Redbird rewind: Illinois State falls ‘one more play’ short in FCS title game heartbreaker to Montana State

Illinois State quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse delivers one of his 33 completions Monday night in the FCS national championship game. The senior threw four TD passes to raise his school-record total to 40 this season. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)

By Barry Bottino 

NASHVILLE – One more play.

That’s all Illinois State needed Monday night at FirstBank Stadium on the campus of Vanderbilt University. One more play in the fourth quarter. One more play in overtime.

“We just couldn’t find one more play,” Illinois State head coach Brock Spack said.

Thus, the unseeded Redbirds’ magical run through the FCS playoffs – winning a record four road games against four seeded teams – ended with a heartbreaking 35-34 overtime loss to No. 2 seed Montana State.

Despite falling behind by two touchdowns on three different occasions, Illinois State (12-5) scored 20 unanswered points in a wildly emotional second half that kept the crowd of 24,105 – the largest for an FCS title game since 1996 – on its feet.

The rally was undone, however, by a blocked 38-yard Michael Cosentino field goal attempt with 57 seconds left in regulation and a blocked extra point in overtime, which Spack attributed to “a ball-handling issue.”

“When you look at a game that’s a one-point loss, there are probably 10, 15, 20 plays that if you make one of them, you win it,” Spack said of the first FCS title game to in history to go into overtime. “We weren’t able to do that.”

With the game tied 28-28 after regulation, the Redbirds scored on their first OT drive on a 10-yard Tommy Rittenhouse pass to receiver Dylan Lord. The blocked PAT followed.

On the opening drive for Montana State (14-2), the Redbirds forced a fourth-and-9 and had the Bobcats on the ropes. Quarterback Justin Lamson, who rushed for two first-half touchdowns, lofted a pass in the corner of the end zone and into the arms of top receiver Taco Dowler to tie the game.

Myles Sansted’s extra-point set off a victorious MSU celebration of its first FCS national title since 1984. Lamson was named the Most Outstanding Player of the FCS postseason.

“The worst part is going back into the locker room and seeing the seniors,” said ISU All-American linebacker Tye Niekamp, fighting back tears. “It’s awful, honestly. (The end of) every year sucks, but it gets worse and worse because you get to know the guys more and more. It breaks your heart. It’s tough.”

Down 14-0 early in the second quarter, the Redbirds struggled to extend drives, going 0-for-5 on third downs in the first half.

Yet with 54 seconds remaining in the half, Rittenhouse connected on a 6-yard scoring pass to tight end Scotty Presson Jr. to trim the lead to 14-7. In a span of the next three plays — and a mere 36 seconds — the Bobcats zipped down the field to extend their lead to 21-7 at halftime on pass plays of 20, 22 and 33 yards.

The scoring play was a catch-and-run by MSU receiver Dane Steel, who broke one tackle and hurdled a defender inside the 10-yard line on his way into the end zone.

But the Redbirds weren’t done.

“We knew their track record, and knew they wouldn’t go away,” said MSU head coach Brent Vigen, whose team lost in the national title game last season to North Dakota State. “We maybe had some moments in that second half where we could extend the lead and we just didn’t do it. A lot of credit goes to them.”

Illinois State’s defense limited Montana State to 105 second-half yards and seven points.

“The big thing for us was we weren’t tackling very well at all,” Niekamp said. “In the first half, there were a lot of missed tackles that let them score. The only real adjustment was bringing a lot of pressure on third down.”

Dowler, who had six catches for 96 yards in the first half, was limited to two receptions and 15 second-half yards.

The ISU offense also awoke in the second half after producing only 202 yards in the first half. The Redbirds put up 269 second-half yards thanks to Lord – who had a game-high 161 receiving yards and an FCS title game record-tying 13 receptions. Running back Victor Dawson posted his fourth consecutive 100-yard postseason game, finishing with 126 rushing yards and 33 receiving yards on five catches.

“We started off slow as an offense,” Rittenhouse said. “We definitely left some plays out there. To go out like this, it was pretty fun, expect for (being) on the losing end.”

Game changers

0:57, 4th quarter: Cosentino’s 38-yard field goal attempt was blocked by an outside MSU rusher to keep the score tied at 28. Spack cited “ball handling issues.”    

First OT, ISU drive: Rittenhouse threw his fourth touchdown of the night – and his school-record 40^th of the season – to Lord, which gave ISU its first lead of the night. Pressure up the middle created the blocked PAT.  

First OT, MSU drive: On fourth-and-9, Lamson lofted a pass to Dowler in the corner of the end zone to tie the game. A successful PAT provided the winning margin.  

What it means

Illinois State fell short in a national championship game for the second time in program history, despite rallying Monday night to send the game to overtime.

Best ‘Birds

Prairie State Pigskin chooses the top three Illinois State players in the game:

Rittenhouse, QB: The senior’s final game in an ISU uniform was a gem. He tied a title game record with four TD passes and piled up 311 yards on 33-for-46 passing.

Lord, WR: A redshirt freshman, Lord tied an FCS championship game record with 13 receptions. He compiled a game-high 161 receiving yards and had two TD catches.

Dawson, RB: A 100-yard rushing game machine in the playoffs, the senior racked up 126 yards on 29 carries. He also set a playoff record for total carries during the playoffs.

Barry Bottino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995.

Find us on social media!

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/PSPigskin 

Facebook: Prairie State Pigskin 

Instagram: Prairiestatepigskin 

Blue Sky: PSPigskin