1984 Montana State Bobcats football team
American college football season
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The 1984 Montana State Bobcats football team represented the Montana State University (MSU) in the 1984 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The team was led by Dave Arnold in his second season as a head coach. The Bobcats played their home games at Reno H. Sales Stadium.
| 1984 Montana State Bobcats football | |
|---|---|
NCAA Division I-AA champion Big Sky champion | |
NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game, W 19–6 vs. Louisiana Tech | |
| Conference | Big Sky Conference |
| Ranking | |
| AP | No. 2 |
| Record | 12–2 (6–1 Big Sky) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Bill Diedrick (1st season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Steve Carson (1st season) |
| Home stadium | Reno H. Sales Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 Montana State $^ | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 12 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nevada | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boise State | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Idaho | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Idaho State | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weber State | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Arizona | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Montana | 0 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 8 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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After going 1–10 the previous season and finishing last in the Big Sky, the Bobcats had one of the biggest turnarounds in all of college football in 1984, finishing the regular season with an overall record of 9–2, including a 35–31 win over Division I-A Fresno State, and won the Big Sky title. The Bobcats received a bid to the Division I-AA playoffs, defeating Arkansas State and Rhode Island en route to the I-AA Championship Game. In the championship game, Montana State defeated Louisiana Tech 19–6 for the program's first I-AA national title, and first national title since the 1976 team won the NCAA Division II national championship.[1] This would be the Bobcats' last national championship win until 2025.[2]
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 8 | Mesa State* | W 30–14 | [3] | ||||
| September 15 | at Eastern Washington* | L 16–21 | [4] | ||||
| September 22 | at Idaho | W 34–28 | 11,600 | [5] | |||
| September 29 | No. 18 Idaho State |
| L 6–22 | 11,117 | [6] | ||
| October 6 | at Weber State | W 48–0 | 9,680 | [7] | |||
| October 13 | Nevada |
| W 44–41 4OT | 6,317 | [8] | ||
| October 20 | Portland State* |
| W 45–22 | 10,797 | [9] | ||
| October 27 | No. 8 Boise State |
| W 22–18 | 8,387 | [10] | ||
| November 3 | at Montana | No. 15 | W 34–24 | 12,500 | [11] | ||
| November 10 | Northern Arizona | No. 10 |
| W 41–3 | 9,357 | [12] | |
| November 17 | at Fresno State* | No. 6 | W 35–31 | 24,088 | [13] | ||
| December 1 | No. 10 Arkansas State* | No. 2 |
| W 31–14 | 12,037 | [14] | |
| December 8 | No. 2 Rhode Island* | No. 2 |
| W 32–20 | 12,697 | [15] | |
| December 15 | vs. No. 9 Louisiana Tech* | No. 2 | SPN | W 19–6 | 9,125 | [16] | |
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Game summaries
Mesa State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mavericks | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Bobcats | 20 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 30 |
Vs. No. 9 Louisiana Tech (Division I-AA Championship Game)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 9 Bulldogs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| No. 2 Bobcats | 9 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
Roster
| 1984 Montana State Bobcats football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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