1997 Montana State Bobcats football team

1997 Montana State Bobcats football
1997 Montana State Bobcats football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	6–5 (5–3 Big Sky)
Head coach	Cliff Hysell (6th season);
Home stadium	Sales Stadium
	Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

The 1997 Montana State Bobcats football team was an American football team that represented Montana State University in the Big Sky Conference during the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their sixth season under head coach Cliff Hysell, the Bobcats compiled a 6–5 record (5–3 against Big Sky opponents) and finished third in the Big Sky.^[1]

1997 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 6 E Washington $^	7	–	1	12	–	2
No. 11 Montana ^	6	–	2	8	–	4
Montana State	5	–	3	6	–	5
Northern Arizona	4	–	4	6	–	5
Weber State	4	–	4	6	–	5
Cal State Northridge	4	–	4	4	–	8
Portland State	3	–	5	4	–	7
Idaho State	2	–	6	3	–	8
Sacramento State	1	–	7	1	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Cal State Northridge record includes two losses by forfeit Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 13	No. 20 ^D-II Chadron State*	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 24–14
September 20	at Southwest Texas State*	Bobcat Stadium San Marcos, TX	L 26–28	19,198	^[2]
September 27	at Idaho State	Holt Arena Pocatello, ID	W 14–13
October 4	No. 20 Eastern Washington	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 17–7
October 11	at No. 12 Northern Arizona	Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, AZ	L 13–14
October 18	Cal State Northridge	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 31–20	9,357	^[3]
October 25	at Portland State	Providence Park Portland, OR	L 0–44
November 1	Weber State	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 28–14
November 8	No. 23 Cal Poly*	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	L 19–20
November 15	at Sacramento State	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	W 30–6	2,018
November 22	No. 11 Montana	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT (rivalry)	L 25–27	13,507
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

^ "Bobcat Record Book" (PDF). Montana State University. 2018. p. 60. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 2, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
^ "SW Texas wins battle of Bobcats". The Missoulian. Associated Press. September 21, 1997. p. C5 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Fernando Dominguez (October 19, 1997). "Northridge Has Rundown Feeling". The Los Angeles Times (Valley ed.). Los Angeles, California. p. C16. Retrieved June 16, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.