NASHVILLE — The Illinois State Redbirds already made history by becoming the first team to win four straight playoff games on the road to reach the Football Championship Subdivision’s title game.
Now one of the last four teams into the 24-team bracket for postseason play in NCAA Division I’s lower tier wants much more from its final game of the season — this one also away from home, though at a neutral site — on Monday night: its first national championship.
“As long as we get a bid in that playoff spot, we’ve got a shot for everything,” Illinois State linebacker Tye Niekamp said of the Redbirds’ thought process after the playoff field was announced in late November. “And yeah, I think we don’t care about any expectations outside of what’s in our locker room, and I think that’s kind of shown in proving people wrong.”
The Redbirds (12-4), one of six teams from the Missouri Valley Football Conference to receive a playoff berth this season, took the long way to the program’s second berth in the title game and first since 2014. They play No. 2 seed Montana State (13-2), with the Big Sky’s Bobcats back for a second straight season, a third time in five years under coach Brent Vigen and a fourth appearance ever.
Montana State is looking for its first national championship since 1984, when FCS was still known as Division I-AA. The Bobcats also won the 1976 NCAA Division II title and the 1956 NAIA championship.