For Montana State coach Brent Vigen, the mystery isn’t how Illinois State won four straight road playoff games to advance to Monday’s Division I Football Championship against his Bobcats.

It’s how the Redbirds suffered a 37-7 home loss in their regular-season finale against Southern Illinois.  

“They lost by 30,” Vigen, whose club will battle ISU for FCS supremacy Monday at 5:30 p.m. in Nashville, said. “It's not even that they found lightning in a bottle; they found a way to win in Fargo.  

“Going down to Southeastern Louisiana (a 21-3 first-round win), I don’t think that was a shock that they won that game. But going up to Fargo and finding a way to win, that could be a catalyst in so many different ways.” 

That 29-28 victory at North Dakota State is a bit mysterious as well, in that the Redbirds overcame not just five Tommy Rittenhouse interceptions, but also two turnovers on downs inside the NDSU 10-yard line. A stout defense obviously played a large role; a unit that surrendered 294 rushing yards to Southern Illinois gave up just 59 to the defending champion Bison. 

Then the Redbirds offense scored 15 points in 106 seconds to eat up a 28-14 deficit. 

For Illinois State coach Brock Spack, getting back to basics was the key. 

“You go back to what your staples are, and that’s what we did,” said the 16th-year coach fo the 12-4 Redbirds. “We simplified. We did that in all phases of our team and I think that really paid off for us. More isn’t always better.  

“It’s not what we (the coaches) know, it’s what they know — the guys that go out there with the white helmets and the bird on the side of their head. This is who we are, this is what we do, and we don’t make it any more complicated than that.” 

Spack Attack

Spack came to the Normal, Illinois school in 2009 after 12 seasons as Purdue’s defensive coordinator. Before that he was the DC at Wyoming; way before that (1980-83) he was an all-Big 10 linebacker for Purdue. 

His first two seasons the Redbirds beat NDSU, 27-24 and 34-24. Vigen was on NDSU’s staff from 1999-2013. 

“We were able to beat him the last three times but my memory of those games is they were all very hard-fought battles,” Vigen said. “The wins that we came away with the last three years were really challenging. 

“There's a toughness factor that his teams have always exuded.” 

The Bison won those 2011-13 battles 20-10, 38-20 and 28-10. Each season NDSU won the FCS title and did so again the next season. 

In the 2014 championship, the Bison — with Craig Bohl having taken off for Wyoming and taken Vigen with him — faced the Redbirds, who were making their first title game appearance.  

Illinois State scored with 1:38 left in the game to take a 27-23 lead, but the Bison answered with a 78-yard drive that took just 61 seconds. Carson Wentz scored on a 5-yard run to give NDSU the 29-27 win. This is the Redbirds’ first title game since. 

Sizing up the Cats

Both Spack and junior linebacker Tye Niekamp had praise for the 13-2 Bobcats, who have won 13 straight games behind a run-heavy attack balanced by the play of quarterback Justin Lamson. 

“They’re obviously a very talented offense,” Niekamp, who leads the Redbirds with 155 tackles, said. “For me it starts with their quarterback. He’s a dude. He could run the ball, throw the ball; he’s a great player. And those running backs with Jones and Davis. I think they’re both 1,000-yard rushers, which is kind of absurd.” 

It’s true: Julius Davis has 1,100 yards and Adam Jones has another 1,047. Both average over 6 yards a carry and have combined for 23 touchdowns. 

Spack drew the easy comparison between the Bobcats and Vigen’s old school (and ISU’s Missouri Valley Conference rival) in Fargo. 

“I see a team that looks like NDSU, that has some of the same traits,” he said. “They do have some different things they do but they’re very similar — good inside-outside zone team; they’re very good at it.  

“Their quarterback play is very good, he takes care of the football, and their backs are tough. Same thing you would see with any of the Dakotas and in our league.” 

QUICK KICKS: Monday’s game will air on ESPN. ... Southern Illinois had the 10th-best rushing offense in the FCS, at 207.2 yards per game; MSU is fourth at 234.5 while NDSU is seventh at 212.6. ... Spack’s coaching record is 123-78 overall at Illinois State, and 12-6 in the FCS playoffs. ... Vigen is 59-12 at MSU, 11-4 in the playoffs. ... Cincinnati transfer Victor Dawson leads the Redbirds with 1,251 rushing yards. .... Rittenhouse has thrown 12 interceptions this season but also 36 TD passes. ... Lamson is up to 24 TD passes against three INTs.