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2023 Montana State Bobcats football team

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2023 Montana State Bobcats football
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Ranking
STATSNo. 9
FCS CoachesNo. 8
Record8–4 (6–2 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorTaylor Housewright (3rd season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorWillie Mack Garza (2nd season)
Base defense4–2–5
Home stadiumBobcat Stadium
Seasons
← 2022
2024 →
2023 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 2 Montana $^   7 1     13 2  
No. 8 Idaho ^   6 2     9 4  
No. 9 Montana State ^   6 2     8 4  
Northern Arizona   5 3     5 6  
No. 24 UC Davis   5 3     7 4  
No. 13 Sacramento State ^   4 4     8 5  
Portland State   4 4     5 6  
Weber State   4 4     6 5  
Eastern Washington   3 5     4 7  
Idaho State   3 5     3 8  
Cal Poly   1 7     3 8  
Northern Colorado   0 8     0 11  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2023 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bobcats were led by third-year head coach Brent Vigen and played home games at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana.

Preseason

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Polls

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On July 23, 2023, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Bobcats were predicted to finish first in the Big Sky by both the coaches and media.[1]

Coaches poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Montana State 120 (10)
2 UC Davis 96 (1)
3 Sacramento State 94 (1)
4 Weber State 91
5 Idaho 89
6 Montana 84
7 Eastern Washington 52
8 Portland State 45
9 Northern Arizona 44
10 Northern Colorado 37
11 Cal Poly 25
12 Idaho State 15
Media poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Montana State 447 (26)
2 Idaho 410 (8)
3 Montana 359 (2)
4 Sacramento State 334 (3)
5 UC Davis 330
6 Weber State 320
7 Eastern Washington 216
8 Northern Arizona 178
9 Portland State 167
10 Northern Colorado 109
11 Cal Poly 103
12 Idaho State 69

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 26:00 p.m.Utah Tech*No. 3ESPN+W 63–2021,967
September 95:00 p.m.at No. 1 South Dakota State*No. 3ESPN+L 16–2019,332
September 161:00 p.m.Stetson*No. 3
  • Bobcat Stadium
  • Bozeman, MT
ESPN+W 57–2021,487
September 236:00 p.m.at No. 10 Weber StateNo. 3ESPN+W 40–010,905
September 302:00 p.m.Portland StatedaggerNo. 3
  • Bobcat Stadium
  • Bozeman, MT
ESPN+W 38–2222,017
October 146:00 p.m.Cal PolyNo. 2
  • Bobcat Stadium
  • Bozeman, MT
ESPN+W 59–1921,997
October 218:30 p.m.at No. 3 Sacramento StateNo. 2ESPN2W 42–3016,122
October 282:00 p.m.at No. 9 IdahoNo. 2ESPN+L 21–2413,073
November 41:00 p.m.Northern ArizonaNo. 6
  • Bobcat Stadium
  • Bozeman, MT
ESPN+W 45–2121,297
November 111:00 p.m.Eastern WashingtonNo. 5
  • Bobcat Stadium
  • Bozeman, MT
ESPN+W 57–1420,897
November 1812:00 p.m.at No. 3 MontanaNo. 4ESPN+L 7–3727,178
December 21:00 p.m.No. 8 North Dakota State*No. 5
ESPN+L 34–35 OT17,247

[2]

Game summaries

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vs Utah Tech

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at No. 1 South Dakota State

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No. 3 Montana State Bobcats (1–0) vs No. 1 South Dakota State (1–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 3 Bobcats 7 3 0616
No. 1 Jackrabbits 0 0 71320

at Dana J. Dykhouse StadiumBrookings, SD

  • Date: September 9, 2023
  • Game time: 5:00 p.m. MDT
  • Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C), Sunny, Wind NE 10 mph (16 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 19,332
  • Referee: Rick Warne
  • TV: ESPN+
Statistics MSU SDSU
First downs 17 20
Total yards 298 341
Rushing yards 211 157
Passing yards 87 184
Turnovers 1 0
Time of possession 35:23 24:37
Team Category Player Statistics
Montana State Passing Sean Chambers 3/9, 53 yards, INT
Rushing Sean Chambers 20 carries, 90 yards, TD
Receiving Derryk Snell 3 receptions, 38 yards
South Dakota State Passing Mark Gronowski 13/22, 184 yards, 2 TD
Rushing Isaiah Davis 12 carries, 66 yards
Receiving Griffin Wilde 2 receptions, 49 yards, TD

vs Stetson

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at No. 10 Weber State

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vs Portland State

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vs Cal Poly

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at No. 3 Sacramento State

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No. 2 Montana State Bobcats (5–1) at No. 3 Sacramento State Hornets (5–1) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 2 Bobcats 0 14 72142
No. 3 Hornets 7 0 101330

at Hornet Stadium, Sacramento, CA

  • Date: October 21, 2023
  • Game time: 7:30 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: SW 9 mph • Sunny
  • Game attendance: 16,122
  • Referee: Jim Crowley
  • TV announcers (ESPN2): Play-by-Play: John Schriffen • Analysis: Rocky Boiman • Sideline: Dawn Davenport
  • Sources:[3][4][5]
Game information
Statistics MTST SAC
First downs 26 25
Total yards 448 434
Rushing yards 328 200
Passing yards 120 234
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 10–16–1 26–42–2
Time of possession 32:40 27:20
Team Category Player Statistics
Montana State Passing Tommy Mellott 9/14, 99 yards
Rushing Julius Davis 12 carries, 110 yards, TD
Receiving Ty McCullough 4 receptions, 53 yards, TD
Sacramento State Passing Kaiden Bennett 26/42, 234 yards, TD, 2 INT
Rushing Elijah Tau-Tolliver 8 carries, 100 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Devin Gandy 5 receptions, 59 yards, TD

at No. 9 Idaho

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No. 2 Montana State Bobcats (6–1) vs No. 9 Idaho Vandals (5–2) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 2 Bobcats 0 0 14721
No. 9 Vandals 3 7 01424

at Kibbie DomeMoscow, ID

  • Date: October 28, 2023
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game attendance: 13,073
  • TV: ESPN+

vs Northern Arizona

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vs Eastern Washington

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at Montana

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 4 Bobcats 0 0 7 0 7
No. 3 Grizzles 14 6 10 7 37

NCAA Division I playoffs

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No. 8 North Dakota State (second round)

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No. 8 North Dakota State Bison (9–3) vs. No. 5 (6) Montana State Bobcats (8–3)
Quarter 1 2 34OTTotal
No. 8 Bison 0 14 77735
No. 5 (6) Bobcats 7 7 140634

at Bobcat Stadium, Bozeman, MT

  • Date: December 2, 2023
  • Game time: 2:00 p.m. (CT)
  • Game weather: Sunny; 36 °F (2 °C); Wind: W 15 mph
  • Game attendance: 17,247
  • Referee: Bruce Austin
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Noah Reed, Charles Arbuckle
Statistics North Dakota State Montana State
First downs 18 21
Plays–yards 57–374 59–509
Rushes–yards 43–296 40–279
Passing yards 78 230
Passing: compattint 6–14–0 14–19–1
Time of possession 29:43 30:17
Team Category Player Statistics
North Dakota State Passing Cam Miller 5/13, 66 yds, TD
Rushing TaMerik Williams 11 car, 162 yds, 2 TD
Receiving Eli Green 4 rec, 63 yds
Montana State Passing Tommy Mellott 13/17, 204 yds, 2 TD, INT
Rushing Tommy Mellott 18 car, 151 yds, 2 TD
Receiving Ty McCullouch 4 rec, 92 yds TD
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP NDSU MTST
1st 1:57 3 63 1:11 MTST Ty McCullouch (#6) 34-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Mellott (#4), Casey Kautzman (#38) kick good 0 7
2nd 8:52 5 39 2:56 NDSU Zach Mathis (#0) 3-yard touchdown reception from Cam Miller (#7), Griffin Crosa (#39) kick good 7 7
2nd 4:07 5 93 2:58 NDSU TaMerik Williams (#22) 44-yard touchdown run, Griffin Crosa (#39) kick good 14 7
2nd 1:05 6 71 3:02 MTST Tommy Mellott (#4) 6-yard touchdown run, Casey Kautzman (#38) kick good 14 14
3rd 14:50 1 75 0:10 NDSU TaMerik Williams (#22) 75-yard touchdown run, Griffin Crosa (#39) kick good 21 14
3rd 13:56 2 86 0:48 MTST Tommy Mellott (#4) 76-yard touchdown run, Casey Kautzman (#38) kick good 21 21
3rd 8:08 8 69 4:11 MTST Clevan Thomas Jr. (#2) 9-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Mellott (#4), Casey Kautzman (#38) kick good 21 21
4th 2:33 9 89 4:48 NDSU TK Marshall (#28) 29-yard touchdown run, Griffin Crosa (#39) kick good 28 28
OT 5 25 NDSU Cam Miller (#7) 3-yard touchdown run, Griffin Crosa (#39) kick good 35 28
OT 1 25 MTST Scottre Humphrey (#22) 25-yard touchdown run, Casey Kautzman (#38) kick blocked 35 34
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 35 34

Ranking movements

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre123456789101112Final
STATS FCS3333322226545
Coaches3333322228548

References

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  1. ^ "Montana State Tabbed Preseason Football Favorites". July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  2. ^ "2023 Montana State Football Schedule". msubobcats.com. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  3. ^ "Football vs Montana State on 10/21/2023 - Box Score - Sacramento State". October 21, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  4. ^ "Football Falls To No. 2 Montana State, 42–30". October 21, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  5. ^ "Mellott runs for 2 TDs to help FCS No. 2 Montana St. beat No. 4 Sacramento St. 42–30". ESPN. October 21, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.