# 2023 Montana State Bobcats football team

The 2023 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bobcats were led by third-year head coach Brent Vigen and played home games at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana. The Montana State Bobcats football team drew an average home attendance of 21,610 in 2023.

## Preseason
### Polls

On July 23, 2023, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Bobcats were predicted to finish first in the Big Sky by both the coaches and media.
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Montana State | 120 (10) |
| 2 | UC Davis | 96 (1) |
| 3 | Sacramento State | 94 (1) |
| 4 | Weber State | 91 |
| 5 | Idaho | 89 |
| 6 | Montana | 84 |
| 7 | Eastern Washington | 52 |
| 8 | Portland State | 45 |
| 9 | Northern Arizona | 44 |
| 10 | Northern Colorado | 37 |
| 11 | Cal Poly | 25 |
| 12 | Idaho State | 15 |
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Montana State | 447 (26) |
| 2 | Idaho | 410 (8) |
| 3 | Montana | 359 (2) |
| 4 | Sacramento State | 334 (3) |
| 5 | UC Davis | 330 |
| 6 | Weber State | 320 |
| 7 | Eastern Washington | 216 |
| 8 | Northern Arizona | 178 |
| 9 | Portland State | 167 |
| 10 | Northern Colorado | 109 |
| 11 | Cal Poly | 103 |
| 12 | Idaho State | 69 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 6:00 p.m. | Utah Tech* | No. 3 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | ESPN+ Chris Byers, Mike Callaghan, Austin Parr | W 63–20 | 21,967 |
| September 9 | 5:00 p.m. | at No. 1 South Dakota State* | No. 3 | Dana J. Dykhouse StadiumBrookings, SD | ESPN+ Tom Nieman, Kurtiss Riggs, Darron Wallace | L 16–20 | 19,332 |
| September 16 | 1:00 p.m. | Stetson* | No. 3 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | ESPN+ Chris Byers, Mike Callaghan, Austin Parr | W 57–20 | 21,487 |
| September 23 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 10 Weber State | No. 3 | Stewart StadiumOgden, UT | ESPN+ Ben Creighton, Ty Gregorak, Ashley Washburn | W 40–0 | 10,905 |
| September 30 | 2:00 p.m. | Portland State | No. 3 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | ESPN+ Ben Creighton, Ty Gregorak, Ashley Washburn | W 38–22 | 22,017 |
| October 14 | 6:00 p.m. | Cal Poly | No. 2 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | ESPN+ Ben Creighton, Ty Gregorak, Scott Breen | W 59–19 | 21,997 |
| October 21 | 8:30 p.m. | at No. 3 Sacramento State | No. 2 | Hornet StadiumSacramento, CA | ESPN2 Noah Reed, Rocky Boiman, Dawn Davenport | W 42–30 | 16,122 |
| October 28 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 9 Idaho | No. 2 | Kibbie DomeMoscow, ID | ESPN+ Ben Creighton, Ty Gregorak, Scott Breen | L 21–24 | 13,073 |
| November 4 | 1:00 p.m. | Northern Arizona | No. 6 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | ESPN+ Ben Creighton, Ty Gregorak, Scott Breen | W 45–21 | 21,297 |
| November 11 | 1:00 p.m. | Eastern Washington | No. 5 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | ESPN+ Jay Kohn, Marty Mornhinweg, Kyle Hansen | W 57–14 | 20,897 |
| November 18 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 3 Montana | No. 4 | Washington-Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT (rivalry) | ESPN+ Ty Gregorak, Kyle Hansen, Scott Breen/Jay Kohn, Marty Mornhinweg | L 7–37 | 27,178 |
| December 2 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 8 North Dakota State* | No. 5 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT (NCAA Division I Second Round) | ESPN+ Noah Reed, Charles Arbuckle | L 34–35 $^{OT}$ | 17,247 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Mountain time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### at No. 1 South Dakota State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 3 Bobcats | 7 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
| No. 1 Jackrabbits | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 20 |
at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD
* Date: September 9, 2023
* Game time: 5:00 p.m. MDT
* Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C), Sunny, Wind NE 10 mph (16 km/h)
* Game attendance: 19,332
* Referee: Rick Warne
* TV announcers (ESPN+/MTN-CW/MidCo): Tom Nieman, Kurtiss Riggs, Darron Wallace
| Statistics | MSU | SDSU |
| First downs | 17 | 20 |
| Total yards | 298 | 341 |
| Rushing yards | 211 | 157 |
| Passing yards | 87 | 184 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 35:23 | 24:37 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Montana State | Passing | Sean Chambers | 3/9, 53 yards, INT |
| Montana State | Rushing | Sean Chambers | 20 carries, 90 yards, TD |
| Montana State | Receiving | Derryk Snell | 3 receptions, 38 yards |
| South Dakota State | Passing | Mark Gronowski | 13/22, 184 yards, 2 TD |
| South Dakota State | Rushing | Isaiah Davis | 12 carries, 66 yards |
| South Dakota State | Receiving | Griffin Wilde | 2 receptions, 49 yards, TD |

### at No. 3 Sacramento State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 2 Bobcats | 0 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 42 |
| No. 3 Hornets | 7 | 0 | 10 | 13 | 30 |
at Hornet Stadium, Sacramento, CA
* Date: October 21, 2023
* Game time: 7:30 p.m. PST
* Game weather: SW 9 mph • Sunny
* Game attendance: 16,122
* Referee: Jim Crowley
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Play-by-Play: John Schriffen • Analysis: Rocky Boiman • Sideline: Dawn Davenport
* Sources:
Game information :
First Quarter
(0:58) SAC – Danny Scudero 16-yard run (Zach Schreiner kick) (Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 4:20; Sacramento State 7–0)
Second Quarter
(12:47) MTST – Jon Johnson 16-yard interception return (Brendan Hall kick) (Drive: 2 plays, 1 yard, 0:32; Tied 7–7)
(3:46) MTST – Ty McCullouch 21-yard pass from Sean Chambers (Brendan Hall kick) (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 4:44; Montana State 14–7)
Third Quarter
(10:10) MTST – Tommy Mellott 11-yard run (Brendan Hall kick) (Drive: 3 plays, 26 yards, 1:16; Montana State 21–7)
(8:48) SAC – Elijah Tau-Tolliver 53-yard run (Zach Schreiner kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:22; Montana State 21–14)
(6:09) SAC – Zach Schreiner 26-yard field goal (Drive: 5 plays, 17 yards, 2:30; Montana State 21–17)
Fourth Quarter
(14:53) MTST – Tommy Mellott 9-yard run (Brendan Hall kick) (Drive: 11 plays, 90 yards, 6:11; Montana State 28–17)
(10:02) SAC – Elijah Tau-Tolliver 10-yard run (Zach Schreiner kick) (Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 4:51; Montana State 28–24)
(8:26) MTST – Julius Davis 1-yard run (Brendan Hall kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 63 yards, 1:31; Montana State 35–24)
(5:05) MTST – Jared White 12-yard run (Brendan Hall kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 28 yards, 2:31; Montana State 42–24)
(1:27) SAC – Devin Gandy 7-yard pass from Kaiden Bennett (two-point pass conversion failed) (Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 3:38; Montana State 42–30)
Line
MTST –10.5
Over/Under
59.5 :
| Statistics | MTST | SAC |
| First downs | 26 | 25 |
| Total yards | 448 | 434 |
| Rushing yards | 328 | 200 |
| Passing yards | 120 | 234 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 10–16–1 | 26–42–2 |
| Time of possession | 32:40 | 27:20 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Montana State | Passing | Tommy Mellott | 9/14, 99 yards |
| Montana State | Rushing | Julius Davis | 12 carries, 110 yards, TD |
| Montana State | Receiving | Ty McCullough | 4 receptions, 53 yards, TD |
| Sacramento State | Passing | Kaiden Bennett | 26/42, 234 yards, TD, 2 INT |
| Sacramento State | Rushing | Elijah Tau-Tolliver | 8 carries, 100 yards, 2 TD |
| Sacramento State | Receiving | Devin Gandy | 5 receptions, 59 yards, TD |

