FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Cam Miller ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more in his 54th consecutive start as North Dakota State's quarterback, and the Bison won their record 10th Football Championship Subdivision title, beating top-seeded and previously undefeated Montana State 35-32 on Monday night.
North Dakota State (14-2) made the trip from Fargo to Frisco for the 11th time in 14 seasons. Its previous title there was three years ago, in a game that also had Miller and Montana State’s Tommy Mellott as the starting quarterbacks.
Miller completed 19 of 22 passes for 199 yards and ran 18 times for 121 yards to win his 45th game (out of 56 starts) and his second national title.
“Cam Miller was the best quarterback on the football field today. There was no doubt about it,” said first-year NDSU coach Tim Polasek, who was an assistant for the Bison's first two titles in Frisco at the end of the 2011 and 2012 seasons. “Tommy’s a good football player, there’s no question about that either. But all year long, these guys have answered the bell with complimentary football.”
Montana native Mellott had a 44-yard touchdown run that got the Bobcats (15-1) within 28-25 early in the fourth quarter. He won the Walter Payton Award this season as the FCS’ top offensive player in a close vote over Miller.
Mellott ran for 135 yards on 14 carries and was 13 of 24 passing for 195 yards and two touchdowns. He threw a 19-yarder to Taco Dowler with 1:09 left before an unsuccessful onside kick attempt.
“Our offense was a little bit stagnant there in the first half unfortunately and we came up short because of it,” Mellott said. “Guys kept fighting, it's very easy 21-3 to quit ... and we came back out there and we had a group of guys that fought for this team, fought for the seniors.”
The Bison never trailed after Miller capped the game's opening drive that took more than seven minutes with a 2-yard plunge. Miller had an empty backfield behind him on their second possession when he got the snap and sprinted 64 yards untouched up the middle for another touchdown.
“It was a draw play with an option to pass as well ... they played the perfect front and the perfect coverage for it for us. It just parted,” Miller said. “It didn’t feel real honestly. Usually when we run draws, you’ve got to make a few guys miss. And there was nobody there.”
Miller threw a 1-yard TD to Bryce Lance right before halftime for a 21-3 lead. Lance's FCS-best 17th TD came one play after a catch near the front pylon when he was ruled out of bounds inside the 1 after a replay review. He is the younger brother of former NDSU quarterback Trey Lance, who made on Sunday made his first start for the Dallas Cowboys before attending the FCS title game.
Bryce Lance, who finished with nine catches for 107 yards, had a diving 38-yard reception on the final play of the third quarter to set up Miller's 1-yard TD pass to Joe Stoffel to restore a 10-point lead.
“The way the game played out, they played better than us and, you know, ultimately put ourselves in a big hole,” said Montana State coach Brent Vigen, a former NDSU player and assistant coach. “Obviously this is a low point ... having 15 victories and you can’t finish it off."
North Dakota State is still the only team in modern college football to have a 16-0 season, five years ago when it also won the national title. ... The Bison's only title game loss in Frisco was two years ago to South Dakota State.
Montana State has gone 40 years since winning its last national title. The Bobcats have a 21-18 series lead over North Dakota State, but have lost the last six meetings — all in the FCS playoffs since 2010. They lost 35-34 in the second round last season after a blocked extra point in overtime.
North Dakota State opens the 2025 season at The Citadel on Aug. 30, which will be the first time since midway through the 2021 season that someone other than Miller will start at quarterback for the Bison.
Montana State plays its 2025 opener at Oregon of the Big Ten on Aug. 30. The only previous meeting in that series was in 1947.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
North Dakota State wide receiver Bryce Lance, right, is hugged by his brother, Dallas Cowboys NFL football quarterback Trey Lance, following the FCS Championship NCAA college football game against Montana State, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in Frisco, Texas. North Dakota State won 35-32. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
North Dakota State wide receiver Bryce Lance catches a pass near the Montana State goal line during the first half of the FCS Championship NCAA college football game, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in Frisco, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
BOSTON (AP) — Adam Henrique scored two goals and Connor McDavid scored on a power play midway through the second period as the Edmonton Oilers won their fourth straight game, 4-0 over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night.
Stuart Skinner, who left the game late in the first period after a collision with the Bruins’ Nikita Zadorov before returning at the start of the second, stopped 26 shots as the Oilers won for the 12th time in their last 15 games.
Viktor Arvidsson added an empty-netter for Edmonton, while center Leon Draisaitl’s point streak was halted at 14 games.
It was the Bruins’ fifth straight loss, their worst stretch since interim coach Joe Sacco took over for the fired Jim Montgomery on Nov. 19.
LIGHTNING 3, HURRICANES 2
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Brayden Point scored with 52 seconds to play and Tampa Bay snapped a four-game skid with a victory over Carolina.
Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul also scored for Tampa Bay while Darren Raddysh finished with two assists. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 30 shots in the victory.
Andrei Svechnikov and Jordan Staal scored for Carolina. Pytor Kochetkov finished with 31 saves.
Nikita Kucherov found Point cutting to the slot where he received the pass and spun around to his forehand to snap a shot past Kochetkov on the winning goal.
RED WINGS 3, SENATORS 2, OT
DETROIT (AP) — Patrick Kane scored on a power play with 2:39 remaining in overtime and Detroit extended their winning streak to five games with a win over Ottawa.
