2021 Montana Grizzlies football team

American college football season

2021 Montana Grizzlies football

NCAA Division I Quarterfinal,
L 6–28 at James Madison

Conference| Big Sky Conference
Ranking
STATS| No. 6
FCS Coaches| No. 6
Record| 10–3 (6–2 Big Sky)
Head coach|

* Bobby Hauck (11th season)

Offensive coordinator| Timm Rosenbach (4th season)
Defensive coordinator| Kent Baer (3rd season)
Home stadium| Washington–Grizzly Stadium

Seasons

<- 2020

2022 ->

2021 Big Sky Conference football standings

* v
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| Conf |  |  | Overall

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Team |  | W |  | L |  |  |  |  | W |  | L |
No. 10 Sacramento State $^  |  | 8  | - | 0  |  |  |  |  | 9  | - | 3  |
No. 2 Montana State ^  |  | 7  | - | 1  |  |  |  |  | 11  | - | 3  |
No. 7 Eastern Washington ^  |  | 6  | - | 2  |  |  |  |  | 10  | - | 3  |
No. 6 Montana ^  |  | 6  | - | 2  |  |  |  |  | 10  | - | 3  |
No. 17 UC Davis ^  |  | 5  | - | 3  |  |  |  |  | 8  | - | 4  |
Weber State |  | 5  | - | 3  |  |  |  |  | 6  | - | 5  |
Northern Arizona |  | 4  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 6  |
Portland State |  | 4  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 6  |
Idaho |  | 3  | - | 5  |  |  |  |  | 4  | - | 7  |
Northern Colorado |  | 2  | - | 6  |  |  |  |  | 3  | - | 8  |
Cal Poly |  | 1  | - | 7  |  |  |  |  | 2  | - | 9  |
Idaho State |  | 1  | - | 7  |  |  |  |  | 1  | - | 10  |
Southern Utah |  | 0  | - | 8  |  |  |  |  | 1  | - | 10  |

* $ - Conference champion
* ^ - FCS playoff participant

Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2021 Montana Grizzlies football team represented the University of Montana as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Grizzlies were led by 11th-year head coach Bobby Hauck and played their home games at Washington–Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Montana.

## Preseason

[edit]

### Polls

[edit]

On July 26, 2021, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Grizzlies were predicted to finish second in the Big Sky by both the coaches and media.[1]

Coaches poll  Predicted finish  | Team  | Votes (1st place)

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1  | Weber State  | (7)
2  | Montana | (3)
3  | Eastern Washington  | (2)
4  | Montana State  | (1)
5  | Sacramento State  | (1)
6  | UC Davis  |
7  | Northern Arizona  |
8  | Idaho  |
9  | Idaho State  |
10  | Portland State  |
11  | Southern Utah  |
12  | Cal Poly  |
13  | Northern Colorado  |
Media poll  Predicted finish  | Team  | Votes (1st place)

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1  | Weber State  | (14)
2  | Montana | (4)
3  | Eastern Washington  | (3)
4  | Montana State  | (3)
5  | Sacramento State  |
6  | UC Davis  |
7  | Northern Arizona  |
8  | Idaho  |
9  | Idaho State  |
10  | Portland State  |
11  | Southern Utah  |
12  | Northern Colorado  |
13  | Cal Poly  |

### Preseason All–Big Sky team

[edit]

The Grizzlies had five players selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.[2]

Offense

Samuel Akem – WR

Conlan Beaver – OT

Defense

Jace Lewis – LB

Robby Hauck – S

Special teams

Matthew O'Donoghue – LS

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## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Time| Opponent| Rank| Site| TV| Result| Attendance

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September 4| 6:00 p.m.| at No. 20 (FBS) Washington*| No. 9|

* Husky Stadium
* Seattle, WA

| P12N| W 13–7| 64,053
September 11| 6:00 p.m.| Western Illinois*| No. 4|

* Washington–Grizzly Stadium
* Missoula, MT

| KTMF/SWX| W 42–7| 25,238
September 25| 1:00 p.m.| Cal Poly| No. 4|

* Washington–Grizzly Stadium
* Missoula, MT

| KTMF/SWX| W 39–7| 25,600
October 2| 8:30 p.m.| at No. 6 Eastern Washington| No. 4|

