Defensive end Jake Vigen and defensive tackle Alec Eckert dumped a bucket of Powerade on Montana State head coach Brent Vigen (Jake’s father). Fans stormed the field in celebration of the full circle moment.

After coming up short in the FCS national championship in 2021, No. 1 MSU booked a return trip to Frisco, Texas, with a 31-17 win over No. 4 South Dakota Saturday at Bobcat Stadium.

The Bobcats will face No. 2 North Dakota State in the FCS title game on Jan. 6.

MSU has ended its season against Missouri Valley Football Conference teams each of the last three seasons, with NDSU in the 2021 title game, South Dakota State in the 2022 semis and NDSU again in the 2023 second round.

Now the Bobcats are “back where we belong,” MSU quarterback Tommy Mellott said. Defensive end Brody Grebe added that he’s glad the opponent will be NDSU because the Bobcats have “something to prove.”

“It’s absolutely a blessing to keep playing football into January,” Mellott said. “That’s what we’re all about here at Montana State.”

Brent Vigen called it a complete “team win,” with MSU making plays in all three phases. Despite giving up two explosive plays in the first half — rushing touchdowns of 55 and 45 yards, respectively — and only scoring once in the second half, MSU “ultimately found a way” to stave off USD.

Punter Brendan Hall — who Mellott said has “a bazooka for a leg” — flipped the field with five punts, averaging 54 yards per punt.

MSU finished with 356 total yards (222 rushing, 134 passing) and USD had 371 yards (236 passing, 135 rushing). Mellott had 125 rushing yards and two TDs on 17 carries, and went 8 of 17 for 134 yards and a TD passing.

Vigen said if Mellott — a Walter Payton Award finalist — isn’t the most impactful player in FCS, it will be decided on the field in the title game against NDSU QB Cam Miller, a fellow Walter Payton top-three finalist.

Mellott got to work quickly with a pass to wide receiver Taco Dowler for a 20-yard gain. Dowler also capped off the opening drive with a 34-yard touchdown.

Dowler led MSU with four catches for 94 yards.

“He’s a stud,” Mellott said. “We got to find ways every single week to get him the ball, and I think we’ve done a really good job of that.”

Coyotes running back/fullback Travis Theis broke several tackles en route to the end zone on a 55-yard TD run. Safeties Dru Polidore and Rylan Ortt initially missed, followed by linebacker Neil Daily missing and colliding with defensive back Andrew Powdrell.

Theis finished with 110 rushing yards on 14 carries, along with seven catches for 80 yards.

“We had a heck of a time with Theis,” Vigen said, adding, “That was something we anticipated, that he was going to be one of the better players that we’ve seen all year.”

MSU regained the lead with a 5-yard TD run by Mellott.

The Coyotes opened the second quarter with another big run — this time a 45-yard TD scamper by RB Charles Pierre Jr. It’s the first time the Bobcats have surrendered multiple runs of 45-plus yards in a single game this season.

That run also put USD over 100 rushing yards. But the Coyotes were held to 45 rushing yards the rest of the game. Pierre finished with 57 yards on four carries.

“We knew we had to get those (explosive plays) out because besides that, they weren’t having a ton of success,” Grebe said, adding, “And that’s going to happen in those heavy personnels.

“But getting those big plays stopped, those explosive plays, that’s what helped us in the second half ultimately close out that game.”

MSU rattled off a 12-play, 74-yard scoring drive to regain the lead. After a defensive holding call on USD, RB Scottre Humphrey scored a 1-yard TD.

MSU kicker Myles Sansted added a 28-yard field goal with 8 seconds left in the first half to make it 24-14 MSU at the break.

The Bobcats led in total yardage (269-183) and in time of possession (20:28-9:32) at halftime. Mellott also surpassed 1,000 career playoff rushing yards (1,006) and the Bobcats broke their single-season rushing record (4,428) in the first half.

While he would’ve liked a TD to end the first half — as well as better offensive efficiency in the second half — Vigen said controlling time of possession was critical, especially in the first half. MSU ultimately won 32:04-27:56.

“We were just trying to bring it home,” Vigen said. “And ultimately we were able to do that.”

Mellott got MSU back to midfield on a 26-yard scramble. He later bobbled the snap on a third-and-1, burst up the middle, hurdled USD’s Josiah Ganues and scored a 41-yard TD to put MSU up 31-14.

Vigen said it might be the craziest play he’s seen from Mellott, a product of a “fortuitous bounce” and taking advantage of chaos.

“That play, the unscripted, the competitive nature, he certainly could have gone down on that play,” Vigen added. “Somehow he kept his balance and I’m sure they were wondering what the heck just happened.”

The Coyotes later kicked a 46-yard FG to make it 31-17.

USD had two potential scoring drives in the fourth quarter snuffed out by the MSU defense. The Coyotes lost 11 yards on a botched snap. On a fourth-and-13, tight end JJ Galbreath was knocked out of bounds short of the line to gain by MSU DB Tayden Gray.

On the second drive, Grebe and DE Kenneth Eiden IV bull-rushed Bouman for a sack on a third-and-5. Cornerback Simeon Woodard broke up a pass intended for USD’s Carter Bell in the end zone on fourth-and-10.

