# 2022 Montana State Bobcats football team

The 2022 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bobcats were led by second-year head coach Brent Vigen and played their home games at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana.

## Preseason
### Polls

On July 25, 2022, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Bobcats were predicted to finish third in the Big Sky by the coaches and second by the media.
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Montana | 111 (3) |
| 2 | Sacramento State | 110 (4) |
| 3 | Montana State | 109 (5) |
| 4 | Weber State | 84 |
| 5 | UC Davis | 82 |
| 6 | Eastern Washington | 76 |
| 7 | Northern Arizona | 62 |
| 8 | Idaho | 45 |
| 9 | Portland State | 42 |
| 10 | Cal Poly | 33 |
| T-11 | Idaho State | 19 |
| T-11 | Northern Colorado | 19 |
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Montana | 356 (14) |
| 2 | Montana State | 352 (13) |
| 3 | Sacramento State | 335 (4) |
| 4 | Weber State | 261 |
| 5 | UC Davis | 255 (1) |
| 6 | Eastern Washington | 236 |
| 7 | Northern Arizona | 191 |
| 8 | Portland State | 146 |
| 9 | Idaho | 142 |
| 10 | Cal Poly | 85 |
| 11 | Northern Colorado | 71 |
| 12 | Idaho State | 66 |

### Preseason All–Big Sky team

The Bobcats had seven players selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | 6:00 p.m. | McNeese State* | No. 4 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | KWYB/ESPN+ | W 40–17 | 21,687 |
| September 10 | 1:00 p.m. | Morehead State* | No. 4 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | KWYB/ESPN+ | W 63–13 | 19,927 |
| September 17 | 6:00 p.m. | vs. Oregon State* | No. 4 | Providence ParkPortland, OR | P12N | L 28–68 | 25,218 |
| September 24 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 15 Eastern Washington | No. 4T | Roos FieldCheney, WA | KBZK/ESPN+ | W 38–35 | 7,200 |
| October 1 | 8:15 p.m. | UC Davis | No. 4 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | ESPNU | W 41–24 | 21,637 |
| October 8 | 2:00 p.m. | Idaho State | No. 4 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | KBZK/ESPN+ | W 37–6 | 21,647 |
| October 15 | 1:00 p.m. | at Northern Colorado | No. 4 | Nottingham FieldGreeley, CO | KBZK/ESPN+ | W 37–14 | 4,796 |
| October 22 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 5 Weber State | No. 3 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | KBZK/ESPN+ | W 43–38 | 20,707 |
| November 5 | 2:00 p.m. | at Northern Arizona | No. 3 | Walkup SkydomeFlagstaff, AZ | KBZK/ESPN+ | W 41–38 | 8,676 |
| November 12 | 6:00 p.m. | at Cal Poly | No. 3 | Alex G. Spanos StadiumSan Luis Obispo, CA | KBZK/ESPN+ | W 72–28 | 5,369 |
| November 19 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 13 Montana | No. 3 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT (rivalry, College GameDay) | KBZK/ESPN+ | W 55–21 | 22,047 |
| December 3 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 9 Weber State* | No. 3 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT (NCAA Division I Second Round) | ESPN+ | W 33–25 | 16,397 |
| December 9 | 8:15 p.m. | No. 6 William & Mary* | No. 3 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal) | ESPN2/ESPN+ | W 55–7 | 14,367 |
| December 17 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 1 South Dakota State* | No. 3 | Dana J. Dykhouse StadiumBrookings, SD (NCAA Division I Semifinal) | ESPN2/ESPN+ | L 18–39 | 7,195 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Mountain time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### McNeese State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| No. 4 Bobcats | 0 | 17 | 16 | 7 | 40 |

### Morehead State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 13 |
| No. 4 Bobcats | 28 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 63 |

