CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2023 Montana State

8–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Big Sky).

Schedule and results

Montana State in 2023, game by game: won vs. Utah Tech 63–20; lost at South Dakota State 16–20; won vs. Stetson 57–20; won at Weber State 40–0; won vs. Portland State 38–22; won vs. Cal Poly 59–19; won at Sacramento State 42–30; lost at Idaho 21–24; won vs. Northern Arizona 45–21; won vs. Eastern Washington 57–14; lost at Montana 7–37; lost vs. North Dakota State 34–35+43−30Won 63–20 vs. Utah Tech+43Utah TechLost 16–20 at South Dakota State-4South Dakota St…Won 57–20 vs. Stetson+37StetsonWon 40–0 at Weber State+40Weber StateWon 38–22 vs. Portland State+16Portland StateWon 59–19 vs. Cal Poly+40Cal PolyWon 42–30 at Sacramento State+12Sacramento StateLost 21–24 at Idaho-3IdahoWon 45–21 vs. Northern Arizona+24Northern ArizonaWon 57–14 vs. Eastern Washington+43Eastern Washing…Lost 7–37 at Montana-30MontanaLost 34–35 vs. North Dakota State-1North Dakota St…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsUtah TechW 63–⁠2086%
Sep 9atSouth Dakota StateL 16–⁠2035%
Sep 16vsStetsonW 57–⁠2085%
Sep 23atWeber StateW 40–⁠048%
Sep 30vsPortland StateW 38–⁠2284%
Oct 14vsCal PolyW 59–⁠1992%
Oct 21atSacramento StateW 42–⁠3049%
Oct 28atIdahoL 21–⁠2460%
Nov 4vsNorthern ArizonaW 45–⁠2186%
Nov 11vsEastern WashingtonW 57–⁠1485%
Nov 18atMontanaL 7–⁠3752%
Dec 2Bowls & playoffvsNorth Dakota StateFCS Championship – Second RoundL 34–⁠3558%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to North Dakota State 35–⁠34 in the FCS Championship – Second Round; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big Sky.

In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 104 on file).

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Big Sky
AP final
Unranked
Points
479–⁠262
Coach
—
Elo
1526 +43 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−4.4 No. 4 of 128 in FCS
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Taylor Housewright
Defensive coordinator
Willie Mack Garza
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

Leaders

Passing yardsTommy Mellott QB1,068 yds
Passing touchdownsTommy Mellott QB10 TD
Rushing yardsJulius Davis RB697 yds
Rushing touchdownsSean Chambers QB14 TD
Receiving yardsTy McCullouch WR473 yds
Receiving touchdownsTy McCullouch WR5 TD
InterceptionsRylan Ortt S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Hunter Provience TE★★★No. 1953
Scottre Humphrey RB★★★No. 1953
Javonte King WR★★★No. 2391
Adam Jones WR★★★No. 2391
Zachary Nyland OT★★★No. 2529

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.780
Running backs13.00.830
Receivers33.00.817
Offensive line22.50.790
Defensive line12.00.780
Whole class82.60.803

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.

Transfers in 3

The 2023 portal
Lonyatta Alexander WR★★★★from Washington
Brendan Hall K★★★from SMU
Ty McCullouch WR★★★from Colorado State

Transfers out 1

Blake Glessner K★★★to UCLA

2023 Big Sky standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Montana7–⁠113–⁠2
Idaho6–⁠29–⁠4
Montana State6–⁠28–⁠4
UC Davis5–⁠37–⁠4
Northern Arizona5–⁠35–⁠6
Sacramento State4–⁠48–⁠5
Weber State4–⁠46–⁠5
Portland State4–⁠45–⁠6
Eastern Washington3–⁠54–⁠7
Idaho State3–⁠53–⁠8
Cal Poly1–⁠73–⁠8
Northern Colorado0–⁠80–⁠11

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