2023 Montana State Bobcats football | |
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NCAA Division I Second Round, L 34–35OT vs. North Dakota State | |
Conference | Big Sky Conference |
Ranking | |
STATS | No. 9 |
FCS Coaches | No. 8 |
Record | 8–4 (6–2 Big Sky) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Taylor Housewright (3rd season) |
Offensive scheme | Pro-style |
Defensive coordinator | Willie Mack Garza (2nd season) |
Base defense | 4–2–5 |
Home stadium | Bobcat Stadium |
Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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. The Montana State Bobcats football team drew an average home attendance of 21,610 in 2023.
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]
Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
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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 |
Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
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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 |
2023 Montana State Bobcats football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
| Defense
| Special teams
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Roster |
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
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September 2 | 6:00 p.m. | Utah Tech * | No. 3 | ESPN+ | W 63–20 | 21,967 | |
September 9 | 5:00 p.m. | at No. 1 South Dakota State * | No. 3 | ESPN+ | L 16–20 | 19,332 | |
September 16 | 1:00 p.m. | Stetson * | No. 3 |
| ESPN+ | W 57–20 | 21,487 |
September 23 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 10 Weber State | No. 3 | ESPN+ | W 40–0 | 10,905 | |
September 30 | 2:00 p.m. | Portland State ![]() | No. 3 |
| ESPN+ | W 38–22 | 22,017 |
October 14 | 6:00 p.m. | Cal Poly | No. 2 |
| ESPN+ | W 59–19 | 21,997 |
October 21 | 8:30 p.m. | at No. 3 Sacramento State | No. 2 | ESPN2 | W 42–30 | 16,122 | |
October 28 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 9 Idaho | No. 2 | ESPN+ | L 21–24 | 13,073 | |
November 4 | 1:00 p.m. | Northern Arizona | No. 6 |
| ESPN+ | W 45–21 | 21,297 |
November 11 | 1:00 p.m. | Eastern Washington | No. 5 |
| ESPN+ | W 57–14 | 20,897 |
November 18 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 3 Montana | No. 4 | ESPN+ | L 7–37 | 27,178 | |
December 2 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 8 North Dakota State * | No. 5 |
| ESPN+ | L 34–35 OT | 17,247 |
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Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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No. 3 Bobcats | 7 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
No. 1 Jackrabbits | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 20 |
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 |
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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 |
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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No. 2 Bobcats | 0 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 42 |
No. 3 Hornets | 7 | 0 | 10 | 13 | 30 |
Game information | ||
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Statistics | MTST | SAC |
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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 |
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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 | |
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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No. 2 Bobcats | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 21 |
No. 9 Vandals | 3 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 24 |
at Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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No. 4 Bobcats | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
No. 3 Grizzles | 14 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 37 |
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
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No. 8 Bison | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
No. 5 (6) Bobcats | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 34 |
at Bobcat Stadium, Bozeman, MT
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: comp–att–int | 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Week | ||||||||||||||
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Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
STATS FCS | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | |
Coaches | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 8 |