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American college football season
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.
[1] 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.
[2]
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.
[3]
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 Colroado
|
|
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 | |
ESPN+ | L 16–19 | 30,007 |
September 11 | 6:00 p.m. |
Drake* | No. 11 | |
SWX | W 45–7 | 19,797 |
September 18 | 1:00 p.m. |
San Diego* | No. 13 | - Bobcat Stadium
- Bozeman, MT
| SWX | W 52–10 | 19,107 |
September 25 | 3:05 p.m. | at
Portland State | No. 13 | | ESPN+ | W 30–17 | 4,095 |
October 2 | 1:05 p.m. |
Northern Colorado | No. 11 | - Bobcat Stadium
- Bozeman, MT
| SWX | W 40–7 | 20,127 |
October 9 | 2:00 p.m. |
Cal Poly | No. 10 | - Bobcat Stadium
- Bozeman, MT
|
RTNW | W 45–7 | 19,847 |
| 8:00 p.m. | at No. 19
Weber State | No. 9 | |
ESPNU | W 13–7 | 6,323 |
October 23 | 1:00 p.m. |
Idaho State | No. 8 | - Bobcat Stadium
- Bozeman, MT
| SWX | W 27–9 | 19,297 |
November 6 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 5
Eastern Washington | No. 4 | | SWX | W 23–20 | 6,981 |
November 13 | 1:00 p.m. |
Idaho | No. 3 | - Bobcat Stadium
- Bozeman, MT
| SWX | W 20–13 | 19,447 |
November 20 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 7
Montana | No. 3 | | RTNW | L 10–29 | 26,856 |
December 4 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 16
UT Martin* | No. 7 | | ESPN+ | W 26–7 | 15,237 |
December 11 | 6:30 p.m. | at No. 1
Sam Houston* | No. 7 | | ESPN+ | W 42–19 | 7,565 |
December 18 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 11
South Dakota State* | No. 7 | - Bobcat Stadium
- Bozeman, 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 | | ESPN2 | L 10–38 | 18,942 |
|
[4]
Roster
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 |
---|
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 |
---|
References
-
^ Connelly, Bill (January 7, 2022).
"FCS national championship game: Breaking down Montana State-North Dakota State". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
-
^
"North Dakota State football continues dominant FCS run, wins ninth championship in 11 seasons". ESPN.com. January 8, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
-
^
"Bobcats Land Andersen, Tuiasosopo on Preseason All-Big Sky Team, While Coaches, Media Pick MSU Fourth in Preseason Polls". July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
-
^
"2021 Football Schedule". Montana State University Athletics. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
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People | |
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National championship seasons in bold |