2016 Montana State Bobcats football team

The 2016 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bobcats were led by first year head coach Jeff Choate and played their home games at Bobcat Stadium. They were a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 4–7, 2–6 in Big Sky play to finish in a four-way tie for ninth place.

2016 Montana State Bobcats football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
2016 record	4–7 (2–6 Big Sky)
Head coach	Jeff Choate (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Courtney Messingham (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Ty Gregorak (1st season)
Home stadium	Bobcat Stadium (Capacity: 17,777)

2016 Big Sky Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 4 Eastern Washington +^		8	–	0					12	–	2
No. 12 North Dakota +^		8	–	0					9	–	3
No. 25 Weber State ^		6	–	2					7	–	5
No. 24 Cal Poly ^		5	–	3					7	–	5
Southern Utah		5	–	3					6	–	5
Northern Colorado		4	–	4					6	–	5
Northern Arizona		4	–	4					5	–	6
Montana		3	–	5					6	–	5
Montana State		2	–	6					4	–	7
Portland State		2	–	6					3	–	8
UC Davis		2	–	6					3	–	8
Sacramento State		2	–	6					2	–	9
Idaho State		1	–	7					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

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".[1] Later that same day, MSU announced that they would hire Leon Costello as the new athletic director.[2]

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: Scout: N/A   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: Scout: N/A   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 Dome Moscow, ID	ESPN3	L 17–20	11,987
September 10	2:05 pm	Bryant*	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	CMM	W 27–24	18,867
September 17	2:05 pm	Western Oregon*	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	CMM	W 55–0	17,577
September 24	2:05 pm	North Dakota	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	CMM	L 15–17	19,507
October 1	7:05 pm	at Sacramento State	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	CMM	L 38–41	7,759
October 8	5:10 pm	Northern Arizona	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	RTNW	L 14–20	17,637
October 15	1:40 pm	at Weber State	Stewart Stadium Odgen, UT	RTNW	L 27–45	7,148
October 22	12:10 pm	No. 3 Eastern Washington	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	RTNW	L 17–41	18,087
November 5	12:05 pm	at Southern Utah	Eccles Coliseum Cedar City, UT	CMM	L 21–38	7,342
November 12	1:30 pm	UC Davis	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	RTNW	W 27–13	15,767
November 19	12:00 pm	at No. 22 Montana	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (Brawl of the Wild)	RTNW	W 24–17	26,182
*Non-conference game Rankings from STATS FCS Poll released prior to game Poll released prior to the game All 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

References

1. "Recently hired MSU athletic director no longer wants job". Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
2. "After Brennan balks, Costello named athletic director at Montana State". Billings Gazette. Retrieved May 11, 2016.