Illinois State’s first trip back to the FCS national championship game Monday in Nashville was a memorable one for tight end Scotty Presson Jr. and the Redbirds. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
By Barry Bottino
NASHVILLE – Monday’s FCS national championship game was the result of an 11-year chase to return to that stage for Illinois State.
The game didn’t disappoint, despite the Redbirds’ 35-34 loss to Montana State in the first-ever title game that went into overtime.
In their own words, here’s how the players, coaches and others described it.
Here are 26 quotes from Prairie State Pigskin’s trip to Nashville.
“You know, there’s never been an FCS title game go into overtime.” – NCAA stat crew member in the press box during pregame
“Not to finish the goal and go back in (the locker room) and see those guys, it breaks your heart.” – Illinois State All-American linebacker Tye Neikamp
“I can’t be more grateful for the ISU community, the boys that I played with tonight, and everything I’ve been gifted.” – ISU quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse
“I’m very proud of our team. I didn’t expect anything less of them. They fought through a lot to get here. I heard a lot about the Cinderella thing. This is a really good football team.” – Brock Spack, ISU head coach
“We lost a lot of guys (from last season) and that’s kind of all I heard about going into the season. When I got here, I knew that we had dudes. These guys accepted me. Coach (Brent) Vigen took a chance on me when not a lot of people did.” – MSU quarterback Justin Lamson, the Most Outstanding Player in the FCS playoffs
“It was an electric atmosphere. It was probably the most fun I’ve had playing a game.” –Niekamp on playing in front of the game’s seventh-largest crowd in history
“We had some long drives. Our offense was playing pretty well. Tommy made some great throws, and I was able to capitalize on that. The defense was getting stops. At the end of the day, it just wasn’t enough.” – Dylan Lord, ISU wide receiver after his 13-catch, 161-yard performance
“We had some moments in that second half where maybe we could extend the lead, and we just didn’t do it. A lot of credit goes to them.” – MSU head coach Brent Vigen on Illinois State’s second-half defense
“It was up and down. We’ve been in that position before. We were unfazed. We were able to get things going. That’s just been us, regardless of what the score is.” – ISU running back Victor Dawson on the team’s second-half comeback
“I always say the quote, ‘A vision without execution is hallucination.’ We believe in each other, and that comes from the execution of the work that we put in every day. It’s going back to Day 1 of fall camp. It’s going back to winter conditioning. That’s what creates that belief.” – ISU linebacker Mason Kaplan on the team’s belief in each other
“It’s kind of silly, don’t you think?” – MSU wide receiver Taco Dowler on questions about his name
“I caught a glimpse of him. We’ve been on that side of the coin. You just appreciate the type of competitor that he is and was tonight. That was not a flash. That’s what we’ve seen on film. You appreciate guys who compete and do everything they can for your team. I caught him and I wanted to tell him that.” – Vigen on leaving the MSU celebration to recognize Rittenhouse
“If we got him off his spot, we didn’t feel like he was going to be able to throw the ball that well. That’s what we did in the second half.” – Niekamp on affecting Lamson in the final two quarters
“That fourth-down play, we called the same play a couple plays before that. We had a little different formation and a little different presentation (the second time). Coach Sterbick saw that Taco could win.” – Vigen on MSU offensive coordinator Pete Sterbick’s decision on the game-winning play in overtime
“We never felt out of it. If the clock isn’t at 0:00, it’s not over.” – Dawson on ISU’s second-half comeback.
“Dan’s a little more on the quiet side. He’s helped me with a lot of the little nuances on the field and reading coverages. He leads by example a lot of the time. I’m grateful for him, and excited to see what he’s going to do at the next level.” – Lord on playing with ISU All-American WR Daniel Sobkowicz
“It wasn’t the field goal. It wasn’t the extra point. There were a lot of things that could’ve happened in that game. If you make one of those plays, you win a game like this. (The players) will see that someday, I hope.” – Spack on what decided Monday’s game
“Our season wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. It was rocky at times.” – Dowler on ups and downs of MSU’s year
“We prepared for the arc of this game. We have a saying on offense. ‘Who’s going to make the spark?’ It was different guys that did that.” – Lamson on rebounding after ISU tied the game
“We hate to lose. This mission was not completed because we didn’t come out with the win.” – Kaplan on postgame emotions
“We took a deep breath and said, ‘OK, we got this.’” – Lord on ISU’s second-half offensive approach
“He’s our best player. Being a defensive coach all my life, you always want to know where the touchdown makers are. They did that with the way they were defending Daniel (with a cornerback and a safety) in the first half.” – Spack on Sobkowicz, who caught a TD on a key fourth down
“I don’t think it was a question of effort or attitude or want. Sometimes you give your all and you just come up short.” – Lord on the defeat
“That was a scene, and we’ve had some scenes back home. To take our fan base to Nashville and really take over, that was certainly impactful.” – Vigen on Montana State’s fan support
“I’m just thankful for everyone in (that locker room). That’s why it’s emotional for everyone. This is just going to ignite more fuel and fire into our team.” – Kaplan on Monday’s loss
“Our team believed that they could beat anybody, anywhere.” – Spack on his team’s confidence
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.
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