Montana State vs. North Dakota State 2021 FCS Championship Betting Odds

2021 FCS Championship Betting Odds

Odds via BetMGM

The FCS football season concludes on Jan. 8 when Montana State challenges perennial powerhouse North Dakota State at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.

The Bison are heavy favorites, giving Montana State 7.5 points at BetMGM and up to 8 at others. That's for good reason: North Dakota State has won eight championships since 2011, losing only in 2016 and during the 2020 spring COVID-shortened season.

North Dakota State enters the final game with a 12-1 record, with their only loss on the road to South Dakota State in early November. The Bison ended the regular season with two wins following the loss and tacked on three more in the playoffs.

North Dakota State averages 33.8 points per game while allowing just 11.2 to opponents.

The offense relies heavily on the ground gain, leaning on a trio of backs throughout the year who've topped 100 carries. TaMerik Williams leads the team with 715 yards on the year, averaging 6.3 yards per carry and 55 per game. Kobe Johnson and Quincy Patterson have each carried the ball at least 100 times, too. However, it was Hunter Luepke seeing the majority of the carries in ND State's semi-final win over James Madison. Luepke had 110 yards on 19 carries to lead the team in both categories.

In total, the team averages 273 yards per game on the ground.

Cam Miller was 10-19 passing for 165 yards and two scores in the 20-14 win over JMU.

Montana State is 12-2 on the year, with a season-opening loss to FBS Wyoming and a 29-10 loss to Montana to end the regular season.

It took an upset win over No. 1 Sam Houston for Montana State to get to this point. Montana State is No. 8 while North Dakota State is No. 2.

Montana State is all about quarterback Tommy Mellot, who threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 155 yards and two scores in the semi-final win over South Dakota State.