1988 Montana State Bobcats football team

1988 Montana State Bobcats football
1988 Montana State Bobcats football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	4–7 (4–4 Big Sky)
Head coach	Earle Solomonson (2nd season);
Home stadium	Sales Stadium
	Seasons ← 1987 1989 →

1988 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Idaho $^	7	–	1	–	0	11	–	2	–	0
No. 16 Montana ^	6	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
No. 12 Boise State ^	5	–	3	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Nevada	4	–	4	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Northern Arizona	4	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Weber State	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Montana State	4	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Eastern Washington	2	–	6	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Idaho State	0	–	8	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll

The 1988 Montana State Bobcats football team was an American football team that represented Montana State University in the Big Sky Conference (Big Sky) during the 1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their second season under head coach Earle Solomonson, the Bobcats compiled a 4–7 record (4–4 against Big Sky opponents) and finished a four-way tie for fourth place in the Big Sky.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	at Florida*	Florida Field Gainesville, FL	L 0–69	69,121	^[2]
September 10	Mesa State*	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	L 10–41
September 17	at Eastern Washington	Roos Field Cheney, WA	W 35–13
September 24	at Central Michigan*	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	L 10–48
October 1	Idaho State	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 45–37
October 8	at No. 8 Idaho	Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	L 24–41	9,200
October 15	No. 13 Boise State	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 51–7	9,807	^[3]
October 22	No. 8 Nevada	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 17–14
October 29	Northern Arizona	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	L 17–28
November 5	at No. 20 Montana	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (rivalry)	L 3–17
November 12	at Weber State	Wildcat Stadium Ogden, UT	L 35–59
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

^ "Bobcat Record Book" (PDF). Montana State University. 2018. p. 59. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
^ "Gators chew up 'Cats". The Independent-Record. September 4, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Broncos suffer worst loss ever". Idahonian. (Moscow). Associated Press. October 17, 1988. p. 3B.

v t e Montana State Bobcats football
Venues	Gatton Field (1930–1971) Van Winkle Stadium (1972) Bobcat Stadium (1973–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Montana
Culture & lore	Spirit of the West Marching Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906–1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold