American college football season
2023 Montana Grizzlies football |
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Montana_Griz_logo.svg/150px-Montana_Griz_logo.svg.png) |
Big Sky champion |
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Conference | Big Sky Conference |
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Ranking |
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STATS | No. 2 |
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FCS Coaches | No. 2 |
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Record | 13–2 (7–1 Big Sky) |
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Head coach | - Bobby Hauck (13th season)
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Offensive coordinator | Brent Pease (1st season) |
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Defensive coordinator | Ronnie Bradford (1st season) |
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Home stadium | Washington–Grizzly Stadium |
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Seasons |
The 2023 Montana Grizzlies football team represented the University of Montana as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Grizzlies were led by 13th-year head coach Bobby Hauck and played their home games at Washington–Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Montana.
Preseason
Polls
On July 23, 2023, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Grizzlies were predicted to finish sixth in the Big Sky by the coaches and third by the media.[1]
Coaches poll Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
1 | Montana State | 120 (10) |
2 | UC Davis | 96 (1) |
3 | Sacramento State | 94 (1) |
4 | Weber State | 91 |
5 | Idaho | 89 |
6 | Montana | 84 |
7 | Eastern Washington | 52 |
8 | Portland State | 45 |
9 | Northern Arizona | 44 |
10 | Northern Colorado | 37 |
11 | Cal Poly | 25 |
12 | Idaho State | 15 |
Media poll Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
1 | Montana State | 447 (26) |
2 | Idaho | 410 (8) |
3 | Montana | 359 (2) |
4 | Sacramento State | 334 (3) |
5 | UC Davis | 330 |
6 | Weber State | 320 |
7 | Eastern Washington | 216 |
8 | Northern Arizona | 178 |
9 | Portland State | 167 |
10 | Northern Colorado | 109 |
11 | Cal Poly | 103 |
12 | Idaho State | 69 |
Preseason All–Big Sky team
The Grizzlies had five players selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.[2][3]
Offense Hunter Mayginnes – OL | Defense Alex Gubner – DT Levi Janacaro – LB | Special Teams Junior Bergen – PR Trevin Gradney – ST |
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
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September 2 | 12:00 p.m. | Butler* | No. 14 | | KTMF/ESPN+ | W 35–20 | 25,430 |
September 9 | 7:00 p.m. | at Utah Tech* | No. 13 | | ESPN+ | W 43–13 | 5,766 |
September 16 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 1 (D-II) Ferris State* | No. 12 | - Washington-Grizzly Stadium
- Missoula, MT
| KTMF/ESPN+ | W 17–10 | 26,978 |
September 23 | 2:00 p.m. | at Northern Arizona | No. 13 | | KPAX/ESPN+ | L 14–28 | 6,428 |
September 30 | 2:00 p.m. | Idaho State![dagger](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Dagger-14-plain.png) | No. 18 | - Washington-Grizzly Stadium
- Missoula, MT
| KPAX/ESPN+ | W 28–20 | 26,678 |
October 7 | 5:00 p.m. | at No. 20 UC Davis | No. 17 | | KPAX/ESPN+ | W 31–23 | 9,576 |
October 14 | 8:30 p.m. | at No. 3 Idaho | No. 16 | | ESPN2 | W 23–21 | 14,218 |
October 28 | 1:00 p.m. | Northern Colorado | No. 7 | - Washington-Grizzly Stadium
- Missoula, MT
| KPAX/ESPN+ | W 40–0 | 25,463 |
November 4 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 7 Sacramento State | No. 4 | - Washington-Grizzly Stadium
- Missoula, MT
| KPAX/ESPN+ | W 34–7 | 25,888 |
November 11 | 8:00 p.m. | at Portland State | No. 3 | | KPAX/ESPN+ | W 34–10 | 4,578 |
November 18 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 4 Montana State | No. 3 | - Washington-Grizzly Stadium
- Missoula, MT (rivalry)
| KPAX/ESPN+ | W 37–7 | 27,178 |
December 2 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 11 Delaware* | No. 2 | | ESPN+ | W 49–19 | 20,580 |
December 8 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 7 Furman* | No. 2 | - Washington-Grizzly Stadium
- Missoula, MT (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)
| ESPN2 | W 35–28 OT | 20,884 |
December 16 | 2:30 p.m. | No. 8 North Dakota State* | No. 2 | - Washington-Grizzly Stadium
- Missoula, MT (NCAA Division I Semifinal)
| ESPN2/ESPN+ | W 31–29 2OT | 26,544 |
January 7, 2024 | 12:00 p.m. | vs. No. 1 South Dakota State* | No. 2 | | ABC | L 3–23 | 19,512 |
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[4]
Game summaries
Butler
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Bulldogs | 3 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 20 |
No. 14 Grizzles | 10 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
at Utah Tech
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
No. 13 Grizzles | 14 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 43 |
Trailblazers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 13 |
Ferris State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Bulldogs | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
No. 12 Grizzlies | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 17 |
at Northern Arizona
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
