Tag: Montana Football

Montana’s incredible 2-point conversion helped knock North Dakota State out of FCS playoffs in 2OT

The Montana Grizzlies are headed to the FCS title game in part thanks to this amazing play.

The Montana Grizzlies are headed to the the NCAA FCS championship game for the first time since 2009 after downing North Dakota State, 31-29, in a thrilling double-overtime semifinal game Saturday in Missoula, Montana.

And how they won was beyond impressive, extending their win streak to 10 games this season.

After having the lead for most of the game, the Grizzlies let the Bison tie it up at the end of the fourth quarter, eventually forcing overtime. It took the two teams a total of three plays to trade touchdowns, sending the game into a second overtime with the score tied at 23-23.

Getting the ball first, Montana found the end zone, and because it was the second overtime, it was forced to go for the two-point conversion after a touchdown. And wow, the Grizzlies did not disappoint with this incredible two-point conversion play:

With receiver Junior Bergen getting tossed the ball after the snap on the trick play, he looked like he was about to be tackled way back around the 18-yard line. But he somehow still got the pass off, and receiver Keelan White SOMEHOW came up with the deflected ball in the back of the end zone.

North Dakota State had its chance to tie the game again and force a third overtime. And while the Bison scored a touchdown, their two-point conversion attempt was intercepted, and that was that.

Montana will play for the FCS national title against defending champ South Dakota State on Jan. 7.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=421393249]

Montana State is reportedly set to host the coldest College GameDay ever

It’s going to be a crisp Saturday morning in Bozeman.

ESPN’s College GameDay crew certainly isn’t a stranger to cold temperatures.

With routine November trips to Columbus and Ann Arbor for The Game (which it will likely take once again next weekend), the ESPN pregame show frequently finds itself filming on location in some pretty chilly spots.

But Saturday’s trip to Bozeman, Montana, for the appropriately named “Brawl of the Wild” between Montana State and bitter rival Montana will be on an entirely different level.

In what is already being heralded as the coldest College GameDay ever, temperatures could be in the single digits when the show begins at 9 a.m. ET. The low in Bozeman on Saturday is one degree Fahrenheit, which is actually an improvement from Friday’s low of nine below zero.

A logistics spokesperson for ESPN told Matt Brown of the Extra Points newsletter that some of the equipment used to prepare the set even froze on Friday.

Things should warm up a bit by the time the game starts, with temperatures reaching the 20s. So toasty.

Host Desmond Howard, a former Heisman winner at Michigan who is certainly accustomed to playing football games in cold weather, was asked about the frigid temperatures.

It’s always cool to see GameDay highlight an FCS program, especially when it’s for a storied rivalry like this one. But taking its first-ever trip to Montana on the third Saturday in November was quite a choice.

Still, the view from the set will make it all worth it. Maybe.

[mm-video type=video id=01gj3e1ryjq1hbaz9tp4 playlist_id=01f09p3bf720d8rg02 player_id=01evcfkb10bw5a3nky image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gj3e1ryjq1hbaz9tp4/01gj3e1ryjq1hbaz9tp4-dc5821baf2ba6844c82d974498233ee3.jpg]

[listicle id=1985272]

[vertical-gallery id=1965072]