By Danny Waldo
As head coach Jeff Choate gets set to begin his fourth season at the helm of the Montana State Bobcat football program, colleagues and media members from across the country are beginning to take notice of the work he has done.
Montana State, fresh off an 8-5 campaign that saw them earn their first postseason victory since 2012, earned a preseason Top 25 ranking, in addition to placing multiple players on preseason watch lists.
The Bobcats enter the 2019 season ranked No. 14 in the STATS FCS preseason poll. Three other Big Sky Conference teams were ranked in the Top 10, led by Eastern Washington, which fell to North Dakota State in last season’s national championship. UC Davis (No. 5) and Weber State (No. 8) were the other two teams. The Montana Grizzlies just snuck into the poll at the No. 25 slot.
Montana State saw a return to the FCS rankings last season when they completed their first winning season (8-5) since matching that record in the 2014 season. The Bobcats finished the 2018 campaign ranked No. 17 in the final STATS FCS poll, thanks in large part to closing the regular season on a three-game winning streak before earning an opening round victory of Incarnate Word in the FCS playoffs. During the winning streak, the Bobcats ran their streak of consecutive victories over the rival Montana Grizzlies to three for the first time since the 1985 season.
Montana State, which earned 1,866 points in the STATS preseason poll, kicks off the 2019 season on August 31st with a trip to Lubbock, Texas to take on Texas Tech.
For a complete schedule of upcoming Montana State football games, log on to www.msubobcats.com.
Danny Waldo, a local freelance writer, covers Montana State and local high school athletics.
