BUTTE, Mont. -- A last-second 51-yard field goal proved the difference as the No. 8-ranked Montana Tech football team fell, 32-29, to No. 10 Northwestern (Iowa) in the second round of the NAIA Football Championship Series.

It was the Orediggers' first loss on Bob Green Field in 2024.

Montana Tech (9-3) gave the 2023 national runners-up everything they could handle. Trailing by 15 midway through the fourth quarter, the Orediggers stormed back to tie the game at 29-29, setting up the dramatic ending.

That didn't look to be the case in the early going. Tech received the opening kickoff and had a chance to draw first blood, but an interception on the Diggers' second play from scrimmage gave the Red Raiders a chance. The Montana Tech defense held firm, but Northwestern kicker Eli Stader kicked a 49-yard field goal — something that would prove a theme for the afternoon — to put the visiting team on top early.

After both teams forced punts, Tech fumbled the ball away at midfield to set up another Northwestern field goal, this one a 36-yarder. The Red Raiders led 6-0 after a quarter of play.

Tech changed that quickly in the second. After it appeared the Orediggers would have to settle for a field goal on their first trip to the red zone, a Northwestern penalty gave Tech a fresh set of downs. Digger running back Landers Smith cashed in on the second chance, punching the ball across the goal line from a yard out to tie the game. Dylan Root's PAT gave the Orediggers a 7-6 lead early in the second.

Northwestern responded with a TD of their own to retake the lead, 13-7, but Tech had the answer again. Quarterback Blake Thelen found Nick Michelotti for a 64-yard touchdown to retake the lead.

The Red Raiders retaliated, scoring a 73-yard touchdown and kicking a field goal just before the half to lead, 23-14, at the break.

Northwestern scored on the opening possession of the third quarter to make it a 29-14 ballgame, and the Red Raider defense looked impenetrable as the game wore on.

Montana Tech had the fix for that. An Andrew Almos 64-yard punt put Northwestern deep into its own territory, and the Oredigger defense forced a punt as well. That's where Trae Vasquez came in. The graduate student flew in off the left side to block the Red Raider punt, and Jace Thompson scooped up the loose ball and dove into the end zone for the score. It was 29-21 Northwestern with 8:44 left in the game.

The Tech defense forced a three-and-out, and the Digger offense didn't take long to tie the score. Thelen hit Wyatt Alexander over the top of the Red Raider defense for a 63-yard touchdown pass, and the quarterback found Michelotti for the game-tying 2-point conversion with 5:44 remaining.

Tech's defense forced another Northwestern punt, and the Orediggers put together a drive. Thelen found Logan Kennedy for a pair of first downs, but NC's Cody Moser intercepted his second pass of the game to keep hope alive for the Red Raiders with 42 seconds left.

Northwestern drove not far past midfield, setting up the 51-yard field goal attempt. Stader was good from that distance, splitting the middle with just enough length on the kick, for the game-winner. It was his fourth made field goal of the game.

Montana Tech finishes the season with a 9-3 record and the Orediggers' second-straight NAIA playoff appearance. The Orediggers fall to 5-10 all-time in national-tournament competition and 4-2 at home.

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