1976 Montana State Bobcats football team

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1976
Reno H. Sales Stadium
Seasons
1976 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Montana State $^ 6 – 0 – 0 12 – 1 – 0
Idaho 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Northern Arizona 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Montana 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Boise State 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 1
Weber State 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Idaho State 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II AP Poll

The 1976 Montana State Bobcats football team represented the

Reno H. Sales Stadium
.

Entering August practices, the Bobcats were expected to finish in the middle of the conference standings.[2] Led on the field by southpaw sophomore quarterback Paul Dennehy,[3][4] Montana State went undefeated in the Big Sky and against all Division II opponents, falling only to Fresno State of Division I. Montana State finished their schedule with a 28–7 victory at Hawaii to end the regular season at 9–1.[5]

Division II playoffs

In the Division II playoffs, the Bobcats hosted New Hampshire in Bozeman in the quarterfinals and won by a point, 17–16.[6] In the semifinals at Fargo, MSU defeated North Dakota State for a second time in 1976, by a much closer 10–3 score in the Grantland Rice Bowl.[7][8]

In the

Pioneer Bowl for the Division II title in Wichita Falls, Texas, the Bobcats defeated Akron 24–13 and became the first Big Sky team to win a national title in football.[9] the Bobcats went undefeated in the Big Sky and won the Division II national championship.[9]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 11at
North Dakota*
W 18–1412,800
September 18
Reno H. Sales Stadium
  • Bozeman, MT
    		• W 34–72,300[10]
    September 25at Fresno State*No. 3
    		L 10–2411,500
    October 2Boise State
    • Reno H. Sales Stadium
    • Bozeman, MT
    		W 24–207,800[11][12]
    October 9at Weber State
    		W 44–07,422[13][14]
    October 16Idaho StateNo. 8
    • Reno H. Sales Stadium
    • Bozeman, MT
    		W 28–79,600[15]
    October 23IdahoNo. 7
    • Reno H. Sales Stadium
    • Bozeman, MT
    		W 29–145,400[3][4][16]
    October 30at MontanaNo. 4
    		W 21–1212,500[17]
    November 6No. 6 Northern ArizonaNo. 3
    • Reno H. Sales Stadium
    • Bozeman, MT
    		W 33–09,400[18]
    November 13at Hawaii*No. 3
    		W 28–720,515[19]
    November 27No. T–8 New Hampshire*No. 1
    		W 17–166,900[20]
    December 4at No. T–8 North Dakota State*No. 1
    		W 10–36,100[21][22]
    December 11vs. No. 3
    Pioneer Bowl)
    		W 24–1313,200[9]
    • *Non-conference game
    • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

    [23][24]

    References

    1. ^ "Dennehy leads Montana State's bowl win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 12, 1976. p. D1.
    2. ^ Emerson, Paul (August 1, 1976). "ISU picked as Big Sky grid favorite". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
    3. ^ a b "Idaho, Montana (State) fight for lead". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). October 22, 1976. p. 16.
    4. ^ a b Payne, Bob (October 24, 1976). "Dennehy inspires Bobcats". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. D1.
    5. ^ Clemens, Dave (November 15, 1976). "Montana State looks for postseason berth". Prescott Courier. (Arizona). Associated Press. p. 7.
    6. ^ "Bobcats survive UNH aerials". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 28, 1976. p. D1.
    7. ^ "Bobcat defense keys victory". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 5, 1976. p. 4B.
    8. ^ "Montana St., 10-3". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. December 5, 1976. p. 9E.
    9. ^ a b c "Montana State wins title". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 12, 1976. p. 4B.
    10. Newspapers.com
      .
    11. ^ "Bobcats hold off Broncos". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. October 3, 1976. p. D3.
    12. ^ English, Sue (October 4, 1976). "Big Sky race has surprise". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 17.
    13. ^ Ewer, Bill (October 11, 1976). "No hope for Weber". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. B6.
    14. ^ English, Sue (October 11, 1976). "Big Sky test due for Idaho". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 19.
    15. ^ English, Sue (October 18, 1976). "No surprises likely in next Vandal game". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 15.
    16. ^ English, Sue (October 25, 1976). "Vandals play Bengals next". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 13.
    17. ^ "Idaho on road again after slim triumph". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 1, 1976. p. 27.
    18. ^ "Idaho goes up despite loss". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 8, 1976. p. 15.
    19. ^ English, Sue (November 15, 1976). "Undisputed 2nd goal for Idaho". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 19.
    20. ^ "Bobcats survive UNH aerials". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 28, 1976. p. D1.
    21. Newspapers.com
      .
    22. ^ "Bobcat defense keys victory". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 5, 1976. p. 4B.
    23. ^ "Final 1976 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
    24. ^ "2015 football media guide" (PDF). Montana State University Athletics. 2015.
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