2018 Montana State Bobcats football team

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.

2018 Montana State Bobcats football
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Ranking
STATSNo. 17
FCS CoachesNo. 17
Record8–5 (5–3 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBrian Armstrong (1st season, games 1–7)
Matt Miller (1st season, games 8–13)
Defensive coordinatorTy Gregorak (3rd season)
Home stadiumBobcat Stadium
(capacity: 17,777)
2018 Big Sky Conference football standings
ConfOverall
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 Montana State ^  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

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

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 307:00 p.m.Western Illinois*SWXW 26–2318,507
September 85:00 p.m.at No. 3 South Dakota State*SWXL 14–4514,614
September 151:00 p.m.Wagner*
  • Bobcat Stadium
  • Bozeman, MT
SWXW 47–2418,037
September 223:00 p.m.at Portland StateSWXW 43–234,135
September 291:00 p.m.No. 5 Eastern Washington
  • Bobcat Stadium
  • Bozeman, MT
RTNWL 17–3418,667
October 132:00 p.m.Idahodagger
  • Bobcat Stadium
  • Bozeman, MT
RTNWW 24–2319,177
October 204:00 p.m.at No. 7 Weber StateRTNWL 24–348,062
October 273:30 p.m.at Idaho StateELVNL 17–248,851
November 32:00 p.m.Cal Poly
  • Bobcat Stadium
  • Bozeman, MT
SWXW 49–4216,747
November 101:00 p.m.Northern Colorado
  • Bobcat Stadium
  • Bozeman, MT
RTNWW 35–714,147
November 1712:00 p.m.at MontanaNo. 25RTNWW 29–2526,508
November 241:00 p.m.No. 24 Incarnate Word*No. 23
ESPN3W 35–1410,017
December 12:00 p.m.at No. 1 North Dakota State*No. 23
ESPN3L 10–5217,007

[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)
Period 1 2 34Total
Montana St 0 7 02229
Montana 7 15 0325

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

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
PollPre123456789101112Final
STATS FCSRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV252317
CoachesRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV2317

References

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