CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2021 Montana State

12–⁠3 (7–⁠1 Big Sky).

Schedule and results

Montana State in 2021, game by game: lost at Wyoming 16–19; won vs. Drake 45–7; won vs. San Diego 52–10; won at Portland State 30–17; won vs. Northern Colorado 40–7; won vs. Cal Poly 45–7; won at Weber State 13–7; won vs. Idaho State 27–9; won at Eastern Washington 23–20; won vs. Idaho 20–13; lost at Montana 10–29; won vs. UT Martin 26–7; won at Sam Houston 42–19; won vs. South Dakota State 31–17; lost vs. North Dakota State 10–38+42−28Lost 16–19 at Wyoming-3WyomingWon 45–7 vs. Drake+38DrakeWon 52–10 vs. San Diego+42San DiegoWon 30–17 at Portland State+13Portland StateWon 40–7 vs. Northern Colorado+33Northern Colora…Won 45–7 vs. Cal Poly+38Cal PolyWon 13–7 at Weber State+6Weber StateWon 27–9 vs. Idaho State+18Idaho StateWon 23–20 at Eastern Washington+3Eastern Washing…Won 20–13 vs. Idaho+7IdahoLost 10–29 at Montana-19MontanaWon 26–7 vs. UT Martin+19UT MartinWon 42–19 at Sam Houston+23Sam HoustonWon 31–17 vs. South Dakota State+14South Dakota St…Lost 10–38 vs. North Dakota State-28North Dakota St…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4atWyomingL 16–⁠1932%
Sep 11vsDrakeW 45–⁠773%
Sep 18vsSan DiegoW 52–⁠1077%
Sep 25atPortland StateW 30–⁠1770%
Oct 2vsNorthern ColoradoW 40–⁠786%
Oct 9vsCal PolyW 45–⁠789%
Oct 15atWeber StateW 13–⁠755%
Oct 23vsIdaho StateW 27–⁠989%
Nov 6atEastern WashingtonW 23–⁠2047%
Nov 13vsIdahoW 20–⁠1388%
Nov 20atMontanaL 10–⁠2951%
Dec 4vsUT MartinFCS Championship – Second RoundW 26–⁠771%
Dec 11atSam HoustonFCS Championship – Quarterfinals, CFP QuarterfinalW 42–⁠1933%
Dec 18Bowls & playoffvsSouth Dakota StateW 31–⁠1756%
Jan 8Bowls & playoffvsNorth Dakota StateL 10–⁠3845%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to North Dakota State 38–⁠10; unranked in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Big Sky.

In program history: The 5th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 104 on file).

Record
12–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠1 2nd in Big Sky
AP final
Unranked
Points
430–⁠226
Coach
—
Elo
1557 +123 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−4.3 No. 9 of 128 in FCS
Recruiting class
No. 152
Offensive coordinator
Taylor Housewright
Defensive coordinator
Freddie Banks
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

Leaders

Passing yardsMatt McKay QB200 yds
Passing touchdownsMatt McKay QB2 TD
Rushing yardsIsaiah Ifanse RB103 yds
Receiving yardsLance McCutcheon WR71 yds
Receiving touchdownsLance McCutcheon WR1 TD
TacklesTroy Andersen RB11 tkl
SacksNolan Askelson LB1 sacks
InterceptionsJeffrey Manning Jr. S1 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Kenneth Eiden IV ATH★★No. 2590
Andrew Patterson WR★★No. 2624
Sean Austin QB★★No. 2650
Luke Fedyk LB
Aaron Gerle DT

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.778
Receivers12.00.783
Athletes and specialists12.00.788
Whole class32.00.783

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2022

The 2022 draft
Rd 2Troy Andersen ILBAtlanta Falcons
Rd 7Daniel Hardy OLBLos Angeles Rams

Transfers in 2

The 2021 portal
Cameron Gardner WR★★★from Mississippi State
Tre Webb CB★★★from San José State

Transfers out 0

No transfers out.

2021 Big Sky standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Sacramento State8–⁠09–⁠3
Montana State7–⁠112–⁠3
Eastern Washington6–⁠210–⁠3
Montana6–⁠210–⁠3
UC Davis5–⁠38–⁠4
Weber State5–⁠36–⁠5
Northern Arizona4–⁠45–⁠6
Portland State4–⁠45–⁠6
Idaho3–⁠54–⁠7
Northern Colorado2–⁠63–⁠8
Cal Poly1–⁠72–⁠9
Idaho State1–⁠71–⁠10
Southern Utah0–⁠81–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.