r/fcs • u/Technical334 UC Davis Aggies • California Golden Bears • Jan 06 '26

Analysis Takeaways from FCS Title Game

One of the craziest college football games I have watched and I have seen a lot of them. Here are my four takeaways on the game.

  1. Special Teams Matter. They matter a lot. We saw what happened with the field goal attempt (should have gone for it on 4th and 1) and the PAT. Never underestimate their importance.
  2. Montana State blew it. Until they didn’t. Illinois State fell apart in the end on special teams and that final play. Tommy Rittenhouse played the game of his life and I feel for him. Apart from special teams, the blitz on fourth down was deja vu to the Texas-ASU playoff game last year. That DB on the prior play who dropped the title clinching INT is going to have nightmares about this game.
  3. To be a good winner, you really have to win ugly sometimes. 9 false starts is unacceptable in the national title game. Nearly choking the game away in regulation is unacceptable. However, thanks to Lamson and Taco Dowler’s heroics, Montana State prevailed.
  4. Taco Dowler. The Man. The Myth. The Legend. I have watched him tear up my team and he’s something else. He should never have to buy another beer in Bozeman again.

That is all folks

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u/Duganz Montana Grizzlies Jan 06 '26

It’s not even 7am here in Montana and several MSU fans I know are already saying they’re waiting for Taco to enter the transfer portal. I hope not for their sake.

For my own…

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u/Technical334 UC Davis Aggies • California Golden Bears Jan 06 '26

Even though Montana kids are much more loyal when they stay in state, there will be NIL offers now that are nearly impossible to refuse. Hope he stays with the Cats though