1976 Montana State Bobcats football team
1976 Montana State Bobcats football | |
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NCAA Division II national champion Big Sky champion | |
Conference | Big Sky Conference |
Record | 12–1 (6–0 Big Sky) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Don Christensen (6th season) |
Defensive coordinator | Sonny Lubick (6th season) |
Home stadium | Reno H. Sales Stadium |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1976 Montana State Bobcats football team represented the Montana State University in the 1976 NCAA Division II football season. The team was led by sixth-year head coach Sonny Holland and won the Division II national championship.[1] The Bobcats played their home games on campus in Bozeman at Reno H. Sales Stadium.
Led on the field by southpaw sophomore quarterback Paul Dennehy,[2] 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.[3]
In the Division II playoffs, the Bobcats hosted New Hampshire in Bozeman in the quarterfinals and won by a point, 17–16.[4] 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.[5][6] 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.[7]
Schedule
Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance |
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September 11 | at North Dakota* | W 18–14 | |||
September 18 | North Dakota State* | W 34–7 | |||
September 25 | at Fresno State* | No. 3 | L 10–24 | 11,500 | |
October 2 | Boise State |
| W 24–20 | ||
October 9 | at Weber State | W 44–0 | |||
October 16 | Idaho State | No. 8 |
| W 28–7 | |
October 23 | Idaho | No. 7 |
| W 29–14 | 5,400 |
October 30 | at Montana | No. 4 | W 21–12 | 12,500 | |
November 6 | No. 6 Northern Arizona | No. 3 |
| W 33–0 | |
November 13 | at Hawaii* | No. 3 | W 28–7 | ||
November 27 | No. 10 New Hampshire* | No. 1 |
| W 17–16 | 6,900 |
December 4 | at No. 10 North Dakota State* | No. 1 | W 10–3 | 6,100 | |
December 11 | vs. No. 3 Akron* | No. 1 | W 24–13 | 13,200 | |
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References
- ^ "Dennehy leads Montana State's bowl win". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. December 12, 1976. p. D1.
- ^ Payne, Bob (October 24, 1976). "Dennehy inspires Bobcats". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. D1.
- ^ Clemens, Dave (November 15, 1976). "Montana State looks for postseason berth". Prescott Courier. Arizona. Associated Press. p. 7.
- ^ "Bobcats survive UNH aerials". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. November 28, 1976. p. D1.
- ^ "Bobcat defense keys victory". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. December 5, 1976. p. 4B.
- ^ "Montana St., 10-3". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire services. December 5, 1976. p. 9E.
- ^ "Montana State wins title". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. December 12, 1976. p. 4B.
- ^ "Montana State yearly results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on 2014-07-27. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
- ^ "2015 football media guide" (PDF). Montana State University Athletics. 2015.