1996 Montana State Bobcats football team

1996 Montana State Bobcats football
1996 Montana State Bobcats football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	6–5 (3–4 Big Sky)
Head coach	Cliff Hysell (5th season);
Home stadium	Sales Stadium
	Seasons ← 1995 1997 →

The 1996 Montana State Bobcats football team was an American football team that represented Montana State University in the Big Sky Conference (Big Sky) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their fifth season under head coach Cliff Hysell, the Bobcats compiled a 6–5 record (3–4 against Big Sky opponents) and tied for fifth place in the Big Sky.^[1]

1996 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 2 Montana $^	7	–	0	14	–	1
No. 6 Northern Arizona ^	6	–	1	9	–	3
Cal State Northridge	4	–	3	7	–	4
Weber State	4	–	3	7	–	4
Eastern Washington	3	–	4	6	–	5
Montana State	3	–	4	6	–	5
Idaho State	1	–	6	4	–	7
Sacramento State	0	–	7	1	–	10
Portland State	0	–	0	3	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Portland State games did not count in conference standings Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 14	at Nevada*	Mackay Stadium Reno, NV	L 7–31	23,210
September 21	Minnesota Duluth*	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 37–0
September 28	No. 17 Idaho State	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 17–13
October 5	at Eastern Washington	Roos Field Cheney, WA	L 13–20
October 12	No. 10 Northern Arizona	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	L 19–48
October 19	at Cal State Northridge	North Campus Stadium Northridge, CA	W 24–17	5,631	^[2]
October 26	Portland State	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 24–6	4,227	^[3]
November 2	at Weber State	Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	L 7–17
November 9	Cal Poly*	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 37–20
November 16	at Sacramento State	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	W 49–14	2,107	^[4]
November 23	at No. 2 Montana	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (rivalry)	L 14–35	19,042
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game