NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Brent Vigen had just won his first FCS national championship with Montana State in their third trip to the game together.
Amid the Bobcats’ celebration of their 35-34 overtime win over Illinois State on the field at FirstBank Stadium, the Montana State coach found ISU senior quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse for a quick word.
Rittenhouse threw for 311 yards and four touchdowns and helped the Redbirds score 21 points in the second half to force the first overtime in the 48-year history of the FCS title game. He then had a go-ahead touchdown on ISU’s overtime drive, but a blocked extra point paved the way for Montana State’s win.
“You just appreciate the type of competitor that he is and was tonight,” Vigen said. “That was not a flash tonight. That’s what we’ve seen on film. You appreciate guys that can compete, and they do everything they can for your team, and I caught him, and I wanted to tell him just that.”
ISU coach Brock Spack said he thought Rittenhouse settled down in the second half to help will the Redbirds back into the game despite a 14-point third-quarter deficit. He had a couple of misses in the first half, including overthrowing open wide receiver Dylan Lord on a deep shot in the second quarter.
The performance was a bittersweet ending to Rittenhouse’s ISU career. The Geneva native and former St. Francis quarterback finished the season with an ISU record 40 touchdown passes, along with 3,568 passing yards. For his career over 44 games, he threw for 7,117 yards and 60 touchdowns.
“I don’t know what’s after football for me, future opportunities,” Rittenhouse said. “But I just feel blessed. I feel grateful for this team and the season and run we had, the ISU community, the city of Bloomington-Normal. It’s a real special place, and I wouldn’t trade my experience for the world.”
Here are more notes from the championship game.
Taco of the town
Spack said he knew Montana State wide receiver Taco Dowler was good from watching the tape, but the 5-foot-9, 170-pound redshirt junior from Billings, Mont., was even better in person.
“He’s a handful,” Spack said.
Dowler rushed for a 22-yard touchdown and had eight catches for 111 yards — none bigger than the winning 14-yard touchdown from quarterback Justin Lamson on fourth-and-10 in overtime.
The Redbirds had success pressuring Lamson in the second half, but it didn’t work on the final play. Just before he was hit, Lamson launched the pass to Dowler, who had broken to the front left corner of the end zone to get open.
“We wanted to take all the run lanes away from (Lamson) and try to get the ball out fast and try to put color on the receivers,” Spack said. “Sometimes it worked really well, and the last touchdown didn’t. We got beat on kind of a big box fade. It’s kind of the nemesis or the negative towards zero coverage, because you’ve got to get there. Just a step or two too late.”
Vigen and Lamson said offensive coordinator Pete Sterbick had called the same play earlier in the drive, but Lamson’s pass to Jabez Woods was off. But Sterbick saw Dowler could win on the play.
“So he came back to it. That’s just good stuff out of a really good OC,” Lamson said. “Taco is wide open. I got hit, so I just kind of gave him a chance, and the rest is history.”
Lord’s big night
Monday night was a career game for Illinois State redshirt freshman wide receiver Dylan Lord, a former walk-on who had 13 catches for 161 yards and two touchdowns. He had the tying 25-yard scramble in the fourth quarter — in which he said he relied on “instinct” to spin and fight through defenders — and a 10-yard overtime catch to briefly put the Redbirds ahead.
Lord’s performance was big for ISU as Montana State focused on minimizing leading wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz, a senior.
“They seemed to double the singles side a lot, which Dan is the single,” Lord said. “We saw some openings when we were watching film. We knew it was going to be a big day for the slots, and Tommy made some great throws, and I was able to capitalize on it.”
Lord played in only three games last season before breaking his leg, but he finished the 2025 season with 74 catches for 734 yards and five touchdowns.
“He’s a great competitor,” Spack said. “That’s going to be a really good football player. He’s already a good football player.”
Big-man TD
It’s not every day an offensive lineman scores a touchdown in the national championship game.
But Logan Brasfield acted swiftly when he saw the football in the end zone after ISU running back Victor Dawson fumbled in the third quarter.
“That was kind of crazy,” Brasfield said. “I just saw the ball laying there in the end zone, and I was like, ‘I gotta get it.’ Jump on the ball. Anything for the team. And it just happened to be in my arms.”
Brasfield, a Yorkville graduate, said he “kind of blacked out” after scoring because he was in such shock. The fumble recovery touchdown cut Montana State’s lead to 21-14 in the third quarter.
“It was definitely one I’m going to remember for the rest of my life,” Brasfield said.