Montana
How Do Montana State, North Dakota State Compare To Past FCS National Championship Contenders?
As we prepare for the 2025 FCS National Championship game, we wanted to take a look at how Montana State and North Dakota State compare to previous teams who have made appearances in the FCS national title game over the past five seasons.
Do these teams belong in the same conversation as last season’s South Dakota State team or the 16-0 North Dakota State team in 2019? We examine both teams in this season’s national title game and compare them to those who have appeared in the national title game in the last five full seasons. Due to the unique format of the season, we excluded the shortened spring 2021 season.
We utilized several advanced metrics, including the Massey Power Rating, Sagarin Power Rating, and College Football Reference’s Simple Rating System (SRS). The SRS is not logged for FCS teams, but we have utilized their formula to make our own SRS for teams at the FCS level. The calculation is straightforward, using the average margin of victory and strength of schedule.
|
Massey Power Rating |
Sagarin Rating |
SRS |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
2024 Montana State |
53.5 |
76.6 |
26.2 |
|
2024 North Dakota State |
55.8 |
76.3 |
25.7 |
|
2023 South Dakota State |
62.8 |
83.3 |
24.3 |
|
2023 Montana |
49.9 |
69.1 |
15.9 |
|
2022 South Dakota State |
58.8 |
76.0 |
25.9 |
|
2022 North Dakota State |
55.3 |
69.7 |
18.9 |
|
2021 North Dakota State |
63.3 |
76.3 |
23.3 |
|
2021 Montana State |
52.3 |
65.1 |
18.4 |
|
2019 North Dakota State |
61.4 |
78.6 |
24.4 |
|
2019 James Madison |
57.2 |
72.8 |
22.3 |
Both teams this season compare favorably with the past four FCS national champions. Montana State has the second-highest adjusted margin of victory, winning by an average of 19.1 points per game. It only trails the 2019 North Dakota State team, which defeated opponents by an average of 19.3 points per game.
The most interesting takeaway is that this is the first matchup in the FCS National Championship in the past five full seasons in which both teams appear to be playing at a championship standard. Analytically, this is the closest gap between the teams playing in the national championship in the past five seasons.
This should be no surprise to fans, who have seen dominant performances over the past few seasons in Frisco. The average margin of victory in the past five national championships has been 16.4 points, with the closest game being Sam Houston State’s two-point win over South Dakota State in the spring of 2021.
If you were to average these three metrics together, they would rank as follows:
1. 2023 South Dakota State (56.8)
2. 2019 North Dakota State (54.8)
3. 2021 North Dakota State (54.3)
4. 2022 South Dakota State (53.6)
5. 2024 North Dakota State (52.6)
6. 2024 Montana State (52.1)
7. 2019 James Madison (50.8)
8. 2022 North Dakota State (47.9)
9. 2021 Montana State (45.3)
10. 2023 Montana (44.9)
Every metric we analyzed indicates that Monday’s game could be an instant classic. Both teams rank much closer to recent FCS national champions, compared to the runner-ups over the past five seasons.
No. 1 Montana State will face No. 2 North Dakota State in the 2025 FCS National Championship game in Frisco, Texas. Kickoff is scheduled for Jan. 6 at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Behind The Numbers: FCS National Championship Preview
FCS National Championship: Offensive Spotlight
FCS National Championship: Defensive Spotlight
History Of The FCS National Championship Game
2024 FCS Playoffs: Official Bracket, Schedule, Scores
Follow FCS Football Central on social media for ongoing coverage of FCS football, including on X, Facebook, and YouTube.
Montana
Emergency travel only in northeast Montana (video)
GREAT FALLS — Blowing dust is becoming a major issue again on the Hi-Line as winds gust to 60–70+ mph, especially from Phillips County eastward.
Visibility has dropped to very low to near zero at times, and there have already been several crashes east of Glasgow near Nashua and Frazer. People are urged to avoid unnecessary travel in these areas if possible.
This is a very dangerous situation for travelers across northeast Montana. Blowing dust is causing near-zero visibility in many locations.
