# 2021 Montana State Bobcats football team

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. 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.

## 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.
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 | War Memorial StadiumLaramie, WY | ESPN+ | L 16–19 | 30,007 |
| September 11 | 6:00 p.m. | Drake* | No. 11 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | SWX | W 45–7 | 19,797 |
| September 18 | 1:00 p.m. | San Diego* | No. 13 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | SWX | W 52–10 | 19,107 |
| September 25 | 3:05 p.m. | at Portland State | No. 13 | Hillsboro StadiumHillsboro, OR | ESPN+ | W 30–17 | 4,095 |
| October 2 | 1:05 p.m. | Northern Colorado | No. 11 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | SWX | W 40–7 | 20,127 |
| October 9 | 2:00 p.m. | Cal Poly | No. 10 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | RTNW | W 45–7 | 19,847 |
| October 15 | 8:00 p.m. | at No. 19 Weber State | No. 9 | Stewart StadiumOgden, UT | ESPNU | W 13–7 | 6,323 |
| October 23 | 1:00 p.m. | Idaho State | No. 8 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | SWX | W 27–9 | 19,297 |
| November 6 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 5 Eastern Washington | No. 4 | Roos FieldCheney, WA | SWX | W 23–20 | 6,981 |
| November 13 | 1:00 p.m. | Idaho | No. 3 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | SWX | W 20–13 | 19,447 |
| November 20 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 7 Montana | No. 3 | Washington–Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT (rivalry) | RTNW | L 10–29 | 26,856 |
| December 4 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 16 UT Martin* | No. 7 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT (NCAA Division I Second Round) | ESPN+ | W 26–7 | 15,237 |
| December 11 | 6:30 p.m. | at No. 1 Sam Houston* | No. 7 | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal) | ESPN+ | W 42–19 | 7,565 |
| December 18 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 11 South Dakota State* | No. 7 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, 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 | Toyota StadiumFrisco, TX (2022 NCAA Division I Championship Game) | ESPN2 | L 10–38 | 18,942 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Mountain time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### At Wyoming

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 12 Bobcats | 7 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 16 |
| Cowboys | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 19 |

### Drake

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 11 Bobcats | 9 | 15 | 7 | 14 | 45 |

### San Diego

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Toreros | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| No. 13 Bobcats | 21 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 52 |

### At Portland State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 13 Bobcats | 3 | 6 | 14 | 7 | 30 |
| Vikings | 10 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 17 |

### Northern Colorado

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 11 Bobcats | 17 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 40 |

### Cal Poly

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Mustangs | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 10 Bobcats | 7 | 28 | 7 | 3 | 45 |

### At No. 19 Weber State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 9 Bobcats | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
| No. 19 Wildcats | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### Idaho State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bengals | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| No. 8 Bobcats | 0 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 27 |

### At Eastern Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 4 Bobcats | 7 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 23 |
| No. 5 Eagles | 13 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 20 |

### Idaho

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vandals | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| No. 3 Bobcats | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 20 |

### At No. 7 Montana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 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 | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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 |