1988 Montana State Bobcats football team

The 1988 Montana State Bobcats football team was an American football team that represented Montana State University in the Big Sky Conference (Big Sky) during the 1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their second season under head coach Earle Solomonson, the Bobcats compiled a 4–7 record (4–4 against Big Sky opponents) and finished a four-way tie for fourth place in the Big Sky.

1988 Montana State Bobcats football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	4–7 (4–4 Big Sky)
Head coach	Earle Solomonson (2nd season)
Home stadium	Sales Stadium

1988 Big Sky Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Idaho $^	7	–	1	–	0			11	–	2	–	0
No. 16 Montana ^	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 12 Boise State ^	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Nevada	4	–	4	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Northern Arizona	4	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Weber State	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Montana State	4	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Eastern Washington	2	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
Idaho State	0	–	8	–	0			0	–	11	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	at Florida*	Florida Field Gainesville, FL	L 0–69	69,121
September 10	Mesa State*	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	L 10–41
September 17	at Eastern Washington	Roos Field Cheney, WA	W 35–13
September 24	at Central Michigan*	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	L 10–48
October 1	Idaho State	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 45–37
October 8	at No. 8 Idaho	Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	L 24–41	9,200
October 15	No. 13 Boise State	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 51–7	9,807
October 22	No. 8 Nevada	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 17–14
October 29	Northern Arizona	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	L 17–28
November 5	at No. 20 Montana	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (rivalry)	L 3–17
November 12	at Weber State	Wildcat Stadium Ogden, UT	L 35–59
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game