Vigen said the Bobcats defended the pass well all game, largely holding the Coyotes to check downs. Bouman went 20 of 29 for 236 yards, with three completions of 20-plus yards.

“We did not give them the home run, and they were going after the home run over and over again,” Vigen said, adding, “We got ourselves in some one-on-ones and we were able to make those plays and really challenge them.”

Grebe also pointed to the win over UC Davis, when the Aggies nearly overcame a 30-8 deficit in the fourth quarter. On Saturday, the Bobcats were once again in danger of losing momentum.

“Today, we were able to get those stops, and that was huge for our team to keep a little comfort there, that we could finish out the game with the two-score lead,” Grebe added.

The last gasp for USD came on an attempted hook-and-ladder from Galbreath to Quaron Adams. But Adams couldn’t handle the lateral and Grebe recovered the fumble. Mellott kneeled it out to seal the win.

It was the same fashion MSU punched its ticket to Frisco in 2021, with then-DE Daniel Hardy recovering the ball to beat SDSU 31-17.

“There’s nothing like that,” Grebe added. “And I’m so happy that I was able to go out this way in Bobcat Stadium.”

After the game felt “pretty surreal” for Grebe, who still remembers playing throughout the 2021 playoff run as a freshman alongside seniors he admired. Mellott said he was overwhelmed during that run and trying to take every game one at a time.

Now, the Bobcats have the built-in experience for another run at a national title. Vigen said his team will “not leave a stone unturned” as they look toward a rematch against the Bison.

“We’re going to have to prepare like crazy over the next couple weeks to put ourselves in position,” Vigen added. “But I think that we’re gonna go down there with a team that’s going to be right in the fight.”

This is USD’s first trip to the semis, while MSU has reached the final four for the fourth time in five seasons.

The Bobcats are 9 1/2-point favorites to win Saturday’s game. Whoever prevails will face North Dakota State in the national championship game. NDSU beat rival South Dakota State 28-21 in the semis Saturday in Fargo, North Dakota.

MSU beat Idaho 52-19 at home last week in the quarterfinals, while the Coyotes prevailed 35-21 at home over a different Big Sky Conference team, UC Davis.

The Cats are 2-0 against USD. Two teams first met in 2008, the Coyotes’ first season after moving up from Division II to D-I. MSU won that game 37-18 and beat USD 31-24 back in Bozeman a year later. 

The Bobcats have set program records for single-season victories and longest winning streak. Their last trip to the FCS title game happened in 2021, when they beat South Dakota State 31-17 at Bobcat Stadium in the semis and lost to North Dakota State 38-10 a few weeks later in Frisco, Texas.

MSU All-Americans Scottre Humphrey (running back) and Rohan Jones (fullback/tight end) are both active after missing last week’s game due to injury.

Cats head coach Brent Vigen is one win away from tying Sonny Holland for second-most wins in program history (47). A win Saturday would also give Vigen 30 home wins as MSU head coach, tying him with Cliff Hysell for second-most as a Bobcat. Rob Ash owns both records, with 70 overall wins and 43 at home.

MSU is 73 rushing yards away from matching its record for rushing yards in a season (4,366, set in 2022) and is one touchdown away from tying its single-season rushing TD record (49, also set in 2022).

The flag bearers for the Cats during the pregame runout were defensive back Tayden Gray (American) and center Justus Perkins (Montanan), a Bozeman native.

MSU got the ball first and scored with 11 minutes, 56 seconds on the clock. Tommy Mellott hit Taco Dowler for a 34-yard TD pass to put the Cats up 7-0.

Mellott also found Dowler for a 20-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage.

USD tied it up on a 55-yard TD run from Travis Theis at the 8:52 mark.

The Cats have now allowed a play of at least 55 yards for the fourth time in five games. It’s the 83rd play of at least 20 yards for USD this season, according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

USD forced what appeared to be a three-and-out on the next drive, but a Coyote jumped offsides before the punt attempt, turning a fourth-and-3 into a first down. MSU punted four plays later.

USD went three-and-out on its next drive, after a false start on third-and4 and a pass breakup from MSU cornerback Jon Johnson on the resulting third-and-9.

Mellott put MSU back up by seven points with a 5-yard TD rush with 1:04 on the clock. A 28-yard pass to Dowler set up the score.

SCORE: Montana State 14, South Dakota 7

USD tied it up with 14:51 left in the half on a 45-yard TD run from Charles Pierre Jr.

Going into the game, MSU had allowed two runs of 45 or more yards all season.

Scottre Humphrey put the Cats ahead 21-14 with a 1-yard TD run at the 8:24 mark.

MSU broke the program record for single-season rushing yards on the 12-play, 74-yard drive. Humphrey’s TD put MSU at 4,384 ground yards this season. The previous mark was 4,366 in 2022.

Humphrey now has a team-leading 15 rushing TDs this season, the fifth-most in MSU history.

A Kenneth Eiden IV sack led to a USD punt on the following drive.

Myles Sansted made a 28-yard field goal with eight seconds left to put MSU ahead 24-14.

SCORE: Montana State 24, South Dakota 14

This story will be updated.