The college football postseason is winding down after New Year’s Day.
The FBS College Football Playoff semifinal round is set to begin on Thursday night when No. 7 seed Notre Dame plays No. 6 Penn State in the Capital One Orange Bowl in Miami. On Friday night, No. 8 Ohio State will take on No. 5 Texas in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic in Arlington.
On Monday night, the FCS postseason ended with an upset that saw an undefeated team go down.
Per ESPN BET, the North Dakota State Bison entered their matchup in the FCS Championship as 6.5-point underdogs to the Montana State Bobcats.
The Bison took an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter at the Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. NDSU would extend their lead to 21-3 before halftime.
Montana State would no go away easy in the second half, scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter to make it a 21-18 game with 15 minutes left in regulation.
North Dakota State Bison football climbs into the student section.
© Samantha Laurey / Argus Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Bobcats and Bison would trade two touchdowns apiece in the fourth quarter. A 19-yard pass from quarterback Tommy Mellott to Taco Dowler would bring Montana State within three points of NDSU with 1:09 remaining on the clock.
The Bison called three running plays, and Montana State used their two remaining timeouts on the game’s final drive. With 10 seconds left, NDSU was forced to punt from the Bison 40-yard line.
The Bobcats called for an all-out punt block, leaving no returner to field the ball when the punt was booted. As a result, the remaining time dissipated before the ball was downed to give North Dakota State a 35-32 win on Monday night.
Quarterback Cam Miller had an impressive day for NDSU. He went 19-of-22 passing for 200 yards and two touchdowns. He added 121 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
North Dakota State outgained Montana State 402-394 in total yards. NDSU was penalized nine times for 58 yards compared to two penalties for 20 yards for the Bobcats.
Montana State finished their season 15-1. NDSU ended the 2024 campaign 14-2. The Bison had an incredible postseason run, knocking off two favored teams in the final two rounds.
Per ESPN BET, the Bison were 3.5-point underdogs in their Dec. 21 semifinal matchup against South Dakota State.
With the win (in head coach Tim Polasek’s first season in Fargo) North Dakota State has now won 18 claimed national titles and their 10th national title in the FCS since 2011.
