2021 Montana State Bobcats football | |
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Conference | Big Sky Conference |
Ranking | |
STATS | No. 2 |
FCS Coaches | No. 2 |
Record | 12–3 (7–1 Big Sky) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Taylor Housewright (1st season) |
Offensive scheme | Pro-style |
Defensive coordinator | Freddie Banks (1st season) |
Base defense | 4–2–5 |
Home stadium | Bobcat Stadium |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 10 Sacramento State $^ | 8 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 2 Montana State ^ | 7 | – | 1 | 11 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 7 Eastern Washington ^ | 6 | – | 2 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 6 Montana ^ | 6 | – | 2 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 17 UC Davis ^ | 5 | – | 3 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weber State | 5 | – | 3 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northern Arizona | 4 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Portland State | 4 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Idaho | 3 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northern Colorado | 2 | – | 6 | 3 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cal Poly | 1 | – | 7 | 2 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Idaho State | 1 | – | 7 | 1 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Southern Utah | 0 | – | 8 | 1 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2021 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University in the Big Sky Conference during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Brent Vigen, the Bobcats played home games on campus at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana.
Montana State finished the regular season at 9–2 (7–1 in Big Sky, second), losing only to Wyoming (FBS, Mountain West) and rival Montana. [1] Seeded eighth in the FCS postseason, they received a first-round bye, then defeated UT Martin, #1 Sam Houston, and South Dakota State. MSU advanced to the championship game in Texas on January 8, 2022, but fell 38–10 to #3 North Dakota State. [2]
On July 26, 2021, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Bobcats were predicted to finish fourth in the Big Sky by both the coaches and media. [3]
Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
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1 | Weber State | (7) |
2 | Montana | (3) |
3 | Eastern Washington | (2) |
4 | Montana State | (1) |
5 | Sacramento State | (1) |
6 | UC Davis | |
7 | Northern Arizona | |
8 | Idaho | |
9 | Idaho State | |
10 | Portland State | |
11 | Southern Utah | |
12 | Cal Poly | |
13 | Northern Colorado |
Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
---|---|---|
1 | Weber State | (14) |
2 | Montana | (4) |
3 | Eastern Washington | (3) |
4 | Montana State | (3) |
5 | Sacramento State | |
6 | UC Davis | |
7 | Northern Arizona | |
8 | Idaho | |
9 | Idaho State | |
10 | Portland State | |
11 | Southern Utah | |
12 | Northern Colorado | |
13 | Cal Poly |
The Bobcats had two players selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.
Offense Taylor Tuiasosopo – OL | Defense Troy Andersen – OLB |
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
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September 4 | 2:00 p.m. | at Wyoming * | No. 12 | ESPN+ | L 16–19 | 30,007 | |
September 11 | 6:00 p.m. | Drake * | No. 11 | SWX | W 45–7 | 19,797 | |
September 18 | 1:00 p.m. | San Diego * | No. 13 |
| SWX | W 52–10 | 19,107 |
September 25 | 3:05 p.m. | at Portland State | No. 13 | ESPN+ | W 30–17 | 4,095 | |
October 2 | 1:05 p.m. | Northern Colorado | No. 11 |
| SWX | W 40–7 | 20,127 |
October 9 | 2:00 p.m. | Cal Poly | No. 10 |
| RTNW | W 45–7 | 19,847 |
October 15 | 8:00 p.m. | at No. 19 Weber State | No. 9 | ESPNU | W 13–7 | 6,323 | |
October 23 | 1:00 p.m. | Idaho State | No. 8 |
| SWX | W 27–9 | 19,297 |
November 6 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 5 Eastern Washington | No. 4 | SWX | W 23–20 | 6,981 | |
November 13 | 1:00 p.m. | Idaho | No. 3 |
| SWX | W 20–13 | 19,447 |
November 20 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 7 Montana | No. 3 | RTNW | L 10–29 | 26,856 | |
December 4 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 16 UT Martin * | No. 7 |
| ESPN+ | W 26–7 | 15,237 |
December 11 | 6:30 p.m. | at No. 1 Sam Houston * | No. 7 |
| ESPN+ | W 42–19 | 7,565 |
December 18 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 11 South Dakota State * | No. 7 |
| ESPN2 | W 31–17 | 20,457 |
January 8, 2022 | 10:00 a.m. | vs. No. 3 North Dakota State * | No. 7 | ESPN2 | L 10–38 | 18,942 | |
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2021 Montana State Bobcats football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
| Defense
| Special teams
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. 12 Bobcats | 7 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 16 |
Cowboys | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 19 |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bulldogs | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
No. 11 Bobcats | 9 | 15 | 7 | 14 | 45 |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Toreros | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
No. 13 Bobcats | 21 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 52 |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. 13 Bobcats | 3 | 6 | 14 | 7 | 30 |
Vikings | 10 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bears | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
No. 11 Bobcats | 17 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 40 |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mustangs | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
No. 10 Bobcats | 7 | 28 | 7 | 3 | 45 |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. 9 Bobcats | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
No. 19 Wildcats | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bengals | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
No. 8 Bobcats | 0 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 27 |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. 4 Bobcats | 7 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 23 |
No. 5 Eagles | 13 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vandals | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
No. 3 Bobcats | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. 3 Bobcats | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
No. 7 Grizzlies | 10 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 29 |
Week | ||||||||||||||
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Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
STATS FCS | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
Coaches | 11 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 (1) | 9 | 2 |
Bobcat Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. It is the home of the Montana State Bobcats college football team of the Big Sky Conference.
