2018 Montana State Bobcats football team

2018 Montana State Bobcats football
2018 Montana State Bobcats football
NCAA Division I Second Round, L 10–52 vs. North Dakota State
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 17
FCS Coaches	No. 17
Record	8–5 (5–3 Big Sky)
Head coach	Jeff Choate (3rd season);
Offensive coordinator	Brian Armstrong (1st season, games 1–7); Matt Miller (1st season, games 8–13)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Ty Gregorak (3rd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Bobcat Stadium

2018 Big Sky Conference football standings

Team	W		L	W		L
No. 6 Weber State +^	7	–	1	10	–	3
No. 2 Eastern Washington +^	7	–	1	12	–	3
No. 7 UC Davis +^	7	–	1	10	–	3
No. 17 ^	5	–	3	8	–	5
Idaho State	5	–	3	6	–	5
Montana	4	–	4	6	–	5
Cal Poly	4	–	4	5	–	6
Northern Arizona	3	–	4	4	–	6
Portland State	3	–	5	4	–	7
Idaho	3	–	5	4	–	7
Northern Colorado	2	–	6	2	–	9
Southern Utah	1	–	7	1	–	10
Sacramento State	0	–	7	2	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Although North Dakota was classified as an independent, games against them still counted as Big Sky Conference games. Rankings from STATS Poll

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.

Preseason

Polls

On July 16, 2018 during the Big Sky Kickoff in Spokane, Washington, the Bobcats were predicted to finish in eighth place in both the coaches and media poll.^[1]

Coaches poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Eastern Washington	134 (6)
2	Weber State	124 (3)
3	Northern Arizona	121 (3)
4	Idaho	101 (1)
5	Sacramento State	94
6	Southern Utah	91
7	Montana	82
8	Montana State	76
9	UC Davis	64
10	Cal Poly	40
11	Northern Colorado	30
12	Idaho State	29
13	Portland State	21

Media poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Eastern Washington	651 (27)
2	Weber State	636 (19)
3	Northern Arizona	535 (1)
4	Montana	496 (2)
5	Idaho	483 (3)
6	Southern Utah	449 (1)
7	Sacramento State	415
8	Montana State	391 (1)
9	UC Davis	331 (1)
10	Idaho State	170
11	Cal Poly	169
12	Northern Colorado	166
13	Portland State	103

Preseason All-Conference Team

The Bobcats had one player selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team.^[2]

Tucker Yates – Sr. DT

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	7:00 p.m.	Western Illinois*		Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	SWX	W 26–23	18,507
September 8	5:00 p.m.	at No. 3 South Dakota State*		Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	SWX	L 14–45	14,614
September 15	1:00 p.m.	Wagner*		Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	SWX	W 47–24	18,037
September 22	3:00 p.m.	at Portland State		Hillsboro Stadium Hillsboro, OR	SWX	W 43–23	4,135
September 29	1:00 p.m.	No. 5 Eastern Washington		Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	RTNW	L 17–34	18,667
October 13	2:00 p.m.	Idaho		Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	RTNW	W 24–23	19,177
October 20	4:00 p.m.	at No. 7 Weber State		Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	RTNW	L 24–34	8,062
October 27	3:30 p.m.	at Idaho State		Holt Arena Pocatello, ID	ELVN	L 17–24	8,851
November 3	2:00 p.m.	Cal Poly		Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	SWX	W 49–42	16,747
November 10	1:00 p.m.	Northern Colorado		Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	RTNW	W 35–7	14,147
November 17	12:00 p.m.	at Montana	No. 25	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (rivalry)	RTNW	W 29–25	26,508
November 24	1:00 p.m.	No. 24 Incarnate Word*	No. 23	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT (NCAA Division I First Round)	ESPN3	W 35–14	10,017
December 1	2:00 p.m.	at No. 1 North Dakota State*	No. 23	Fargodome Fargo, ND (NCAA Division I Second Round)	ESPN3	L 10–52	17,007
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

^[3]

Game summaries

Western Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Leathernecks	7	6	7	3	23
Bobcats	3	3	14	6	26