* Roos Field
* Cheney, WA (EWU–UM Governors Cup)

| ESPN2| L 28–34| 7,944
October 9| 1:00 p.m.| Dixie State*| No. 6|

* Washington–Grizzly Stadium
* Missoula, MT

| KTMF/SWX| W 31–14| 23,434
October 16| 1:00 p.m.| Sacramento State| No. 5|

* Washington–Grizzly Stadium
* Missoula, MT

| KTMF/SWX| L 21–28| 24,305
October 23| 2:00 p.m.| at Idaho| No. 11|

* Kibbie Dome
* Moscow, ID (Little Brown Stein)

| KTMF/SWX| W 34–14| 6,059
October 30| 12:00 p.m.| Southern Utah| No. 11|

* Washington–Grizzly Stadium
* Missoula, MT

| RTNW| W 20–19| 22,587
November 6| 12:00 p.m.| at Northern Colorado| No. 11|

* Nottingham Field
* Greeley, CO

| ESPN+| W 35–0| 4,987
November 13| 1:00 p.m.| at Northern Arizona| No. 9|

* Walkup Skydome
* Flagstaff, AZ

| KTMF/KULR| W 30–3| 6,228
November 20| 12:00 p.m.| No. 3 Montana State| No. 7|

* Washington–Grizzly Stadium
* Missoula, MT (Brawl of the Wild)

| RTNW| W 29–10| 26,856
December 3| 7:00 p.m.| No. 4 Eastern Washington*| No. 5|

* Washington–Grizzly Stadium
* Missoula, MT (NCAA Division I Second Round)

| ESPN+| W 57–41| 24,065
December 10| 5:00 p.m.| at No. 2 James Madison*| No. 5|

* Bridgeforth Stadium
* Harrisonburg, VA (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)

| ESPN2| L 6–28| 14,690

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
* All times are in Mountain time

[3]

## Game summaries

[edit]

### At No. 20 (FBS) Washington

[edit]

See also: 2021 Washington Huskies football team

Montana Grizzlies vs Washington Huskies – Game summary

Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3| 4| Total

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No. 9 Grizzlies | 3 | 0 | 0| 10| 13
No. 20 (FBS) Huskies | 7 | 0 | 0| 0| 7

at Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA

* Date: September 4, 2021
* Game time: 5:00 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: 77 °F (25 °C) Sunny
* Game attendance: 64,053
* Referee: Matthew Richards
* TV announcers (P12N): J. B. Long (play-by-play) and Max Browne (analyst)

Game information

First Quarter

* UW – Dylan Morris 1-yard run (Peyton Henry kick), 10:09. Washington 7–0. Drive: 9 plays, 78 yards, 4:45.
* MONT – Kevin Macias 26-yard field goal, 7:08. Washington 7–3. Drive: 8 plays, 66 yards, 3:01.

Second Quarter

* No scoring.

Third Quarter

* No scoring.

Fourth Quarter

* MONT – Camron Humphrey 4-yard run (Kevin Macias kick), 10:35. Montana 10–7. Drive: 10 plays, 69 yards, 5:00.
* MONT – Kevin Macias 22-yard field goal, 2:54. Montana 13–7. Drive: 11 plays, 42 yards, 6:05.

Top passers

* MONT – Camron Humphrey – 12/23, 105 yards
* UW – Dylan Morris – 27/46, 226 yards, 3 int

Top rushers

* MONT – Xavier Harris – 15 rushes, 70 yards
* UW – Richard Newton – 17 rushes, 62 yards

Top receivers

* MONT – Mitch Roberts – 2 receptions, 29 yards
* UW – Cade Otton – 8 receptions, 82 yards

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The Grizzlies upset Washington 13-7, becoming the 5th FCS team to beat a Top-25 FBS team.

