1998 Montana State Bobcats football team

The 1998 Montana State Bobcats football team was an American football team that represented Montana State University in the Big Sky Conference (Big Sky) during the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their fifth season under head coach Cliff Hysell, the Bobcats compiled a 7–4 record (5–3 against Big Sky opponents), tied for second place in the Big Sky, and were ranked No. 25 in the final I-AA poll by The Sports Network (wire service).^[1]

1998 Montana State Bobcats football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 25
Record	7–4 (5–3 Big Sky)
Head coach	Cliff Hysell (5th season)
Home stadium	Bobcat Stadium
Seasons ← 1997 1999 →

1998 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 15 Montana $^		6	–	2					8	–	4
Cal State Northridge		5	–	3					7	–	4
No. 25 Montana State		5	–	3					7	–	4
Weber State		4	–	4					6	–	5
Eastern Washington		4	–	4					5	–	6
Portland State		4	–	4					5	–	6
Northern Arizona		3	–	5					6	–	5
Sacramento State		3	–	5					5	–	6
Idaho State		2	–	6					3	–	8
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The team played its home games in the new Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana. The new stadium was built on the site of the former Reno H. Sales Stadium. The west side was new and included a combined sky box and press box.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	Fort Lewis*		Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 45–9	8,297	[3]
September 12	at Wyoming*		War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	L 9–17	15,445	[4]
September 19	Western Washington*		Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 41–12	8,000	[5]
September 26	Sacramento State		Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 37–30	10,227	[6]
October 10	at No. 9 Weber State		Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	W 10–7	8,002	[7]
October 17	Portland State	No. 21	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	L 31–34	10,717	[8]
October 24	at No. 24 Cal State Northridge		North Campus Stadium Northridge, CA	W 32–26	6,124	[9]
October 31	Northern Arizona	No. 21	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 32–25	7,267	[10]
November 7	at Eastern Washington	No. 14	Woodward Field Cheney, WA	L 24–31	4,028	[11]
November 14	Idaho State	No. 21	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 66–35	7,017	[12]
November 21	at No. 20 Montana	No. 19	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (rivalry)	L 21–28	19,238	[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game