At South Dakota State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bobcats	0	0	8	6	14
No. 3 Jackrabbits	7	17	14	7	45

Wagner

	1	2	3	4	Total
Seahawks	7	14	3	0	24
Bobcats	14	16	10	7	47

At Portland State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bobcats	6	20	17	0	43
Vikings	3	13	7	0	23

Eastern Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 5 Eagles	14	10	3	7	34
Bobcats	10	0	0	7	17

Idaho

	1	2	3	4	Total
Vandals	7	7	3	6	23
Bobcats	7	0	14	3	24

At Weber State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bobcats	7	10	7	0	24
No. 7 Wildcats	0	14	10	10	34

At Idaho State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bobcats	7	0	0	10	17
Bengals	0	17	7	0	24

Cal Poly

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	7	7	7	21	42
Bobcats	14	14	14	7	49

Northern Colorado

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	0	0	0	7
Bobcats	7	14	0	14	35

At Montana

#25 Montana State Bobcats (6–4) at Montana Grizzlies (6–4)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Montana St	0	7	0	22	29
Montana	7	15	0	3	25

at Washington–Grizzly Stadium, Missoula, Montana

Date: November 17, 2018
Game time: 12:00 p.m.
Game weather: Sunny, 30 °F (−1 °C)
Game attendance: 26,508
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

UM – Gabe Sulser 1-yard pass from Dalton Sneed (Tim Semenza kick), 12:31. Montana 7–0. Drive: 6 plays, 73 yards, 2:29.

Second quarter

UM – Adam Eastwood 1-yard run (Tim Semenza kick), 13:30. Montana 14–0. Drive: 10 plays, 58 yards, 3:41.
UM – Samuel Akem 37-yard pass from Dalton Sneed (run good), 8:15. Montana 22–0. Drive: 2 plays, 39 yards, 0:40.
MSU – Troy Andersen 3-yard run (Tristan Bailey kick), 0:23. Montana 22–7. Drive: 10 plays, 72 yards, 2:43.

Third quarter

No scoring

Fourth quarter

MSU – Troy Andersen 1-yard run (run good), 14:24. Montana 22–15. Drive: 9 plays, 87 yards, 3:15.
UM – Tim Semenza 34-yard field goal, 7:46. Montana 25–15. Drive: 14 plays, 58 yards, 6:32.
MSU – Troy Andersen 1-yard run (Tristan Bailey kick), 6:01. Montana 25–22. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 1:45.
MSU – Logan Jones 13-yard run (Tristan Bailey kick), 2:19. Montana St 29–25. Drive: 7 plays, 35 yards, 2:57.

Top passers

MSU – Troy Andersen – 15/24, 158 yards
UM – Dalton Sneed – 22/34, 354 yards, 2 TD

Top rushers

MSU – Troy Andersen – 23 rushes, 107 yards, 3 TD
UM – Jerry Louie-McGee – 4 rushes, 43 yards

Top receivers

MSU – Travis Jonsen – 11 receptions, 101 yards
UM – Samuel Akem – 6 receptions, 147 yards, TD

FCS Playoffs

Incarnate Word–First Round

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Cardinals	7	0	7	0	14
No. 23 Bobcats	7	11	3	14	35

At North Dakota State–Second Round

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 23 Bobcats	3	0	7	0	10
No. 1 Bison	21	17	7	7	52

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	23	17
Coaches	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	—	RV	RV	23	17

References

^ "Eastern Washington Picked to Win the Big Sky".
^ "Doss, Buss Headline Big Sky Football Preseason All-Conference Team".
^ "2018 Football Schedule". Montana State University Athletics. Retrieved April 24, 2022.

External links

Miracle in Missoula Documentary on YouTube

[1] "Eastern Washington Picked to Win the Big Sky".

[2] "Doss, Buss Headline Big Sky Football Preseason All-Conference Team".

[3] "2018 Football Schedule". Montana State University Athletics. Retrieved April 24, 2022.

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[2]

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Montana State Bobcats football
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