### Western Illinois

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

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Leathernecks  | 0  | 7  | 0  | 0 | 7
No. 4 Grizzlies | 7  | 14  | 14  | 7 | 42

See also: 2021 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

### Cal Poly

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

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Mustangs  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 7 | 7
No. 4 Grizzlies | 15  | 3  | 21  | 0 | 39

See also: 2021 Cal Poly Mustangs football team

### At No. 6 Eastern Washington

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

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No. 4 Grizzlies  | 7  | 7  | 7  | 7 | 28
No. 6 Eagles | 7  | 3  | 0  | 24 | 34

See also: 2021 Eastern Washington Eagles football team and EWU–UM Governors Cup

### Dixie State

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

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Trailblazers  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 14 | 14
No. 6 Grizzlies | 0  | 3  | 14  | 14 | 31

See also: 2021 Dixie State Trailblazers football team

### Sacramento State

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

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Hornets | 7  | 7  | 14  | 0 | 28
No. 5 Grizzlies  | 0  | 6  | 15  | 0 | 21

See also: 2021 Sacramento State Hornets football team

### At Idaho

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

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No. 11 Grizzlies | 7  | 13  | 13  | 7 | 40
Vandals  | 7  | 0  | 0  | 7 | 14

See also: 2021 Idaho Vandals football team and Little Brown Stein

### Southern Utah

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

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Thunderbirds  | 0  | 3  | 13  | 3 | 19
No. 11 Grizzlies | 0  | 10  | 7  | 3 | 20

See also: 2021 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team

### At Northern Colorado

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

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No. 11 Grizzlies | 14  | 7  | 14  | 0 | 35
Bears  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0 | 0

See also: 2021 Northern Colorado Bears football team

### At Northern Arizona

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

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No. 9 Grizzlies | 0  | 13  | 7  | 10 | 30
Lumberjacks  | 0  | 0  | 3  | 0 | 3

See also: 2021 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team

### No. 3 Montana State

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

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No. 3 Bobcats  | 3  | 0  | 0  | 7 | 10
No. 7 Grizzlies | 10  | 6  | 10  | 3 | 29

See also: 2021 Montana State Bobcats football team and Brawl of the Wild

### No. 4 Eastern Washington

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

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No. 4 Eagles  | 14  | 7  | 7  | 13 | 41
No. 5 Grizzlies | 10  | 10  | 24  | 13 | 57

See also: 2021 Eastern Washington Eagles football team and EWU–UM Governors Cup

## FCS Playoffs

[edit]

### No. 4 Eastern Washington–Second Round

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

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No. 4 Eagles  | 14  | 7  | 7  | 13 | 41
No. 5 Grizzlies | 10  | 10  | 24  | 13 | 57

See also: 2021 Eastern Washington Eagles football team

### At No. 3 James Madison–Quarterfinal

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

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No. 5 Grizzlies  | 3  | 0  | 0  | 3 | 6
No. 3 Dukes | 7  | 7  | 7  | 7 | 28

See also: 2021 James Madison Dukes football team

## Ranking movements

[edit]

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes| Week

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Poll| Pre| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9| 10| 11| 12| Final
STATS FCS| 9| 4 (5)| 4 (3)| 4 (2)| 4 (3)| 6| 5| 11| 11| 11| 9| 7| 5| 6
Coaches| 9| 5 (1)| 5| 4| 4| 6| 6| 12| 11| 10| 9| 7| 5| 6

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Griz picked second in preseason polls". July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
2. ^ "Five Griz named to Preseason All-Big Sky Team". University of Montana. July 26, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
3. ^ "2021 Football Schedule". University of Montana Athletics. Retrieved July 25, 2021.

* v
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Montana Grizzlies football

Venues|

* Dornblaser Field (I) (1912–1967)
* Naranche Stadium (alternate (Butte), 1938–1950)
* Dornblaser Field (II) (1968–1986)
* Washington–Grizzly Stadium (1986–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Eastern Washington: EWU–UM Governors Cup
* Idaho: Little Brown Stein
* Montana State

Culture and lore|

* Monte
* "Up With Montana"
* University of Montana Grizzly 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
* 1943–1944
* 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

‹ The template below (2021 NCAA Division I FCS playoff navbox) is being considered for deletion. See templates for discussion to help reach a consensus. ›

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2021 NCAA Division I FCS playoff participants

* Davidson
* East Tennessee State
* Eastern Washington
* Florida A&M
* Holy Cross
* Incarnate Word
* James Madison
* Kennesaw State
* Missouri State
* Montana
* Montana State
* North Dakota State
* Northern Iowa
* Sacramento State
* Sacred Heart
* Sam Houston
* South Dakota
* South Dakota State
* Southeastern Louisiana
* Southern Illinois
* Stephen F. Austin
* UC Davis
* UT Martin
* Villanova

Champion – North Dakota State

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*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses