# 2016 Montana State Bobcats football team

The 2016 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Jeff Choate, Montana State compiled an overall record of 4–7 with a mark of 2–6 in conference play, placing in a four-way tie for ninth place in the Big Sky. The Bobcats played their home games at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana.

## Athletic director search

After 14 years as athletic director, Peter Fields's contract was not to be renewed for the 2016 season. On May 2, Montana State officially introduced Kyle Brennan as the new athletic director. However, on May 10, Brennan backed out of the job citing that the job "didn't feel right". Later that same day, MSU announced that they would hire Leon Costello as the new athletic director.

## Recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Chase Benson DL | Helena, MT | Helena High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 242 lb (110 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Balue Chapman LB | Bozeman, MT | Bozeman High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 189 lb (86 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Anthony Pegues RB | Frisco, TX | Centennial High School | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Feb 3, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 12, 2016. "2016 Montana State Bobcats football team". 247sports.com. Retrieved April 12, 2016. ||||||

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 7:00 pm | at Idaho* | Kibbie DomeMoscow, ID | ESPN3 | L 17–20 | 11,987 |
| September 10 | 2:05 pm | Bryant* | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | CMM | W 27–24 | 18,867 |
| September 17 | 2:05 pm | Western Oregon* | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | CMM | W 55–0 | 17,577 |
| September 24 | 2:05 pm | North Dakota | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | CMM | L 15–17 | 19,507 |
| October 1 | 7:05 pm | at Sacramento State | Hornet StadiumSacramento, CA | CMM | L 38–41 | 7,759 |
| October 8 | 5:10 pm | Northern Arizona | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | RTNW | L 14–20 | 17,637 |
| October 15 | 1:40 pm | at Weber State | Stewart StadiumOdgen, UT | RTNW | L 27–45 | 7,148 |
| October 22 | 12:10 pm | No. 3 Eastern Washington | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | RTNW | L 17–41 | 18,087 |
| November 5 | 12:05 pm | at Southern Utah | Eccles ColiseumCedar City, UT | CMM | L 21–38 | 7,342 |
| November 12 | 1:30 pm | UC Davis | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | RTNW | W 27–13 | 15,767 |
| November 19 | 12:00 pm | at No. 22 Montana | Washington–Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT (rivalry) | RTNW | W 24–17 | 26,182 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Mountain time |||||||

## Game summaries
### At Idaho

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| Vandals | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 20 |

### Bryant

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Bobcats | 0 | 14 | 13 | 0 | 27 |

### Western Oregon

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wolves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobcats | 3 | 31 | 7 | 14 | 55 |

### North Dakota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Hawks | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| Bobcats | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 15 |

### At Sacramento State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 3 | 21 | 14 | 0 | 38 |
| Hornets | 7 | 14 | 0 | 20 | 41 |

### Northern Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lumberjacks | 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
| Bobcats | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |

### At Weber State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 27 |
| Wildcats | 21 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 45 |

### Eastern Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #3 Eagles | 14 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 41 |
| Bobcats | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 |

### At Southern Utah

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Thunderbirds | 0 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 38 |

### UC Davis

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Bobcats | 0 | 17 | 0 | 10 | 27 |

### At Montana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 7 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 24 |
| #22 Grizzlies | 7 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 17 |