1979 Montana State Bobcats football team

1979 Montana State Bobcats football
1979 Montana State Bobcats football
Big Sky champion
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 9 (I-AA)
Record	6–4 (6–1 Big Sky)
Head coach	Sonny Lubick (2nd season);
Home stadium	Reno H. Sales Stadium
	Seasons ← 1978 1980 →

The 1979 Montana State Bobcats football team represented the Montana State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by second-year head coach Sonny Lubick, the Bobcats compiled an overall record of 6–4 and a mark of 6–1 in conference play. They were named the Big Sky champion after Boise State was ruled ineligible.

1979 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Boise State *	7	–	0	–	0	10	–	1	–	0
No. 9 Montana State $	6	–	1	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
No. 5 Nevada ^	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
No. T–10 Northern Arizona	3	–	4	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Weber State	3	–	4	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Idaho	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Montana	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Idaho State	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant * – Boise State was on probation Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	North Dakota*		Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	L 16–20	7,070	^[1]
September 15	Fresno State*		Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	L 20–22	8,143	^[2]
September 22	at Idaho State		ASISU Minidome Pocatello, ID	W 31–14	5,912	^[3]
September 29	at Boise State		Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	L 0–14	20,712	^[4]
October 6	Weber State		Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 40–21		^[5]
October 13	at No. T–8 Nevada		Mackay Stadium Reno, NV	W 12–10	9,215	^[6]
October 20	at No. 6 Northern Arizona		NAU Skydome Flagstaff, AZ	W 10–7	9,166	^[7]
October 27	Idaho	No. 9	Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 28–20	7,127	^[8]
November 3	Montana	No. 8	Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT (rivalry)	W 38–21		^[9]
November 10	North Dakota State*	No. 6	Dacotah Field Fargo, ND	L 7–21	2,250	^[10]
*Non-conference game Rankings from Associated Press Poll released prior to the game

1979 Montana State Bobcats football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB		Tony Boddie	Fr
WR	`81`	Mike Carle	Fr
WR	`8`	Mark McGrath	Sr
C		Larry Rubens	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
CB	`32`	Mike McLeod	Sr
SS		Tim Sturdevant	So

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

^ "Final 1979 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
^ "Fresno State drops Montana State 22–20". The Idaho Statesman. September 16, 1979. Retrieved September 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Big Sky Bobcats batter Bengals". Great Falls Tribune. September 23, 1979. Retrieved September 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Tough defenses". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. September 30, 1979. p. 3D.
^ "Bobcat offense lashes out at Weber". The Billings Gazette. October 7, 1979. Retrieved September 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Montana State nips Nevada–Reno". The Arizona Republic. October 14, 1979. Retrieved September 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "MSU beats NAU". The Independent-Record. October 21, 1979. Retrieved September 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Emerson, Paul (October 28, 1979). "Bad day at Bozeman". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 2D.
^ "Bobcats clinch 'Sky title". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 4, 1979. p. 4D.
^ "Cats fall to Bison". The Billings Gazette. November 11, 1979. Retrieved October 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "2015 football media guide" (PDF). Montana State University Athletics. 2015.