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]
Preseason
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]
Coaches poll
Predicted finish
|
Team
|
Votes (1st place)
|
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
|
|
Media poll
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
|
|
Preseason All–Big Sky team
The Bobcats had two players selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
---|
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 | - Bobcat Stadium
- Bozeman, MT
| 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 | - Bobcat Stadium
- Bozeman, MT
| SWX | W 40–7 | 20,127 |
October 9 | 2:00 p.m. | Cal Poly | No. 10 | - Bobcat Stadium
- Bozeman, MT
| RTNW | W 45–7 | 19,847 |
| 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 | - Bobcat Stadium
- Bozeman, MT
| 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 | - Bobcat Stadium
- Bozeman, MT
| 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 | - Bobcat Stadium
- Bozeman, MT (NCAA Division I Semifinal)
| 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 |
|
[4]
Roster
2021 Montana State Bobcats football team roster
|
Players
|
Coaches
|
Offense
Pos. |
# |
Name |
Class
|
WR
|
0
|
Cam Gardner
|
So
|
WR
|
3
|
Coy Steel
|
Jr
|
WR
|
5
|
Charles Brown
|
Fr
|
QB
|
7
|
Casey Bauman
|
So
|
TE
|
8
|
Derryk Snell
|
So
|
WR
|
9
|
Jamahd Monroe
|
Fr
|
WR
|
10
|
Nate Stewart
|
GS
|
WR
|
11
|
Willie Patterson
|
Jr
|
QB
|
12
|
Tucker Rovig
|
Jr
|
RB
|
13
|
Elijah Elliott
|
Fr
|
TE
|
14
|
Peyton Thornton
|
Fr
|
QB
|
16
|
Tommy Mellott
|
Fr
|
WR
|
16
|
Tanner Trafton
|
Fr
|
WR
|
17
|
Jaden Smith
|
Fr
|
QB
|
18
|
Sean Austin
|
Fr
|
RB
|
18
|
DeMareus Hosey
|
Fr
|
RB
|
19
|
Jaharie Martin
|
Fr
|
RB
|
22
|
Isaiah Ifanse
|
Jr
|
RB
|
24
|
Lane Sumner
|
So
|
WR
|
25
|
Andrew Patterson
|
Fr
|
RB
|
29
|
Jaalen Rening
|
Fr
|
RB
|
38
|
Garrett Coon
|
Fr
|
TE
|
42
|
R. J. Fitzgerald
|
Jr
|
TE
|
48
|
Ryan Davis
|
Sr
|
TE
|
49
|
Dyse Shepherd
|
Fr
|
OL
|
51
|
Taylor Tuiasosopo
|
Sr
|
OL
|
56
|
Cole Sain
|
So
|
OL
|
58
|
Aaron Richards
|
Fr
|
OL
|
59
|
Zach Redd
|
Jr
|
OL
|
60
|
Dontae Myrick
|
Fr
|
OL
|
61
|
Cole Snyder
|
Fr
|
OL
|
62
|
Dylan Porter
|
Jr
|
OL
|
63
|
Rush Reimer
|
Fr
|
OL
|
65
|
Justus Perkins
|
Fr
|
OL
|
67
|
Joe McElroy
|
So
|
OL
|
70
|
Holden Sampson
|
Fr
|
OL
|
72
|
T. J. Session
|
Fr
|
OL
|
73
|
Titan Fleischmann
|
Fr
|
OL
|
74
|
Conor Reitler
|
Fr
|
OL
|
75
|
Jacob Kettels
|
Fr
|
OL
|
76
|
Lewis Kidd
|
Sr
|
OL
|
79
|
Jack Harlow
|
Fr
|
TE
|
80
|
Treyton Pickering
|
So
|
WR
|
81
|
Tayvian Williams
|
So
|
TE
|
82
|
Elijah Reynolds
|
Fr
|
WR
|
83
|
Logan Kleinhans
|
So
|
WR
|
84
|
Peyton Hanser
|
Jr
|
WR
|
85
|
Aidan Garrigan
|
Fr
|
WR
|
86
|
Lance McCutcheon
|
Sr
|
TE
|
87
|
Ryan Lonergan
|
Fr
|
TE
|
88
|
Jarrett Kessler
|
Jr
|
|
Defense
Pos. |
# |
Name |
Class
|
CB
|
0
|
Tyrel Thomas
|
Sr
|
DB
|
1
|
Eric Zambrano
|
So
|
DB
|
2
|
Tre Webb
|
GS
|
DE
|
3
|
Amandre Williams
|
Sr
|
CB
|
4
|
James Campbell
|
Jr
|
S
|
5
|
Jeffrey Manning Jr
|
Jr
|
DB
|
6
|
Miles Jackson
|
Fr
|
DB
|
7
|
Ty Okada
|
Jr
|
CB
|
8
|
Level Price Jr.