No. 13 Grizzles | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Lumberjacks | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
Idaho State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Bengals | 7 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 20 |
No. 18 Grizzles | 7 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
at No. 20 UC Davis
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
No. 17 Grizzles | 7 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 31 |
No. 20 Aggies | 7 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 23 |
at No. 3 Idaho
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
No. 16 Grizzles | 10 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 23 |
No. 3 Vandals | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
Northern Colorado
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
No. 7 Grizzles | 0 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 40 |
No. 7 Sacramento State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
No. 7 Hornets | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
No. 4 Grizzles | 7 | 14 | 0 | 13 | 34 |
at Portland State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
No. 3 Grizzles | 7 | 17 | 10 | 0 | 34 |
Vikings | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
Montana State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
No. 4 Bobcats | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
No. 3 Grizzles | 14 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 37 |
FCS Playoffs
No. 12 Delaware – Second Round
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
No. 12 Blue Hens | 0 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 19 |
No. 2 Grizzles | 10 | 25 | 14 | 0 | 49 |
No. 7 Furman – Quarterfinals
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
No. 7 Paladins | 14 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
No. 2 Grizzles | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 35 |
No. 8 North Dakota State – Semifinals
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | Total |
No. 8 Bison | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 29 |
No. 2 Grizzles | 0 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 31 |
vs. No. 1 South Dakota State – Championship Game
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
No. 2 Grizzles | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
No. 1 Jackrabbits | 7 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 23 |
Ranking movements
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below | Week |
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Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
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STATS FCS | 14 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
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Coaches | 14 | 13 | 11т | 11 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
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References
- ^ "Montana State Tabbed Preseason Football Favorites". July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
- ^ "Five Griz named to preseason All-Big Sky team". University of Montana. July 23, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
- ^ "2023 #BigSkyFB Preseason All-Conference Team Announced". July 23, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
- ^ "2023 Montana Football Schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
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Venues | |
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Bowls & rivalries | |
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Culture and lore | |
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People | |
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Seasons | |
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National championship seasons in bold |
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College Division / Division II | |
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I-AA/FCS | - Northern Arizona (1978)
- Montana State (1979)
- Boise State (1980)
- Idaho State (1981)
- Montana, Idaho, & Montana State (1982)
- Nevada (1983)
- Montana State (1984)
- Idaho (1985)
- Nevada (1986)
- Idaho (1987)
- Idaho (1988)
- Idaho (1989)
- Nevada (1990)
- Nevada (1991)
- Idaho & Eastern Washington (1992)
- Montana (1993)
- Boise State (1994)
- Montana (1995)
- Montana (1996)
- Eastern Washington (1997)
- Montana (1998)
- Montana (1999)
- Montana (2000)
- Montana (2001)
- Montana, Montana State, & Idaho State (2002)
- Montana State, Montana, & Northern Arizona (2003)
- Montana & Eastern Washington (2004)
- Eastern Washington, Montana State, & Montana (2005)
- Montana (2006)
- Montana (2007)
- Weber State & Montana (2008)
- Montana (2009)
- Montana State & Eastern Washington (2010)
- Montana State & Montana (2011)
- Eastern Washington, Montana State, & Cal Poly (2012)
- Eastern Washington (2013)
- Eastern Washington (2014)
- Southern Utah (2015)
- Eastern Washington & North Dakota (2016)
- Southern Utah & Weber State (2017)
- Eastern Washington, UC Davis, & Weber State (2018)
- Sacramento State & Weber State (2019)
- Weber State (2020)
- Sacramento State (2021)
- Montana State & Sacramento State (2022)
- Montana (2023)
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National championships in bold |
2023 NCAA Division I FCS playoff participants |
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Champion – South Dakota State |