The Montana–Montana State football rivalry is an annual college football rivalry game between the University of Montana Grizzlies and the Montana State University Bobcats. The game is most historically and commonly known as the Cat-Griz game, and sometimes as the Griz-Cat game. Since 1997, the match has been advertised as the Brawl of the Wild. The winner receives the massive Great Divide Trophy, as the universities are on opposite sides of the continental divide.
The Montana Grizzlies football program represents the University of Montana in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of college football. The Grizzlies have competed in the Big Sky Conference since 1963, where it is a founding member. They play their home games on campus in Missoula at Washington–Grizzly Stadium, where they had an average attendance of 26,978 in 2023.
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represents South Dakota State University in college football. The program competes at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). The Jackrabbits play their home games at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium on South Dakota State's campus in Brookings, South Dakota.
The Montana State Bobcats football program competes in the Big Sky Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision for Montana State University. The program began in 1897 and has won three national championships. It is the only college football program in the nation to win national championships on three different levels of competition, NAIA, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division I-AA. Through the 2022 season, the Bobcats had played in 1,049 games with an all-time record of 525–492–32.
The Montana State Bobcats are the varsity athletic teams representing Montana State University in Bozeman in intercollegiate athletics. The university sponsors thirteen teams including men and women's basketball, cross country, skiing, tennis, and track and field; women's-only golf and volleyball; and men's-only football. The Bobcats compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Big Sky Conference with the exception of the men's and women's skiing teams which belong to the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association. Their main rivals are the Grizzlies of the University of Montana in Missoula. Both schools are charter members of the Big Sky Conference, which began competition 61 years ago in the fall of 1963.
DeNarius Devon McGhee is a former American football quarterback and current coach who is the assistant wide receivers for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Montana State University.
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The 2010 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was led by fourth-year head coach Rob Ash and played its home games at Bobcat Stadium. The team finished the regular season with an 8–3 record, making them Big Sky Conference co-champions alongside Eastern Washington. The team qualified for the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, in which they were eliminated in the second round by the North Dakota State Bison.
The 2018 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by third-year head coach Jeff Choate, the Bobcats compiled an overall record of 8–5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, tying for fourth place in the Big Sky. Montana State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where they defeated Incarnate Word in the first round before losing to the eventual national champion, North Dakota State, in the second round. The Bobcats played their home games at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana.
The 2019 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team represented Southern Utah University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Demario Warren and played their home games at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah as eighth-year members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 3–9, 2–6 in Big Sky play to finish in a five-way tie for ninth place.
The 2019 Weber State Wildcats football team represented Weber State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Wildcats were led by fifth-year head coach Jay Hill and played their games at Stewart Stadium as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 11–4, 7–1 in Big Sky play to finish in a two-way tie for the Big Sky championship with Sacramento State. They received the Big Sky's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where, after a first round bye, they defeated Kennesaw State in the second round and Montana in the quarterfinals before losing to James Madison in the semifinals.
The 2019 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Jeff Choate, the Bobcats compiled an overall record of 11–4 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for third in the Big Sky. Montana State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where, after a first round bye, the Bobcats defeated Albany in the second round and Austin Peay in the quarterfinals before losing in the semifinals to the eventual national champion, North Dakota State. The team played home games at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana.
The 2022 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game played to determine a national champion in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) for the 2021 FCS season. It was contested at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on January 8, 2022, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST and televised on ESPN2. It was the culminating game of the 2021 FCS Playoffs.
The 2021 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) football rankings consists of two human polls, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), college football's governing body, the NCAA, bestows the national championship title through a 24-team tournament. The following weekly polls determine the top 25 teams at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level of college football for the 2021 season. The STATS poll is voted by media members while the Coaches' Poll is determined by coaches at the FCS level.
The 2022 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the Big Sky Conference during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Jason Eck, the Vandals were 7–4 in the regular season and played their home games on campus at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho. It was the program's first winning season in six years.
The 2022 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bobcats were led by second-year head coach Brent Vigen and played their home games at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana.
The 2022 Weber State Wildcats football team represented Weber State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Wildcats were led by ninth-year head coach Jay Hill and played their games at Stewart Stadium in Ogden, Utah. The Wildcats began the regular season ranked number 20 in the FCS rankings. On September 10, the Wildcats defeated the Utah State Aggies, their first win against the Aggies since 1978, and their first win against an FBS opponent since their victory against Nevada in 1993. The Wildcats finished the regular season with a record of 9–2, good enough to qualify for the NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs, their fifth appearance under Jay Hill. The Wildcats defeated North Dakota in the opening round, but were defeated by Montana State the following round. After the season, head coach Jay Hill announced he would step down as Weber State head coach to accept the Defensive Coordinator position at BYU. Offensive coordinator Mickey Mental was announced as Hill's successor.
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.
Tommy Mellott is an American football quarterback for the Montana State Bobcats.