2025 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game
| 2025 NCAA Division I Football Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| FCS National Championship Game | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 6, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Toyota Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Frisco, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Cam Miller | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Montana State by 6.5 points | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Matt Overton (CAA)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 18,005[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN, ESPN+ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Dave Flemming (play-by-play), Brock Osweiler (color), Stormy Buonantony (sideline)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | Canada: TSN2/TSN+ | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 2025 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a college football game played on January 6, 2025, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The game determined the national champion of NCAA Division I FCS for the 2024 season,[4] and featured the two finalists of the 24-team playoff bracket, which began on November 30, 2024.[5] The Monday night game began at approximately 6:00 p.m. CST and was broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+.
The game featured North Dakota State and Montana State; North Dakota State won, 35–32, and secured their 10th football championship at this level, all of them occurring since the 2011 season.
Teams
[edit]North Dakota State
[edit]North Dakota State finished their regular season at 10–2; their losses started and ended the regular season, 31–26 at Colorado on August 29th, and 29–28 vs. South Dakota on November 23. NDSU was seeded No. 2, giving them a bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs, where they defeated No. 15 Abilene Christian 51–31, No. 7 Mercer 31–7, and Dakota Marker rival – No. 3 South Dakota State 28–21.
The 2025 FCS Championship game marks the 11th trip to Frisco for the Bison since the 2012 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game game against Sam Houston State, with NDSU being 9–1 in championship games losing their most recent appearance versus South Dakota State 45–21 in 2023, with their last win coming the year before against the Bobcats 38–10.
North Dakota is led by Walter Payton Award runner up Cam Miller who has 3,052 yards passing 31 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, along with 510 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Jerry Rice Award winner Charmar Brown leads the Bison rushing with 1,104 yards and 14 touchdowns; and Barika Kpeenu with 714 yards and 7 touchdowns. Bryce Lance leads the Bison in receiving with 66 catches, 946 yards, and 16 touchdowns for a new school record.[citation needed]
Montana State
[edit]Montana State finished their regular season with an unblemished 12–0 record, with their highest profile wins over New Mexico 35–31 and UC Davis 30–28. Their playoff schedule started with a bye as they were the No. 1 seed and gave them homefield advantage where they defeated UT Martin 49–17, No. 8 Idaho 52–19, and No. 4 South Dakota 31–17.
Montana State's last championship appearance came against the Bison three years ago where they fell 38–10. The last time Montana State won the FCS title was in 1984 against Louisiana Tech with a 19–6 win in Charleston, South Carolina.
A win would give them a 16–0 record for the season, which has only been done by Yale in 1894 and North Dakota State in 2019.[citation needed]
Montana State is led by Walter Payton Award winner Tommy Mellott who has thrown for 2,588 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions while also being the team's third leading rusher at 915 yards and 14 touchdowns. The Bobcats are led rushing by Scottre Humphrey who has 1,360 yards and 15 touchdowns while Jerry Rice Award runner up Adam Jones is second with 1,114 yards and 14 touchdowns. Taco Dowler is the team's leading receiver with 35 catches for 546 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Game summary
[edit]| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 2 North Dakota State | 14 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 35 |
| No. 1 Montana State | 0 | 3 | 15 | 14 | 32 |
Statistics
[edit]| Statistics | North Dakota State | Montana State |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 17 | 19 |
| Plays–yards | 59–402 | 61–394 |
| Rushes–yards | 36–202 | 37–199 |
| Passing yards | 200 | 195 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 19–23–0 | 13–24–0 |
| Time of possession | 28:59 | 31:01 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota State | Passing | Cam Miller | 19/23, 200 yards, 2 TD |
| Rushing | Cam Miller | 18 carries, 121 yards, 2 TD | |
| Receiving | Bryce Lance | 9 receptions, 108 yards, 1 TD | |
| Montana State | Passing | Tommy Mellott | 13/24, 195 yards, 2 TD |
| Rushing | Tommy Mellott | 14 carries, 135 yards, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Ryan Lonergan | 1 reception, 53 yards |
References
[edit]- ^ "Coastal Athletic Association crew works the FCS Division I Championship". footballzebras.com. January 6, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ @OptaAnalystFCS (January 6, 2025). "2024 FCS Championship Game Tonight's attendance is 18,005" (Tweet). Retrieved January 6, 2025 – via Twitter.
- ^ Hodgkinson, Oliver (January 6, 2025). "Who Are the FCS National Championship Game Announcers on ESPN? Everything You Need To Know About the Broadcast of North Dakota State vs. Montana State". collegefootballnetwork.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ McKinnell, Zachary (January 4, 2025). "FCS National Championship Preview & Prediction: Montana State vs. North Dakota State". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ "2024 Division I FCS Football Official Bracket". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
External links
[edit]- Game statistics at statbroadcast.com