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)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Willie Mack Garza (2nd season)
Base defense	4–2–5
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

Polls

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

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

vs Utah Tech

at No. 1 South Dakota State

No. 3 Montana State Bobcats (1–0) vs No. 1 South Dakota State (1–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 3 Bobcats	7	3	0	6	16
No. 1 Jackrabbits	0	0	7	13	20

at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, 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

at No. 10 Weber State

vs Portland State

vs Cal Poly

at No. 3 Sacramento State

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

Quarter	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

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

Quarter	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

vs Eastern Washington

at Montana

	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

No. 8 North Dakota State (second round)

No. 8 North Dakota State Bison (9–3) vs. No. 5 (6) Montana State Bobcats (8–3)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
No. 8 Bison	0	14	7	7	7	35
No. 5 (6) Bobcats	7	7	14	0	6	34

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: 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

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	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

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

^ "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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v t e Montana State Bobcats football
Venues	Gatton Field (1930–1971) Van Winkle Stadium (1972) Bobcat Stadium (1973–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Montana
Culture & lore	Spirit of the West Marching Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
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National championship seasons in bold

2023 Montana State Bobcats football

NCAA Division I Second Round, L 34–35^OT 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)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Willie Mack Garza (2nd season)
Base defense	4–2–5
Home stadium	Bobcat Stadium
Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

v t e 2023 NCAA Division I FCS playoff participants
Albany Austin Peay Chattanooga Delaware Drake Duquesne Furman Gardner–Webb Idaho Lafayette Mercer Montana Montana State Nicholls North Carolina Central North Dakota North Dakota State Richmond Sacramento State South Dakota South Dakota State Southern Illinois Villanova Youngstown State
Champion – South Dakota State