The Illinois State University football team's remarkable, improbable journey to a potential national championship nearly arrived its final destination.
But the road-tested, unseeded Redbirds ran into some unexpected blocks at the end, and the FCS Championship trophy narrowly eluded them for the second time in just over a decade.
No. 2 Montana State scored on a wild fourth-down pass in overtime and converted the extra point kick as ISU absorbed a heartbreaking 35-34 defeat Monday at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville.
ISU fought back again and again in the penalty-filled game, including a stiffer second-half defense, but the Bobcats’ earlier quick scores in response kept a comeback just out of reach.
“When you look at a game, a one-point loss like that, there's probably 10, 15, maybe even 20 plays in the game, if you just make one of them, you win it — and we weren’t able to do that,” said ISU coach Brock Spack, whose team won an unprecedented four road playoff games just to reach the title game.
“We came up a little short. But I'm just really, really proud of our team. They've fought through a lot to get here, heard a lot about … the Cinderella thing. I think this is a really good football team.”
ISU capitalized on the initial possession of the first overtime in FCS title game history, with redshirt freshman Dylan Lord scoring on a 10-yard pass from senior quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse. But kicker Michael Cosentino’s extra-point try was blocked, giving Montana State its opportunity.
Still, the Redbird defense was on the verge of sealing the upset when the Bobcats faced fourth down at the 14. Under heavy pressure, Montana State quarterback Justin Lamson lofted a rainbow that came down in the arms of Taco Dowler in the end zone.
When the point after went through the uprights, the Bobcat fans erupted in celebration.
“I really wanted this one,” said Rittenhouse, choking back painful emotions after throwing for 311 yards and four TDs. “We started off kind of slow as an offense, and, they're a great defense so they made some plays. But like Coach [Spack] said, we definitely left some out there, definitely some I want back.
“But to go out like this, it's pretty fun, I guess, except we're on the losing end. But I can't be more grateful for the ISU community, the boys that I played with tonight, and everything that I've been gifted.”
With the game tied at 28-28, the Redbirds moved into position for a potential game-winning field goal. Facing fourth-and-1 from the 21 with 1:03 left, Spack sent Cosentino out for a shot at taking the lead.
“I thought it was the right decision at the time,” said Spack. “We went back and forth about going on fourth down, but we cut a guy loose and on the play before and we kind of got beat pretty bad on a line of scrimmage. So I thought, you know, we're in field goal range; this is well into Mike's range. If he gets the ball up, I think we'll be fine.”
Spack insisted the two blocked kicks weren’t entirely responsible for ISU’s defeat.
“It wasn't the field goal, it wasn't the extra point,” he said. “There's a lot of things that could happen in that game, [and] if you make one of those plays you win a game like this.”
As the first team to win four road playoff games en route to the final, the Redbirds entered as 10.5-point underdogs against a Montana State team that lost last year’s championship to North Dakota State. ISU fell into a 14-0 deficit as the Bobcats scored on their first two possessions.
Momentum changes
The Redbirds seemed to get a little momentum late in the second quarter, cutting the lead in half when Rittenhouse found Scotty Presson Jr. wide open in the right flat on a 6-yard touchdown pass with 54 seconds left on the clock.
But Montana State responded quickly with three long-yardage plays capped by a 33-yard TD pass from Lamson to Dane Steel. Spack said that was a critical stretch.
“A key drive in the game was the score right before half,” he said. “They had three big chunk plays, and was ‘bang, bang, bang, touchdown’. We didn't tackle very well, and that was something that shouldn't happen [but] it did.”
ISU started rolling in the second half as its offense began to click, its defense tightened and its outnumbered but enthusiastic crowd made enough noise to rattle the Bobcats into nine pre-snap penalties.
The Redbirds made it 21-14 with 5:32 left in the third quarter, finishing a 17-play, 85-yard drive with a score when right tackle Logan Brasfield recovered a loose ball after running back Victor Dawson fumbled as he tried to stretch his arm over the goal line.
Again, Montana State answered quickly by scoring on a 22-yard pass from Lamson to Dowler. Another long ISU drive ended with Rittenhouse hooking up with Daniel Sobkowicz on a TD pass with the Redbirds facing fourth-and-1 from the 4 with just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation.
Lord nearly answered ISU’s prayers for an upset, emerging as Rittenhouse’s top target for the night with 13 catches totaling 161 yards and his two TDs. Dawson amassed 126 rushing yards on 29 carries as the Redbirds finished with a record of 12-5.
In context
The late loss marked ISU’s second in the national title game, by a combined total of three points. The 2014 Redbirds absorbed a 29-27 loss to NDSU, after taking a lead on the Bison in the final minute.
ISU’s defeat also marked just the third time since 2011 that a Missouri Valley Football Conference member failed to capture the national title. At least one MVFC team has played in every championship game over that span.
The Redbirds entered the playoffs in need of a spark after a lackluster home loss to Southern Illinois in the regular-season finale left them facing an uphill battle in the postseason.
They started out with a convincing victory at Southeastern Louisiana, before pulling off arguably the biggest upset of the college football season, stunning top-seeded defending champion and perennial Missouri Valley Football Conference powerhouse North Dakota State.
Upset wins over No. 8 seed UC Davis and No. 12 Villanova made ISU the first FCS team to reach the title game with four straight road wins, giving the Redbirds a streak of nine consecutive wins away from Hancock Stadium.
“I think our team believed they could beat anybody anywhere, and particularly about how we played at North Dakota State,” said Spack. “I’m just really proud of the team. I had a feeling if we could just get a stop on the first series the second half, that we would have a chance, and we did.”
More photos from Monday's game:
