1984 Montana State Bobcats football team

1984 Montana State Bobcats football
NCAA Division I-AA champion Big Sky champion
NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game, W 19–6 vs. Louisiana Tech
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 2
Record	12–2 (6–1 Big Sky)
Head coach	Dave Arnold (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Bill Diedrick (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Steve Carson (1st season)
Home stadium	Reno H. Sales Stadium
Seasons ←  1983 1985  →

1984 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Montana State $^	6	–	1	–	0			12	–	2	–	0
Nevada	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Boise State	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Idaho	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Idaho State	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Weber State	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Northern Arizona	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Montana	0	–	7	–	0			2	–	8	–	1
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll

The 1984 Montana State Bobcats football team represented the Montana State University (MSU) in the 1984 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The team was led by Dave Arnold in his second season as a head coach. The Bobcats played their home games at Reno H. Sales Stadium.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	Mesa State *		Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT		W 30–14		[1]
September 15	at Eastern Washington *		Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA		L 16–21		[2]
September 22	at Idaho		Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID		W 34–28	11,600	[3]
September 29	No. 18 Idaho State		Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT		L 6–22	11,117	[4]
October 6	at Weber State		Wildcat Stadium Ogden, UT		W 48–0	9,680	[5]
October 13	Nevada		Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT		W 44–41 4OT	6,317	[6]
October 20	Portland State *		Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT		W 45–22	10,797	[7]
October 27	No. 8 Boise State		Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT		W 22–18	8,387	[8]
November 3	at Montana	No. 15	Dornblaser Field Missoula, MT (rivalry)		W 34–24	12,500	[9]
November 10	Northern Arizona	No. 10	Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT		W 41–3	9,357	[10]
November 17	at Fresno State *	No. 6	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA		W 35–31	24,088	[11]
December 1	No. 10 Arkansas State *	No. 2	Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)		W 31–14	12,037	[12]
December 8	No. 2 Rhode Island *	No. 2	Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)		W 32–20	12,697	[13]
December 15	vs. No. 9 Louisiana Tech *	No. 2	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC (NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game)	SPN	W 19–6	9,125	[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

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Game summaries

Mesa State

See also: Mesa State Mavericks football

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mavericks	7	0	0	7	14
Bobcats	20	0	7	3	30

Roster

1984 Montana State Bobcats football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 86 Joe Bignell Sr QB 12 Kelly Bradley So FB 39 Jesse Jones Jr RB  4 Tim Clements Jr  C 55 Robb Fellows Sr G 73 Bruce Randall Jr G 60 Todd Vasey So OT 74 Don Leake So OT 66 Bill Schmidt Sr WR  2 Tom White Jr WR  89 Brent Bateman Sr TE  24 Tom Malhum Sr WR  18 Kelly Davis So WR  44 Darin Dietrich Jr RB  33 David Pandt Jr FB  25 Eric Miller Jr FB  30 Toby Petty Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class NG 59 Lonnie Burt Sr DT 71 Troy Timmer Sr DT 91 Pat "Tex" Sikora Jr DE 68 Mark Fellows Sr CAT 27 Clete Linebarger Jr LB 42 Kirk Timmer So LB 99 Greg Wilkes Sr FS 29 Doug Kimball Jr SS 47 Joe Roberts Sr CB 17 Derek Abell So CB 35 Rodney Holland Sr DT  58 Tom Jacobs Fr LB;ST  26 John Kitna Jr CB  43 William Johnson Sr FS  9 Tyler Winter So SS;ST  22 Steve King So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P  3 Dirk Nelson Sr K  1 Mark Carter Sr	Head coach Dave Arnold Coordinators/assistant coaches Steve Carson (DC) Bill Diedrick (OC) J. G. Aegerter (OLB) Mike Kramer (ILB) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "Mavericks run afoul of a feisty Bobcat". The Daily Sentinel. September 9, 1984. Retrieved November 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Eastern Washington wins 7th straight". Tri-City Herald. September 16, 1984. Retrieved November 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Bobcats shock Idaho". Great Falls Tribune. September 23, 1984. Retrieved November 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "ISU defense slams shut on Bobcats". The Times-News. September 30, 1984. Retrieved November 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Cats whitewash Weber, 48–0". The Missoulian. October 7, 1984. Retrieved November 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Montana State goes 4 OT's to stop UNR". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 14, 1984. p. 3D.
7. "PSU crushed 45–22". Corvallis Gazette-Times. October 21, 1984. Retrieved November 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Bobcats nip Boise". The Montana Standard. October 28, 1984. Retrieved November 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Montana State moves into first". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 4, 1984. p. 5C.
10. "Montana State wraps up Big Sky crown". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 11, 1984. p. 5C.
11. "Montana State rallies past Fresno State". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 18, 1984. p. 5C.
12. "Bobcats: Advance by scalping Indians". The Montana Standard. December 2, 1984. Retrieved October 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Interception return sparks Montana State past R.I." The Shreveport Times. December 9, 1984. Retrieved November 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
14. "How about them Cats!". The Billings Gazette. December 16, 1984. Retrieved July 2, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
15. "Montana State yearly results". College Football Data Warehouse . Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
16. "Division I-AA Top 20". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. November 21, 1984. p. 22.