|
So
|
CB
|
9
|
Simeon Woodard
|
Fr
|
DE
|
10
|
Brody Grebe
|
Fr
|
LB
|
11
|
Kenneth Eiden IV
|
Fr
|
DB
|
12
|
Devin Davis
|
Fr
|
DB
|
13
|
Jackson Harmon
|
Fr
|
LB
|
15
|
Troy Andersen
|
Sr
|
LB
|
17
|
Tadan Gilman
|
Jr
|
S
|
18
|
Kendric Bailey
|
So
|
DB
|
20
|
Tyson Pottenger
|
Fr
|
OLB
|
23
|
Aidan Parks
|
Fr
|
DB
|
25
|
Eli Aby
|
Fr
|
DB
|
26
|
Rylan Ortt
|
Fr
|
DB
|
27
|
Connor Ryan
|
Fr
|
S
|
28
|
Jake D'Agostino
|
Fr
|
LB
|
30
|
Danny Uluilakepa
|
Fr
|
LB
|
31
|
Jace Fitzgerald
|
Fr
|
ILB
|
32
|
Jory Choate
|
So
|
DT
|
33
|
Blake Hehl
|
So
|
LB
|
34
|
Nolan Askelson
|
So
|
ILB
|
40
|
Alex Johnson
|
Fr
|
DT
|
41
|
Chase Benson
|
Sr
|
LB
|
43
|
McCade O'Reilly
|
Fr
|
DE
|
44
|
Daniel Hardy
|
Sr
|
LB
|
45
|
Hunter Parsons
|
Fr
|
DL
|
50
|
Zack Black
|
Fr
|
LB
|
53
|
Luke Fedyk
|
Fr
|
LB
|
54
|
Cooper Thomas
|
Fr
|
DT
|
55
|
Tua Areta
|
Fr
|
DL
|
57
|
Tyson Regimbal
|
Jr
|
DL
|
90
|
Marcus Wehr
|
Fr
|
DE
|
91
|
David Alston
|
So
|
DL
|
92
|
Blake Schmidt
|
Fr
|
DL
|
93
|
Kyle Rygg
|
Jr
|
DL
|
94
|
Byron Rollins
|
Jr
|
DL
|
95
|
Sebastian Valdez
|
Fr
|
DL
|
96
|
Paul Brott
|
Fr
|
DL
|
98
|
Ben Seymour
|
So
|
DL
|
99
|
Trey Yates
|
Fr
|
|
Special teams
Pos. |
# |
Name |
Class
|
K
|
35
|
Luke Pawlak
|
Fr
|
P
|
37
|
Bryce Leighton
|
Fr
|
K
|
39
|
Blake Glessner
|
Fr
|
LS
|
71
|
Tommy Sullivan
|
Fr
|
|
- Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
Roster
|
Game summaries
At Wyoming
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
No. 12 Bobcats
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
9 |
16 |
Cowboys
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
16 |
19 |
Drake
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Bulldogs
|
0
|
7
|
0
|
0 |
7 |
No. 11 Bobcats
|
9
|
15
|
7
|
14 |
45 |
San Diego
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Toreros
|
0
|
0
|
7
|
3 |
10 |
No. 13 Bobcats
|
21
|
14
|
10
|
7 |
52 |
At Portland State
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
No. 13 Bobcats
|
3
|
6
|
14
|
7 |
30 |
Vikings
|
10
|
0
|
7
|
0 |
17 |
Northern Colorado
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Bears
|
0
|
7
|
0
|
0 |
7 |
No. 11 Bobcats
|
17
|
10
|
13
|
0 |
40 |
Cal Poly
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Mustangs
|
0
|
0
|
7
|
0 |
7 |
No. 10 Bobcats
|
7
|
28
|
7
|
3 |
45 |
At No. 19 Weber State
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
No. 9 Bobcats
|
7
|
0
|
6
|
0 |
13 |
No. 19 Wildcats
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
0 |
7 |
Idaho State
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Bengals
|
3
|
0
|
3
|
3 |
9 |
No. 8 Bobcats
|
0
|
10
|
3
|
14 |
27 |
At Eastern Washington
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
No. 4 Bobcats
|
7
|
9
|
0
|
7 |
23 |
No. 5 Eagles
|
13
|
0
|
0
|
7 |
20 |
Idaho
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Vandals
|
0
|
10
|
3
|
0 |
13 |
No. 3 Bobcats
|
7
|
6
|
0
|
7 |
20 |
At No. 7 Montana
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
No. 3 Bobcats
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
7 |
10 |
No. 7 Grizzlies
|
10
|
6
|
10
|
3 |
29 |
Ranking movements
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes | Week |
---|
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 |
---|
References
- ^ Connelly, Bill (January 7, 2022). "FCS national championship game: Breaking down Montana State-North Dakota State". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
- ^ "North Dakota State football continues dominant FCS run, wins ninth championship in 11 seasons". ESPN.com. January 8, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
- ^ "Bobcats Land Andersen, Tuiasosopo on Preseason All-Big Sky Team, While Coaches, Media Pick MSU Fourth in Preseason Polls". July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
- ^ "2021 Football Schedule". Montana State University Athletics. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
|
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Venues | |
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Bowls & rivalries | |
---|
Culture & lore |
- Spirit of the West Marching Band
|
---|
People | |
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Seasons | |
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National championship seasons in bold |