Dylan Larkin scored on a power play in the first period and Joe Veleno also scored in regulation for Detroit. Larkin extended his goal streak to four games and his point streak to six games.
Alex Lyon started in goal for Detroit, but was removed after the first period due to an upper-body injury. Cam Talbot took over and the duo combined for 31 saves.
Brady Tkachuk and Thomas Chabot scored for Ottawa, which has lost five of its last six games. Anton Forsberg made 30 saves.
STARS 5, RANGERS 4, OT
NEW YORK (AP) — Jamie Benn scored on a power play 2:17 into overtime and Dallas allied from an early three-goal deficit to defeat struggling New York.
Jake Oettinger made 21 saves and Dallas defenseman Thomas Harley had a goal and two assists. Harley’s snap shot tied it 4-all at 17:21 of the third period following a terrible turnover by Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller deep in his own end.
Benn’s 11th goal came with Artemi Panarin in the penalty box for hooking and gave the Stars their only lead. Dallas’ captain tipped in a centering pass from Jason Robertson. Harley also assisted on the play.
Dallas denied New York goalie Jonathan Quick his 400th career win.
BLUE JACKETS 4, PENGUINS 3, SO
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kirill Marchenko and Kent Johnson scored in the shootout and Columbus rallied to beat Pittsburgh.
Elvis Merzlikins, who made 20 saves, stopped Bryan Rust and Sidney Crosby in the shootout, as Columbus came back from a 3-1 deficit in the third period.
Adam Fantilli scored a third-period power-play goal and Dmitri Voronkov scored twice, giving him nine goals in seven games. Columbus has goals with the man advantage in 12 of its last 15 games. Sean Monahan left with an upper-body injury.
Rickard Rakell scored twice and Michael Bunting set a career high with his eighth power-play goal. Crosby had two assists and became the NHL’s all-time leader in faceoff wins since the league started tracking the stat in 1997.
MAPLE LEAFS 3, FLYERS 2
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Auston Matthews and John Tavares each had a goal and an assist to lead Toronto to their fifth straight win, over Philadelphia.
Matthew Knies tallied the go-ahead goal with 6:39 remaining to help the Maple Leafs sweep a home-and-home set with Philadelphia. Toronto defeated the Flyers 3-2 in overtime on home ice on Sunday.
Leafs goalie Joseph Woll made 30 saves.
Travis Konecny scored both Philadelphia goals.
WILD 6, BLUES 4
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Matt Boldy’s tiebreaking goal early in the third period for Minnesota completed their comeback from a two-score deficit to beat St. Louis Blues for their fourth straight victory.
Boldy snapped in a shot off a pass from Mats Zuccarello on a 2-on-1 rush after Blues defenseman Jake Broberg’s stick broke in the neutral zone.
Joel Eriksson Ek scored for Minnesota midway through the second period, and Jake Middleton tied the game 1:16 into the third. Marcus Johansson tacked on an empty-netter.
Jordan Kyrou, Jake Neighbours and Robert Thomas scored early in the second period for a 4-2 lead for St. Louis that prompted the Wild to pull goalie Filip Gustavsson, who’d allowed a total of three goals over two earlier wins against the Blues this season.
JETS 5, PREDATORS 2
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Morgan Barron and Josh Morrissey scored 16 seconds apart to help Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck record his 300th NHL career win over Nashville.
Kyle Connor, Gabriel Vilardi and Nino Niederreiter also scored for Winnipeg, which halted a three-game losing skid. Mark Scheifele added a pair of assists.
Hellebuyck stopped 26 shots.
Filip Forsberg ended an 18-game scoring drought with his 10th of the season for the Predators. Juuse Saros made 26 saves for Nashville.
Winnipeg led 3-0 after the first period and 3-1 heading into the third.
FLAMES 3, DUCKS 2, OT
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Jonathan Huberdeau scored a power-play goal at 2:05 of overtime in Calgary's victory over Anaheim.
MacKenzie Weegar had a goal and an assist for the Flames, who stopped a two-game skid. Nazem Kadri scored and Dustin Wolf stopped 25 shots.
Mason McTavish tied it with 12:24 left in regulation for the Ducks, who have earned a point in five of their last six games. Alex Killorn also scored, and John Gibson made 30 saves.
Calgary’s Connor Zary apparently injured his left knee during the second period in an open-ice collision with Anaheim defenseman Drew Helleson, who received a game misconduct.
Killorn scored his eighth goal in the final second of 4-on-4 play after Helleson’s ejection, but Kadri scored his 15th moments later.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 4, SHARKS 2
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Mark Stone had a goal and an assist as Vegas beat San Jose.
Zach Whitecloud, Victor Olofsson and Tomas Hertl also scored to help Vegas extend its winning streak to three games. Shea Theodore had two assists.
William Eklund had a goal and an assist for San Jose. Timothy Liljegren also scored.
Olofsson gave the Golden Knights a 3-1 lead on a power play at 1:10 of the third period. His ninth goal came on a slap shot from the circle off a backhand pass from Jack Eichel.
Liljegren’s power-play goal trimmed it to 3-2 at 10:41, but Hertl sealed it with an empty-netter.
Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner, right, makes a save as Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) chases the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
