The Verge of History: Cats were built for a Bison showdown

For the Montana State Bobcats, this is new territory. For their opponent, it's just like old times.

That's the matchup in Saturday's FCS national championship game when the Bobcats take on North Dakota State at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.

NDSU has won eight national titles in the last 10 years, making them one of the most dominant college football programs in history, at any level. Meanwhile, MSU hasn't won a national championship since its 1984 Division AA title, and hasn't played for one since then either. Make no mistake, though, this is no David vs. Goliath scenario. The Bobcats and Bison are on equal ground come Saturday morning.

That's right, NDSU (13-1) is really good, but perhaps not like the invincible Bison teams of earlier in the decade. In fact, the Bison have lost in the playoffs in each of the last two seasons before even reaching the title game. Still, the Bison are no slouches either. In typical NDSU fashion, the Bison win with a ball-control spread offense averaging 33 points and 274 rushing yards per game, combined with a physical and stout defense that allows just 11.2 points per contest and yields just 48 rushing yards per outing.

That's something MSU's first-year head coach Brett Vigen knows well. He knows it because once upon a time, he was NDSU's offensive coordinator and he saw first-hand how to build a powerhouse FCS program like the one the Bison have become.

Now, his doing it his way at Montana State and, with what Jeff Choate had already set in motion, Vigen has the Bobcats on the verge of history.

"It would really be a sense of accomplishment with all they've been able to do in the past decade, which I was a part of in the beginning," Vigen said.

Indeed, Vigen was there for the beginning of it all in Fargo, and now, he's hoping to get the Bobcats (12-2) there. Already, MSU has jumped over such hurdles as beating Eastern Washington in the regular season for the first time in a decade, as well as earning a national seed in the playoffs, then knocking off No. 1 Sam Houston State in the quarterfinals and winning their first home semifinal game a week later when the Cats steamrolled arch rival South Dakota State two weeks ago in Bobcat Stadium.

That win led to this Saturday's shot at NDSU, a huge twist of irony considering Vigen's history with the Bison. And that history could ultimately lead to a historic national championship for the Cats because they are built just like NDSU.

On offense, MSU is a run-heavy team with Isaiah Ifanse and a monster offensive line. Then, the Cats have started to ride the Tommy Mellott wave at quarterback. Mellott is a true running quarterback, who in the last four weeks, has emerged as a star after backing up the now departed Matt McKay for much of the season. That offensive formula is strikingly similar to how the Bison operate on offense.

Then there's the Cats' stubborn and stingy defense, led by All-American linebacker Troy Andersen and a host of others. MSU allows just 13 points per game and just 108 on the ground. The Cats are also great in the takeaway department and are as physical a defense as there is in all of the FCS. Sound familiar? That's right, the Cats are literally built just like the Bison, and that's what makes Saturday's game so intriguing, and one that Vigen certainly thinks his team can win.

"To bring a championship home would be something," Vigen said. "To bring that home for Montana, for Bozeman, Montana, and for Bobcat nation across the country would be an awesome feeling."

Saturday's FCS championship game between Montana State and North Dakota State will kick off at 10 a.m. M.S.T in Frisco, Texas. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.