WATCH:
Hazardous driving along the Hi-Line
Highway 2 from Dodson to Wolf Point is closed until further notice, with only emergency travel allowed in these areas.
All red- and black-shaded roads and highways are experiencing severe driving conditions because of the low visibility.
MDT
Click here to visit the MDT 511 site.
(WEDNESDAY, MAY 13) A fast-moving front rolled through north-central Montana on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. The powerful winds gusted to more than 80 miles per hour in some areas.
Shaylan Verploegen shared video from north of Havre, showing a huge “wall” of dirt and dust in a unique weather phenomenon known as a haboob; watch the video and see other viewer photos here:
Fast-moving front kicks up walls of dust
The strong winds caused some damage. There were trees blown over in Havre, Great Falls, and Helena. Part of a roof was blown off in Box Elder, and there were several carports that were destroyed in Havre. There were also numerous power outages reported across the area, some of which lasted for several hours.
Check out more photos and videos shared by KRTV viewers:
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Montana
Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for May 13, 2026
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 13, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from May 13 drawing
22-31-52-56-67, Powerball: 15, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from May 13 drawing
17-18-28-37-42, Star Ball: 04, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from May 13 drawing
02-06-10-16, Bonus: 16
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from May 13 drawing
08-13-39-63-66, Powerball: 02
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Montana Cash numbers from May 13 drawing
02-04-13-17-32
Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 13 drawing
21-24-29-42-49, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
- Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
- Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Montana
Public Meeting at Hub on Smith Concerning Montana Water Call Prompting Priority Administration in Tongue Basin
Wyoming State Engineer Brandon Gebhart announced that on May 5, 2026, the State of Montana placed a call under Article V(A) of the Yellowstone River Compact to fill Tongue River Reservoir in Montana. As a result, priority administration is in effect on post-1950 water rights in Wyoming that divert water from the Tongue River and its tributaries and are not excluded from the compact.
A public meeting will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 18, in the dining room of The Hub on Smith. Attendees are asked to enter on the north side of the building.
The Tongue River Basin has been experiencing drought conditions over the past year with historically low winter snowpack and streamflow conditions. According to the release, those conditions led to Montana’s interstate call and prompted the administration of the Tongue River Basin in Wyoming.
The priority administration will affect post-1950 water rights within the Tongue River Basin, including reservoir storage, stream diversions and groundwater withdrawals, all of which affect river flows. Post-1950 water rights will be regulated off or prevented from turning on. Wyoming hydrographer-commissioners will continue to administer reservoir storage and post-1950 diversions throughout the spring and work with affected water users until the administration is lifted.
As provided in the compact, domestic uses less than one-half acre in area and livestock uses, including stock reservoirs less than 20 acre-feet in capacity, are excluded from this administration. The release noted these excluded rights could be subject to future regulation to satisfy priority calls by senior Wyoming water rights.
Beginning May 5, 2026, Wyoming hydrographer-commissioners have worked to record the current storage levels of reservoirs with post-1950 water rights. Going forward, those reservoirs can continue to accrue storage so long as post-1950 storage gained after the interstate call on May 5 remains in storage until either the water is released to satisfy the Montana call or Montana lifts the call because Tongue River Reservoir will fill.
Reservoirs with unfulfilled pre-1950 water rights can continue to store water and that storage will not be subject to release to satisfy Montana’s call. However, that storage and other direct flow rights could be subject to regulation to satisfy priority calls by senior Wyoming water rights.
The priority administration will be carried out pursuant to state law by hydrographer-commissioners assigned to various portions of the Tongue River Basin, working under the direction of Division II Superintendent David Schroeder.
The Wyoming State Engineer’s Office can be contacted at:
Jack Morey, deputy state engineer, 307-777-5032, jack.morey2@wyo.gov
David Schroeder, Division II superintendent, 307-674-7012, d.schroeder@wyo.gov
Jeff Cowley, interstate streams administrator, 307-777-1942, jeff.cowley@wyo.gov
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