### At Oregon State

* Previous meeting
* First ever Meeting
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 4 Bobcats | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| Beavers | 7 | 27 | 20 | 14 | 68 |
at Providence Park • Portland, Oregon
* Date: September 17th
* Game time: 5:00 p.m. PST
* Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C) • Wind: NW at 7 miles per hour (11 km/h) • Weather: Cloudy
* Game attendance: 25,218
* Referee: Francisco Villar
* TV announcers (P12N): Jordan Kent (play-by-play), Nigel Burton (analyst)
Game information :
1st quarter
OSU - Deshaun Fenwick runs for a 25-yard TD 11:20, (Everett Hayes kick) - Beavers 7-0, Drive: 7 plays, 90 yards, TOP: 3:33
MST - Sean Chambers runs for a 7-yard TD 5:19, (Blake Glessner kick) - Tied 7-7, Drive: 10 plays, 66 yards, TOP: 5:54
2nd quarter
OSU - Tre'Shaun Harrison 6-yard pass from Chance Nolan 14:51, (Everett Hayes kick) - Beavers 14-7, Drive: 14 plays, 75 yards, TOP: 5:28'
OSU - Chance Nolan runs for a 1-yard TD 11:09, (Everett Hayes kick) - Beavers 21-7, Drive: 7 plays, 58 yards, TOP: 3:28
MST – Marqui Johnson returns a kickoff for a 98-yard TD (Blake Glessner kick) - Beavers 21-14
OSU - Silas Bolden 24-yard pass from Chance Nolan 6:19, (Everett Hayes kick) - Beavers 28-14, Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP: 4:34
OSU - Anthony Gould 9-yard pass from Chance Nolan 4:14, (Extra Point is no good) - Beavers 34-14, Drive: 2 plays, 12 yards, TOP: 0:47
3rd quarter
OSU – Anthony Gould returns a punt for an 80-yard TD (Everett Hayes kick) - Beavers 40-14
MST - Sean Chambers runs for a 8-yard TD 7:21, (Blake Glessner kick) - Beavers 40-21, Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP: 5:20
OSU - Damien Martinez runs for 7-yard TD 5:51, (Atticus Sappington kick) - Beavers 47-21, Drive: 3 plays, 20 yards, TOP: 1:18
OSU - Anthony Gould 17-yard pass from Chance Nolan 1:09, (Atticus Sappington kick) - Beavers 54-21, Drive: 5 plays, 33 yards, TOP: 1:58
4th quarter
OSU - Jam Griffin runs for a 23-yard TD 12:33, (Atticus Sappington kick) - Beavers 61-21, Drive: 6 plays, 54 yards, TOP: 2:48
MST - Sean Chambers runs for a 1-yard TD 7:55, (Blake Blessner kick) - Beavers 61-28, Drive: 8 plays, 65 yards, TOP: 4:38
OSU - Kanoa Shannon runs for a 3-yard TD 3:02, (Atticus Sappington kick) - Beavers 68-28, Drive: 10 plays, 64 yards, TOP: 4:51
Passing leaders
Bobcats - Tommy Mellott 9-18, 101 yards, 3 INTs
Beavers - Chance Nolan 19-25, 276 yards, 4 TDs
Rushing leaders
Bobcats - Tommy Mellott 18 carries, 135 yards
Beavers - Deshaun Fenwick 9 carries, 63 yards
Receiving leaders
Bobcats - Derryk Snell 1 reception, 27 yards
Beavers - Tre'Shaun Harrison 8 receptions, 133 yards, 1 TD Anthony Gould 5 receptions, 77 yards, 2 TDs :

### At No. 15 Eastern Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 4T Bobcats | 10 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 38 |
| No. 15 Eagles | 14 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 35 |

### UC Davis

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 10 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 24 |
| No. 4 Bobcats | 7 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 41 |

### Idaho State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bengals | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| No. 4 Bobcats | 14 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 37 |

### At Northern Colorado

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 4 Bobcats | 3 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 37 |
| Bears | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

### No. 5 Weber State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 5 Wildcats | 17 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 38 |
| No. 3 Bobcats | 9 | 18 | 16 | 0 | 43 |

### At Northern Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 3 Bobcats | 17 | 0 | 7 | 17 | 41 |
| Lumberjacks | 7 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 38 |

### At Cal Poly

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 3 Bobcats | 24 | 27 | 14 | 7 | 72 |
| Mustangs | 0 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 28 |

### No. 13 Montana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 13 Grizzlies | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| No. 3 Bobcats | 21 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 55 |

## FCS Playoffs
### No. 9 Weber State – Second Round

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 9 Wildcats | 3 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 25 |
| No. 3 Bobcats | 7 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 33 |

### No. 6 William & Mary – Quarterfinals

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 6 Tribe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| No. 3 Bobcats | 10 | 17 | 28 | 0 | 55 |

### At No. 1 South Dakota State – Semifinals

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 3 Bobcats | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 18 |
| No. 1 Jackrabbits | 14 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 39 |

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking т = Tied with team above or below :
| | 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 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4т | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Coaches | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4т | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 |