George Ferguson Column: The Bobcats have their moment to make history tonight

For the first time in more than three decades, the Montana State Bobcats can win an FCS national championship.

Mind you, I said, can win the national championship. Because let's be honest, Montana State was never going to win at all in 2021.

Tonight however, well that's a whole other story. Not only can Montana State win the national championship in Frisco, Texas, they absolutely should, and anything less will be an upset.

But George, the Cats are playing North Dakota State, the greatest FCS program in the history of that division of football. How can it be an upset if the Bison win?

The answer is simple. Montana State is the best team this season. The Cats have been the best team since fall camp started back in August. They were the best team in September, and the best team in the Big Sky Conference, hence running the table and winning the Big Sky title, relatively easily, too.

And while the best teams don't always win, in this game, the best team should.

Montana State has the best quarterback in the FCS, and Tommy Mellott isn't just the best QB in the country, he's the best football player in the country, plain and simple. No doubt, Cam Miller is really good. But Mellott is just better.

And while having one of the top rushing attacks in the country is nothing new to Montana State, there is something different about this game. For perhaps the first time in MSU history, the Cats have a better offensive line than North Dakota State. It's rare, and it honestly may never happen again, but this season, this game, the Cats are better up front, and when they need yards, they'll get them.

But you know why I'm completely sold on the Bobcats this season? Because they also have one of the best defenses in the country. Brody Grebe, Rylan Ortt, McCade O'Relly, there's just so many good players on MSU's defense, and to me that will be the different. For the first time in this rivaly, and yes, MSU and NDSU have an intriguing playoff history, I think the Cat's defense can stand up to the Bison' offensive line, and to Miller.

In other words, the Cats are simply the better football team.

Beyond that, MSU is also a team of destiny. And while the championship game is now in January, this is still the 2024 FCS season, and guess what? The last time the Bobcats won the national championship was 30 years ago when they beat Louisiana Tech for the 1984 Division i-AA national championship.

It's been 30 long years since the Bobcats have won a national title. And it's not just the Montana Grizzlies who have gotten in the way of the Cats winning it all a couple of times. Instead, the Cats have suffered at the hands of NDSU in the playoffs over the years, including just last year.

So MSU isn't just a team of destiny. Tonight is also a chance for major payback. The Bobcats can end another drought, the drought against the Bison.

It's perfect. It's totally teed up for the Bobcats. Tonight's the night where everything comes to a head for a Montana State program that has been building towards this moment for so long.

In other words, there's no way the Bobcats will lose. They've come too far to lose now. This is their chance, and they have no intentions of squandering it. This has been the year of Montana State. The Bobcats are the best, and they'll prove that tonight when they hoist the national championship trophy at Toyota Stadium.