# 2025 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game

The 2025 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a college football game played on January 6, 2025, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The game determined the national champion of NCAA Division I FCS for the 2024 season, and featured the two finalists of the 24-team playoff bracket, which began on November 30, 2024. The Monday night game began at approximately 6:00 p.m. CST and was broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+.
The game featured North Dakota State and Montana State; North Dakota State won, 35–32, and secured their 10th football championship at this level, all of them occurring since the 2011 season.

## Teams
### North Dakota State

North Dakota State finished its regular season at 10–2; its losses started and ended the regular season, 31–26 at Colorado on August 29, and 29–28 vs. South Dakota on November 23. NDSU was seeded No. 2, giving the Bison a bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs, where they defeated No. 15 Abilene Christian 51–31, No. 7 Mercer 31–7, and Dakota Marker rival – No. 3 South Dakota State 28–21.
The 2025 FCS championship game marked the 11th trip to Frisco for the Bison since the 2012 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game game against Sam Houston State, with NDSU being 9–1 in championship games, losing its most recent appearance against South Dakota State 45–21 in 2023, with its last win coming the year before against the Bobcats 38–10.
North Dakota State was led by Walter Payton Award runner-up Cam Miller, who entered the game with 3,052 yards passing, 31 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions, along with 510 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Jerry Rice Award winner CharMar Brown led the Bison's rushing attack with 1,104 yards and 14 touchdowns, with Barika Kpeenu adding 714 yards and 7 touchdowns. Bryce Lance led the Bison in receiving with 66 catches, 946 yards, and 16 touchdowns for a new school record.

### Montana State

Montana State finished its regular season with an unblemished 12–0 record, with its highest-profile wins over New Mexico 35–31 and UC Davis 30–28. Its playoff schedule started with a bye as it was the No. 1 seed and gave it home-field advantage, where the Bobcats defeated UT Martin 49–17, No. 8 Idaho 52–19, and No. 4 South Dakota 31–17.
Montana State's last championship appearance came against the Bison three years ago where the Bobcats fell 38–10. The last time Montana State won the FCS title was in 1984 against Louisiana Tech with a 19–6 win in Charleston, South Carolina.
A win would have given the Bobcats a 16–0 record for the season, which has only been done by Yale in 1894 and North Dakota State in 2019.
Montana State was led by Walter Payton Award winner Tommy Mellott, who came into the game having thrown for 2,588 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions while also being the team's third-leading rusher with 915 yards and 14 touchdowns. The Bobcats were led in rushing by Scottre Humphrey, who had 1,360 yards and 15 touchdowns while Jerry Rice Award runner-up Adam Jones was second with 1,114 yards and 14 touchdowns. Taco Dowler was the team's leading receiver with 35 catches for 546 yards and 10 touchdowns.

## Game summary

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 2 North Dakota State | 14 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 35 |
| No. 1 Montana State | 0 | 3 | 15 | 14 | 32 |
at Toyota Stadium • Frisco, Texas
* Date: January 6, 2025
* Game time: 6:03 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 34 °F (1 °C) • Wind: 7 mph (11 km/h) northwest
* Game attendance: 18,005
* Referee: Matt Overton
* TV announcers (ESPN, ESPN+): Dave Flemming (Play-by-Play), Brock Osweiler (color), Stormy Buonantony (sideline reporter)
* Box score

### Statistics

| Statistics | North Dakota State | Montana State |
| First downs | 17 | 19 |
| Plays–yards | 59–402 | 61–394 |
| Rushes–yards | 36–202 | 37–199 |
| Passing yards | 200 | 195 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 19–23–0 | 13–24–0 |
| Time of possession | 28:59 | 31:01 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| North Dakota State | Passing | Cam Miller | 19/23, 200 yards, 2 TD |
| North Dakota State | Rushing | Cam Miller | 18 carries, 121 yards, 2 TD |
| North Dakota State | Receiving | Bryce Lance | 9 receptions, 108 yards, 1 TD |
| Montana State | Passing | Tommy Mellott | 13/24, 195 yards, 2 TD |
| Montana State | Rushing | Tommy Mellott | 14 carries, 135 yards, 1 TD |
| Montana State | Receiving | Ryan Lonergan | 1 reception, 53 yards |