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American college football season
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 .
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
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance Source September 11 at
North Dakota * W 18–1412,800
September 18
North Dakota State * W 34–72,300
[10]
September 25 at
Fresno State * No. 3 L 10–2411,500
October 2
Boise State Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT W 24–207,800
[11]
[12]
October 9 at
Weber State W 44–07,422
[13]
[14]
October 16
Idaho State No. 8 Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT W 28–79,600
[15]
October 23
Idaho No. 7 Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT W 29–145,400
[3]
[4]
[16]
October 30 at
Montana No. 4 W 21–1212,500
[17]
November 6 No. 6
Northern Arizona No. 3 Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT W 33–09,400
[18]
November 13 at
Hawaii * No. 3 W 28–720,515
[19]
November 27 No. T–8
New Hampshire * No. 1 W 17–166,900
[20]
December 4 at No. T–8 North Dakota State* No. 1 W 10–36,100
[21]
[22]
December 11 vs. No. 3
Akron * No. 1 W 24–1313,200
[9]
*Non-conference game Rankings from
AP Poll released prior to the game
[23]
[24]
References
^
"Dennehy leads Montana State's bowl win" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 12, 1976. p. D1.
^ Emerson, Paul (August 1, 1976).
"ISU picked as Big Sky grid favorite" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). p. 1B.
^
a
b
"Idaho, Montana (State) fight for lead" . Spokane Daily Chronicle . (Washington). October 22, 1976. p. 16.
^
a
b 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.
^
a
b
c
"Montana State wins title" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). Associated Press. December 12, 1976. p. 4B.
^
"MSU's Dennehy no robot" . The Billings Gazette . September 19, 1976. Retrieved October 5, 2021 – via
Newspapers.com .
^
"Bobcats hold off Broncos" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. October 3, 1976. p. D3.
^ English, Sue (October 4, 1976).
"Big Sky race has surprise" . Spokane Daily Chronicle . (Washington). p. 17.
^ Ewer, Bill (October 11, 1976).
"No hope for Weber" . Deseret News . (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. B6.
^ English, Sue (October 11, 1976).
"Big Sky test due for Idaho" . Spokane Daily Chronicle . (Washington). p. 19.
^ English, Sue (October 18, 1976).
"No surprises likely in next Vandal game" . Spokane Daily Chronicle . (Washington). p. 15.
^ English, Sue (October 25, 1976).
"Vandals play Bengals next" . Spokane Daily Chronicle . (Washington). p. 13.
^
"Idaho on road again after slim triumph" . Spokane Daily Chronicle . (Washington). November 1, 1976. p. 27.
^
"Idaho goes up despite loss" . Spokane Daily Chronicle . (Washington). November 8, 1976. p. 15.
^ English, Sue (November 15, 1976).
"Undisputed 2nd goal for Idaho" . Spokane Daily Chronicle . (Washington). p. 19.
^
"Bobcats survive UNH aerials" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 28, 1976. p. D1.
^
"Bobcats advance to title game" . The Independent-Record . December 5, 1976. Retrieved October 5, 2021 – via
Newspapers.com .
^
"Bobcat defense keys victory" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). Associated Press. December 5, 1976. p. 4B.
^
"Final 1976 Cumulative Football Statistics Report" .
National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved December 21, 2022 .
^
"2015 football media guide" (PDF) . Montana State University Athletics. 2015.
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People
Seasons National championship seasons in bold
College Division / Division II I-AA/FCS
Northern Arizona (1978)
Montana State (1979)
Boise State (1980)
Idaho State (1981)
Montana ,
Idaho , &
Montana State (1982)
Nevada (1983)
Montana State (1984)
Idaho (1985)
Nevada (1986)
Idaho (1987)
Idaho (1988)
Idaho (1989)
Nevada (1990)
Nevada (1991)
Idaho &
Eastern Washington (1992)
Montana (1993)
Boise State (1994)
Montana (1995)
Montana (1996)
Eastern Washington (1997)
Montana (1998)
Montana (1999)
Montana (2000)
Montana (2001)
Montana ,
Montana State , &
Idaho State (2002)
Montana State ,
Montana , &
Northern Arizona (2003)
Montana &
Eastern Washington (2004)
Eastern Washington ,
Montana State , &
Montana (2005)
Montana (2006)
Montana (2007)
Weber State &
Montana (2008)
Montana (2009)
Montana State &
Eastern Washington (2010)
Montana State &
Montana (2011)
Eastern Washington ,
Montana State , &
Cal Poly (2012)
Eastern Washington (2013)
Eastern Washington (2014)
Southern Utah (2015)
Eastern Washington &
North Dakota (2016)
Southern Utah &
Weber State (2017)
Eastern Washington ,
UC Davis , &
Weber State (2018)
Sacramento State &
Weber State (2019)
Weber State (2020)
Sacramento State (2021)
Montana State &
Sacramento State (2022)
Montana (2023)
National championships in bold
1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s