BOBCAT CALENDAR: MSU's Football History on September 14 Includes a Win at South Dakota State and a Defeat of Idaho in Great Falls
9/14/2020 2:00:00 PM | Football
Montana State won its first game after the 1956 National Championship on this date in 1957
September 14
SPOTLIGHT: Montana State opened defense of its 1956 National Championship today in 1957 with a 13-6 win over South Dakota State in Brookings. Dave Alt rushed for 54 yards on 13 carries, and completed four of his 11 passes with two interceptions for 39 yards. The Cats did more harm to the Montana State than South Dakota State did, committing a dozen penalties that set them back 118 yards. The Bobcats roared out of the gate in 1957 with five straight wins, running the program's regular season winning streak to 14 wins. The streak ended in Pocatello, and the Bobcats also lost at Arizona State in the season finale, but on the balance the 8-2 season was another great success. This game was the earliest in the calendar year the Cats had ever played a college opponent to that point.
GAMES ON TODAY'S DATE
2019 - #10 MSU 23, Western Illinois 14
2013 - MSU 26, Colorado Mesa 0
2002 - MSU 31, Adams State 6
1996 - at Nevada 31, MSU 7
1991 - Sacramento State 19, MSU 17
1985 - MSU 86, Eastern Oregon 0
1974 - at North Dakota 34, MSU 14
1968 - MSU 17, Idaho 14 at Great Falls
1963 - South Dakota State 9, MSU 6 at GF
1957 - MSU 13, at South Dakota State 6
BONUS #1: You never know when the most important football game of a season will pop up. For the 1968 Bobcats, that happened in the season opener when MSU played Idaho in Great Falls. More than 7,500 gathered for an 8 pm contest to watch former Bobcat star and long-time assistant coach Tom Parac take the reins as head coach for the first time. Idaho generated most of the offense in the first half, rolling up 288 total yards (to MSU's 154) and scoring just before halftime on a 26-yard run to carry a 7-0 lead into the intermission. The Bobcat defense, pushed around in the first two quarter, intercepted a pass on the second play of the third quarter, and Frank Kalfoss got the Cats on the board with a 30-yard field goal four plays later. A Kalfoss field goal attempt was blocked on MSU's next possession, and Idaho responded with a touchdown midway through the third quarter to lead 14-3. Bill Fieldstead caught two passes on the next possession, including a 15-yard scoring strike from Dennis Erickson, and after MSU recovered a fumble on Idaho's second play of the new drive Erickson scored a touchdown to give MSU a 17-14 win, which would be the winning margin.The Bobcats wouldn't gain another first down, and the Vandals out-gained MSU 153 yards to nine the rest of the way, but UI fell just short of getting the game tied. Dwight Bennett missed a field goal on the next drive, then a drive died on the Bobcat 29 on a fourth-and-19, and finally, with time running out, the Vandals converted a fourth-and-12 from the MSU 45 into a first down at the 18, but couldn't run a play before time expired.
ADDENDUM: The Cats also played South Dakota State in Great Falls on this date in 1963, losing 9-6 in Memorial Stadium.
BONUS #2: 'Buy' games have been part of the college football landscape nearly forever, of course, and Montana State has played its share of those one-off outings on both sides of the equation. The 86-0 win over Eastern Oregon to open the 1985 season, one such outing that came a week after the defending national champs lost at Portland State, carried no real significance in the grand scheme of things. It is such an oddity, though, that it a look at some of the numbers is a worthwhile venture. MSU gained 544 yards on that afternoon, averaging 8.1 yards per play, and rushed for 330 yards, 7.2 yards a carry. Nine different Bobcats carried the ball, and nine caught passes. Jon Wanago had 13 tackles. The Bobcats led 73-0 at halftime, and had amassed 377 yards to that point. The 86 points remained tied for the school record.
DOUBLE BONUS: Montana State's 1991 home loss to perennial Division II power Sacramento State was certainly disappointing, and sandwiched between losses in Bozeman to Sam Houston State and Idaho it set the team on a path that the it wasn't able to overcome. But in the big picture it was part of a pattern that was occasionally agonizing for Bobcat fans. Between the beginning of the 1985 season and the second game of the 2006 season, the Cats posted a 15-9 record against opponents from a lower division (NCAA Divison II or NAIA). Three of those losses came against Sacramento State (1991, 1992, and 1994 when the team was transitioning to Division I-AA). Ironically, the Bobcats started beating the Hornets regularly once Sac State joined the Big Sky in 1996. Montana State has won 16 of those 21 contests.
SPOTLIGHT: Montana State opened defense of its 1956 National Championship today in 1957 with a 13-6 win over South Dakota State in Brookings. Dave Alt rushed for 54 yards on 13 carries, and completed four of his 11 passes with two interceptions for 39 yards. The Cats did more harm to the Montana State than South Dakota State did, committing a dozen penalties that set them back 118 yards. The Bobcats roared out of the gate in 1957 with five straight wins, running the program's regular season winning streak to 14 wins. The streak ended in Pocatello, and the Bobcats also lost at Arizona State in the season finale, but on the balance the 8-2 season was another great success. This game was the earliest in the calendar year the Cats had ever played a college opponent to that point.
GAMES ON TODAY'S DATE
2019 - #10 MSU 23, Western Illinois 14
2013 - MSU 26, Colorado Mesa 0
2002 - MSU 31, Adams State 6
1996 - at Nevada 31, MSU 7
1991 - Sacramento State 19, MSU 17
1985 - MSU 86, Eastern Oregon 0
1974 - at North Dakota 34, MSU 14
1968 - MSU 17, Idaho 14 at Great Falls
1963 - South Dakota State 9, MSU 6 at GF
1957 - MSU 13, at South Dakota State 6
BONUS #1: You never know when the most important football game of a season will pop up. For the 1968 Bobcats, that happened in the season opener when MSU played Idaho in Great Falls. More than 7,500 gathered for an 8 pm contest to watch former Bobcat star and long-time assistant coach Tom Parac take the reins as head coach for the first time. Idaho generated most of the offense in the first half, rolling up 288 total yards (to MSU's 154) and scoring just before halftime on a 26-yard run to carry a 7-0 lead into the intermission. The Bobcat defense, pushed around in the first two quarter, intercepted a pass on the second play of the third quarter, and Frank Kalfoss got the Cats on the board with a 30-yard field goal four plays later. A Kalfoss field goal attempt was blocked on MSU's next possession, and Idaho responded with a touchdown midway through the third quarter to lead 14-3. Bill Fieldstead caught two passes on the next possession, including a 15-yard scoring strike from Dennis Erickson, and after MSU recovered a fumble on Idaho's second play of the new drive Erickson scored a touchdown to give MSU a 17-14 win, which would be the winning margin.The Bobcats wouldn't gain another first down, and the Vandals out-gained MSU 153 yards to nine the rest of the way, but UI fell just short of getting the game tied. Dwight Bennett missed a field goal on the next drive, then a drive died on the Bobcat 29 on a fourth-and-19, and finally, with time running out, the Vandals converted a fourth-and-12 from the MSU 45 into a first down at the 18, but couldn't run a play before time expired.
ADDENDUM: The Cats also played South Dakota State in Great Falls on this date in 1963, losing 9-6 in Memorial Stadium.
BONUS #2: 'Buy' games have been part of the college football landscape nearly forever, of course, and Montana State has played its share of those one-off outings on both sides of the equation. The 86-0 win over Eastern Oregon to open the 1985 season, one such outing that came a week after the defending national champs lost at Portland State, carried no real significance in the grand scheme of things. It is such an oddity, though, that it a look at some of the numbers is a worthwhile venture. MSU gained 544 yards on that afternoon, averaging 8.1 yards per play, and rushed for 330 yards, 7.2 yards a carry. Nine different Bobcats carried the ball, and nine caught passes. Jon Wanago had 13 tackles. The Bobcats led 73-0 at halftime, and had amassed 377 yards to that point. The 86 points remained tied for the school record.
DOUBLE BONUS: Montana State's 1991 home loss to perennial Division II power Sacramento State was certainly disappointing, and sandwiched between losses in Bozeman to Sam Houston State and Idaho it set the team on a path that the it wasn't able to overcome. But in the big picture it was part of a pattern that was occasionally agonizing for Bobcat fans. Between the beginning of the 1985 season and the second game of the 2006 season, the Cats posted a 15-9 record against opponents from a lower division (NCAA Divison II or NAIA). Three of those losses came against Sacramento State (1991, 1992, and 1994 when the team was transitioning to Division I-AA). Ironically, the Bobcats started beating the Hornets regularly once Sac State joined the Big Sky in 1996. Montana State has won 16 of those 21 contests.
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