Home Page | 2026 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game
The 2026 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a college football game played on January 5, 2026, at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. The game determined the national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) for the 2025 season. It featured the two finalists of the 24-team playoff bracket, which began on November 29, 2025. The Monday night game began at approximately 7:30 p.m. EST and was broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+.
The game featured Illinois State of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and Montana State of the Big Sky Conference; for the first time ever, the FCS Championship Game ended in overtime, with Montana State defeating Illinois State, 35–34.
Teams
Illinois State
Illinois State got off to a 3–1 start in non-conference play, losing only to FBS opponent Oklahoma. They began Missouri Valley Football Conference play with a home game versus No. 1 North Dakota State and were trounced 33–16. A loss to Youngstown State two weeks later saw them drop to No. 18 in the polls but the Redbirds responded with victories over No. 21 South Dakota and No. 16 South Dakota State before closing out the regular season with a loss to No. 24 Southern Illinois. With a conference record of 5–3 and finishing 8–4 overall, the Redbirds were among the last teams to get into the FCS playoffs, being one of six MVFC teams in the bracket but were also unseeded. They defeated No. 17 Southeastern Louisiana 21–3 to set up a matchup with No. 1 North Dakota State. They pulled off a last-minute upset to win 29–28 and reach the quarterfinals. They then defeated No. 11 UC Davis 42–31 and then beat No. 9 Villanova 30–14 (the largest semifinal win by a road team in the last 30 years) to reach the championship game. They are the first FCS team to win four straight playoff games on the road.
This was the 15th consecutive FCS championship game with a team from the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Illinois State's last championship appearance came in 2014 when they lost to North Dakota State 29–27. They were attempting to win their first Division I championship as a program. They were attempting to become the first unseeded team to win the FCS championship since Western Kentucky in 2002.
Montana State
Ranked No. 4 in the polls to start the year, Montana State got off to a rough start for the season, losing 59–13 to FBS opponent Oregon before falling to No. 2 South Dakota State 30–24 in double overtime. However, the Bobcats did not lose another game for the rest of the regular season, winning nine games in a row to set up a pivotal matchup for the Big Sky championship versus in-state rival Montana; with Montana State ranked No. 3 and Montana ranked No. 2, it was the first top-3 matchup in rivalry history. Playing on the road, the Bobcats won 31–28. Both teams received a first round bye, with Montana State being ranked No. 2 only to North Dakota State. The Bobcats defeated No. 24 Yale 21–13, No. 10 Stephen F. Austin 44–28 to set up the first-ever December rivalry game with No. 3 Montana. They trounced them 48–23 to reach the FCS championship game.
This was the third FCS championship game for Montana State in the past six seasons, as they previously lost to North Dakota State in 2021 and 2024. The most recent time that Montana State won the FCS title had been in 1984 against Louisiana Tech with a 19–6 win in Charleston, South Carolina, while the most recent Big Sky team to win the national championship had been Eastern Washington in 2010.
Game summary
2026 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game
Quarter
1
2
3
4
OT
Total
No. 17 Illinois State
0
7
7
14
6
34
(2) No. 2 Montana State
7
14
7
0
7
35
at FirstBank Stadium • Nashville, Tennessee
Date: Monday, January 5, 2026
Game time: 7:30 p.m. EST
Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 57 °F (14 °C) • Wind: 7 mph (11 km/h) south
Game attendance: 24,105
Referee: James Brookhart
TV announcers (ESPN): Dave Flemming (play-by-play), Brock Osweiler (analyst), Stormy Buonantony (sideline reporter)
Box score
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
Illinois State
Montana State
1
4:51
10
90
5:50
Montana State
Justin Lamson 3-yard touchdown run, Myles Sansted kick good
0
7
2
10:49
8
80
3:26
Montana State
Justin Lamson 2-yard touchdown run, Myles Sansted kick good
0
14
2
0:54
10
80
4:23
Illinois State
Scotty Presson Jr. 6-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Rittenhouse, Michael Cosentino kick good
7
14
2
0:18
3
75
0:36
Montana State
Dane Steel 33-yard touchdown reception from Justin Lamson, Myles Sansted kick good
7
21
3
5:32
17
85
7:32
Illinois State
Logan Brasfield 0-yard touchdown run, Michael Cosentino kick good
14
21
3
3:18
6
64
2:08
Montana State
Taco Dowler 22-yard touchdown run, Myles Sansted kick good
14
28
4
10:13
15
81
8:01
Illinois State
Daniel Sobkowicz 4-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Rittenhouse, Michael Cosentino kick good
21
28
4
5:10
8
60
3:52
Illinois State
Dylan Lord 25-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Rittenhouse, Michael Cosentino kick good
28
28
OT
2
25
Illinois State
Dylan Lord 10-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Rittenhouse, Michael Cosentino kick failed (blocked)
34
28
OT
5
25
Montana State
Taco Dowler 14-yard touchdown reception from Justin Lamson, Myles Sansted kick good
34
35
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.
34
35
Statistics
Team statistical comparison
Statistic
Illinois State
Montana State
First downs
33
20
First downs rushing
10
7
First downs passing
20
12
First downs penalty
0
2
Third down efficiency
7–14
3–9
Fourth down efficiency
2–2
1–1
Total plays–net yards
84–471
51–381
Rushing attempts–net yards
38–160
24–101
Yards per rush
4.2
4.2
Yards passing
311
280
Pass completions–attempts (percent)
33–46 (72%)
18–27 (67%)
Interceptions thrown
0
0
Punt returns–total yards
2–-1
0–0
Kickoff returns–total yards
4–70
4–114
Punts–average yardage
4–40.0
5–39.2
Fumbles–lost
1–0
1–0
Penalties–yards
5–55
14–93
Time of possession
39:41
20:19
Illinois State statistics
Redbirds passing
C–A
Yds
TD–INT
Tommy Rittenhouse
33–46
311
4–0
Redbirds rushing
Car
Yds
TD
Victor Dawson
29
126
0
Tommy Rittenhouse
6
20
0
Seth Glatz
2
13
0
Wenkers Wright
1
1
0
Redbirds receiving
Rec
Yds
TD
Dylan Lord
13
161
2
Daniel Sobkowicz
5
52
1
Victor Dawson
5
33
0
Eddie Kasper
3
16
0
Javon Charles
2
18
0
Scotty Presson Jr.
2
16
0
Luke Mailander
1
12
0
Wenkers Wright
1
5
0
Seth Glatz
1
-2
0
Montana State statistics
Bobcats passing
C–A
Yds
TD–INT
Justin Lamson
18–27
280
2–0
Bobcats rushing
Car
Yds
TD
Adam Jones
5
46
0
Justin Lamson
12
30
2
Julius Davis
5
23
0
Taco Dowler
1
22
1
Bobcats receiving
Rec
Yds
TD
Taco Dowler
8
111
1
Adam Jones
3
16
Chris Long
2
55
0
Jabez Woods
2
41
1
Dane Steel
2
41
0
Rocky Lencioni
1
16
0
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