Montana State finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (6–1 in conference); two wins came over
Division II opponents (
Mesa State and
Portland State) and one win came over a
Division I-A program (
Fresno State).[6] Tied for second in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll[7] and seeded third in the tournament, the Bobcats received a first-round
bye then defeated
Arkansas State and second-seed
Rhode Island to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Montana State in a Division I-AA championship game.
Louisiana Tech finished their regular season with a 7–4 record (5–1 in conference); three of their losses were to Division I-A programs (
Southwestern Louisiana,
Southern Miss, and
Ole Miss).[8] Ranked ninth in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll[7] and unseeded in the tournament, the Bulldogs defeated
Mississippi Valley State, top-seed
Alcorn State, and
Middle Tennessee State to reach the final. This was also the first appearance for Louisiana Tech in a Division I-AA championship game.
Montana State finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (6–1 in conference); two wins came over
Division II opponents (
Mesa State and
Portland State) and one win came over a
Division I-A program (
Fresno State).[6] Tied for second in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll[7] and seeded third in the tournament, the Bobcats received a first-round
bye then defeated
Arkansas State and second-seed
Rhode Island to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Montana State in a Division I-AA championship game.
Louisiana Tech finished their regular season with a 7–4 record (5–1 in conference); three of their losses were to Division I-A programs (
Southwestern Louisiana,
Southern Miss, and
Ole Miss).[8] Ranked ninth in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll[7] and unseeded in the tournament, the Bulldogs defeated
Mississippi Valley State, top-seed
Alcorn State, and
Middle Tennessee State to reach the final. This was also the first appearance for Louisiana Tech in a Division I-AA championship game.