FB TD!
— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) January 8, 2022
📺 ESPN2#FCSChampionship pic.twitter.com/wPCo0LHyvd
McCutcheon received a total of 522 yards in his first three seasons.
"Lance had an incredible season," Wigen said. "I don't think Lance McCutcheon is playing football, and I don't think anyone would have said that this time last year. So definitely really proud of Lance."
Ifanse, an All-American, was one of three starters who returned from injury. All-Big Sky nickelback Ty Okada and All-American nose tackle Chase Benson were the others, although Benson played sparingly. Backup running back and starting kick returner Len Sumner also played after missing the semifinal game.
Those additions weren't enough, especially after the loss of their star freshman QB.
"Our job is to go and stay there, which we didn't do well today," Okada said. "I have all the trust of the world in Tucker. He's led this team before big time games, and you've got Zay in the backfield and those guys on offense. Actually we didn't do a good enough job."
The suffocated Wigen regained his composure to conclude his answer about 11 months as MSU head coach. He turned to Bozeman during one point of the sanctions-filled COVID-19 pandemic, making his first head coaching job more difficult. The Cats skipped the pandemic-postponed spring season, making it their first game of the season after a 42–14 semifinal loss at NDSU. The opener was against Wigen's previous employer, Wyoming, and the Cowboys lost 19–16 in the last minute to their former offensive coordinator.
MSU won its next nine games, including close road wins over then-ranked Big Sky names Weber State and Eastern Washington. But they lost the 120th dispute of the wild 29-10 in Montana. Wigen and his staff decided to replace struggling Matthew McKay with Melott, and McKay announced his entry to the transfer portal two days before MSU's FCS playoff opener. Melott led the Cats to victory over UT Martin in that game, as they did at Sam Houston in the quarterfinals and against South Dakota State in the semifinals.
That win over SDSU sent MSU to its first national title game since 1984, but the Cats are now in their 38th straight year without a win on the biggest stage.
The sentiments are more bitter than sweet, speaking after Saturday's game during a virtual press conference, another controversial reminder of these past two COVID-dominated years. But he will always reflect lovingly on his first season at MSU, primarily because of his wide-eyed players who were willing to listen, trust, and buy in.
"It's been a crazy 11 months, a wild ride," Vigen said. "But just appreciate them very much."
