Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott won the Walter Payton Award as the Football Championship Subdivision offensive player of the year Saturday night, two days before the top-ranked Bobcats face North Dakota State in the title game.

North Dakota State's Marty Brown and Cam Miller congratulate each other on their fine season after the FCS Stats Perform Awards Banquet at the Hyatt Regency in Frisco, Texas.

Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott won the 2024 Walter Payton Award as the best offensive player in FCS football, beating out fellow top-three finalists Cam Miller (North Dakota State) and Targhee Lambson (Southern Utah).

We take an in-depth look at the 2025 FCS National Championship matchup between Montana State and North Dakota State

Led by their master motivator in coach Sonny Holland, the 1976 Montana State Bobcats fashioned a magical finish to "a magical season".

"It hurts right now because we didn't make enough plays, but our intent was really high and really good." MSU head coach Matt Logie

The redshirt junior had just scored seven of Eastern’s last 10 points, helping them to close out a 68-63 victory over Montana State, the Eagles’ first Big Sky victory this season. But McClain was still back in the locker room, getting coached by assistant Larry Anderson.