### at No. 9 Idaho

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 2 Bobcats | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 21 |
| No. 9 Vandals | 3 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 24 |
at Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID
* Date: October 28, 2023
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
* Game attendance: 13,073
* TV announcers (ESPN+/MTN-CW/SWX NW): Ben Creighton, Ty Gregorak, Scott Breen

### at Montana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 4 Bobcats | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 3 Grizzles | 14 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 37 |

## NCAA Division I playoffs
### No. 8 North Dakota State (second round)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| No. 8 Bison | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
| No. 5 (6) Bobcats | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 34 |
at Bobcat Stadium, Bozeman, MT
* Date: December 2, 2023
* Game time: 2:00 p.m. (CT)
* Game weather: Sunny; 36 °F (2 °C); Wind: W 15 mph
* Game attendance: 17,247
* Referee: Bruce Austin
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Noah Reed, Charles Arbuckle
| Statistics | North Dakota State | Montana State |
| First downs | 18 | 21 |
| Plays–yards | 57–374 | 59–509 |
| Rushes–yards | 43–296 | 40–279 |
| Passing yards | 78 | 230 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 6–14–0 | 14–19–1 |
| Time of possession | 29:43 | 30:17 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| North Dakota State | Passing | Cam Miller | 5/13, 66 yds, TD |
| North Dakota State | Rushing | TaMerik Williams | 11 car, 162 yds, 2 TD |
| North Dakota State | Receiving | Eli Green | 4 rec, 63 yds |
| Montana State | Passing | Tommy Mellott | 13/17, 204 yds, 2 TD, INT |
| Montana State | Rushing | Tommy Mellott | 18 car, 151 yds, 2 TD |
| Montana State | Receiving | Ty McCullouch | 4 rec, 92 yds TD |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | NDSU | MTST |
| 1st | 1:57 | 3 | 63 | 1:11 | MTST | Ty McCullouch (#6) 34-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Mellott (#4), Casey Kautzman (#38) kick good | 0 | 7 |
| 2nd | 8:52 | 5 | 39 | 2:56 | NDSU | Zach Mathis (#0) 3-yard touchdown reception from Cam Miller (#7), Griffin Crosa (#39) kick good | 7 | 7 |
| 2nd | 4:07 | 5 | 93 | 2:58 | NDSU | TaMerik Williams (#22) 44-yard touchdown run, Griffin Crosa (#39) kick good | 14 | 7 |
| 2nd | 1:05 | 6 | 71 | 3:02 | MTST | Tommy Mellott (#4) 6-yard touchdown run, Casey Kautzman (#38) kick good | 14 | 14 |
| 3rd | 14:50 | 1 | 75 | 0:10 | NDSU | TaMerik Williams (#22) 75-yard touchdown run, Griffin Crosa (#39) kick good | 21 | 14 |
| 3rd | 13:56 | 2 | 86 | 0:48 | MTST | Tommy Mellott (#4) 76-yard touchdown run, Casey Kautzman (#38) kick good | 21 | 21 |
| 3rd | 8:08 | 8 | 69 | 4:11 | MTST | Clevan Thomas Jr. (#2) 9-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Mellott (#4), Casey Kautzman (#38) kick good | 21 | 21 |
| 4th | 2:33 | 9 | 89 | 4:48 | NDSU | TK Marshall (#28) 29-yard touchdown run, Griffin Crosa (#39) kick good | 28 | 28 |
| OT | | 5 | 25 | | NDSU | Cam Miller (#7) 3-yard touchdown run, Griffin Crosa (#39) kick good | 35 | 28 |
| OT | | 1 | 25 | | MTST | Scottre Humphrey (#22) 25-yard touchdown run, Casey Kautzman (#38) kick blocked | 35 | 34 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 35 | 34 |

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | 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 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | |
| Coaches | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 8 | |