What to know about Montana State, Illinois State in FCS championship game
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The Football Championship Subdivision national championship game returns to Tennessee on Jan. 5 (6:30 p.m. CT, ESPN) for the first time in 16 years when Montana State plays Illinois State.
It will be the first time the title game is played in Nashville with the two teams squaring off at Vanderbilt’s FirstBank Stadium. The championship game was played in Chattanooga from 1997-2009.
Montana State (13-2) won the national title in 1984 when the game was in Charleston, South Carolina. Illinois State (12-4) has never won the title, but played in the championship game in 2014 when it lost to North Dakota State 29-27 in Frisco, Texas.
Will FCS national championship remain in Nashville beyond 2027?
Nashville was announced as the site for the FCS championship game in early 2025, moving it from Frisco, Texas, where it has been played the past 15 years. The FCS championship game is scheduled to return to Nashville in 2027.
The Nashville Sports Council and the Ohio Valley Conference, which is based in Nashville, are co-hosts of the event, and officials from both organizations have made it clear they hope to keep the championship game here long term.
How Montana State, Illinois State reached FCS title game
Montana State defeated Yale, 21-13, in the second round of the playoffs after having a first-round bye. Montana State then beat Stephen F. Austin, 44-28, in the quarterfinals and Montana, 48-23, in the semifinals.
Illinois State earned an at-large bid in the playoffs. The Redbirds defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 21-3, in the first round of the playoffs, then beat top-seed North Dakota State, 29-28, in the second round. Illinois State downed UC Davis, 42-31, in the quarterfinals and Villanova, 30-14, in the semifinals.
Each of the Redbirds’ playoff wins came on the road making them the first in FCS history to win four straight road games in the playoffs to advance to the national title game.
Montana State QB Justin Lamson’s phenomenal stat line
Montana State quarterback Justin Lamson, a transfer from Stanford who made three starts for the Cardinal, has been incredibly accurate in the FCS playoffs. He has completed 43-of-61 passes (70.5%) over three postseason games.
Lamson has thrown for 547 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.
On the season Lamson is 237-of-329 for 2,892 yards with 24 TDs and three interceptions.
Illinois State WR Daniel Sobkowicz has 7 TDs in FCS playoffs
Illinois State’s Daniel Sobkowicz has been among the best receivers in the FCS all season and continued to shine in the playoffs.
The All-Missouri Valley Conference player has seven touchdowns receptions in the playoffs.
Sobkowicz now has 40 career receiving touchdowns, which puts him in the top spot on the program’s career list, and he also sits atop the career receptions list with 257. He is in second place on the career receiving yards list (3,507).
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Montana State, Illinois State in FCS championship game at Vanderbilt stadium
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