2023 Montana State Bobcats football team

2023 Montana State Bobcats football
2023 Montana State Bobcats football
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	Brent Vigen (3rd season);
Offensive coordinator	Taylor Housewright (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Willie Mack Garza (2nd season)
Home stadium	Bobcat Stadium
	Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

2023 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
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[edit]

Polls[edit]

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[edit]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	6:00 p.m.	Utah Tech*	No. 3	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	ESPN+	W 63–20	21,967
September 9	5:00 p.m.	at No. 1 South Dakota State*	No. 3	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	ESPN+	L 16–20	19,332
September 16	1:00 p.m.	Stetson*	No. 3	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	ESPN+	W 57–20	21,487
September 23	6:00 p.m.	at No. 10 Weber State	No. 3	Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	ESPN+	W 40–0	10,905
September 30	2:00 p.m.	Portland State	No. 3	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	ESPN+	W 38–22	22,017
October 14	6:00 p.m.	Cal Poly	No. 2	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	ESPN+	W 59–19	21,997
October 21	8:30 p.m.	at No. 3 Sacramento State	No. 2	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	ESPN2	W 42–30	16,122
October 28	2:00 p.m.	at No. 9 Idaho	No. 2	Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	ESPN+	L 21–24	13,073
November 4	1:00 p.m.	Northern Arizona	No. 6	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	ESPN+	W 45–21	21,297
November 11	1:00 p.m.	Eastern Washington	No. 5	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	ESPN+	W 57–14	20,897
November 18	12:00 p.m.	at No. 3 Montana	No. 4	Washington-Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (rivalry)	ESPN+	L 7–37	27,178
December 2	1:00 p.m.	No. 8 North Dakota State*	No. 5	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT (NCAA Division I Second Round)	ESPN+	L 34–35 ^OT	17,247
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

^[2]

Game summaries[edit]

vs Utah Tech[edit]

at No. 1 South Dakota State[edit]

vs Stetson[edit]

at No. 10 Weber State[edit]

vs Portland State[edit]

vs Cal Poly[edit]

at No. 3 Sacramento State[edit]

No. 2 Montana State Bobcats (5–1) at No. 3 Sacramento State Hornets (5–1) – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 2 Bobcats	0	14	7	21	42
No. 3 Hornets	7	0	10	13	30

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

First Quarter

(0:58) SAC – Danny Scudero 16-yard run (Zach Schreiner kick) (Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 4:20; Sacramento State 7–0)

Second Quarter

(12:47) MTST – Jon Johnson 16-yard interception return (Brendan Hall kick) (Drive: 2 plays, 1 yard, 0:32; Tied 7–7)
(3:46) MTST – Ty McCullouch 21-yard pass from Sean Chambers (Brendan Hall kick) (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 4:44; Montana State 14–7)

Third Quarter

(10:10) MTST – Tommy Mellott 11-yard run (Brendan Hall kick) (Drive: 3 plays, 26 yards, 1:16; Montana State 21–7)
(8:48) SAC – Elijah Tau-Tolliver 53-yard run (Zach Schreiner kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:22; Montana State 21–14)
(6:09) SAC – Zach Schreiner 26-yard field goal (Drive: 5 plays, 17 yards, 2:30; Montana State 21–17)

Fourth Quarter

(14:53) MTST – Tommy Mellott 9-yard run (Brendan Hall kick) (Drive: 11 plays, 90 yards, 6:11; Montana State 28–17)
(10:02) SAC – Elijah Tau-Tolliver 10-yard run (Zach Schreiner kick) (Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 4:51; Montana State 28–24)
(8:26) MTST – Julius Davis 1-yard run (Brendan Hall kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 63 yards, 1:31; Montana State 35–24)
(5:05) MTST – Jared White 12-yard run (Brendan Hall kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 28 yards, 2:31; Montana State 42–24)
(1:27) SAC – Devin Gandy 7-yard pass from Kaiden Bennett (two-point pass conversion failed) (Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 3:38; Montana State 42–30)

Line

MTST –10.5

Over/Under

59.5

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[edit]

No. 2 Montana State Bobcats (6–1) vs No. 9 Idaho Vandals (5–2) – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 2 Bobcats	0	0	14	7	21
No. 9 Vandals	3	7	0	14	24

at Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID

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

vs Northern Arizona[edit]

vs Eastern Washington[edit]

at Montana[edit]

Ranking movements[edit]

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
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

References[edit]

^ "Montana State Tabbed Preseason Football Favorites". July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
^ "2023 Montana State Football Schedule". msubobcats.com. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
^ "Football vs Montana State on 10/21/2023 - Box Score - Sacramento State". October 21, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
^ "Football Falls To No. 2 Montana State, 42–30". October 21, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
^ "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.

[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.

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[5]

v t e Montana State Bobcats football
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