2023 Montana Grizzlies football team

American college football season

2023 Montana Grizzlies football

Big Sky champion

NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, vs. South Dakota State

Conference| Big Sky Conference
Ranking
STATS| No. 2
FCS Coaches| No. 2
Record| 13–1 (7–1 Big Sky)
Head coach|

* Bobby Hauck (13th season)

Offensive coordinator| Brent Pease (1st season)
Defensive coordinator| Ronnie Bradford (1st season)
Home stadium| Washington–Grizzly Stadium

Seasons

<- 2022

2024 ->

2023 Big Sky Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

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Team |  | W |  | L |  |  |  |  | W |  | L |
No. 2 Montana $^  |  | 7  | - | 1  |  |  |  |  | 13  | - | 1  |
No. 4 Idaho ^  |  | 6  | - | 2  |  |  |  |  | 9  | - | 4  |
No. 5 Montana State ^  |  | 6  | - | 2  |  |  |  |  | 8  | - | 4  |
Northern Arizona |  | 5  | - | 3  |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 6  |
No. 25 UC Davis |  | 5  | - | 3  |  |  |  |  | 7  | - | 4  |
No. 15 Sacramento State ^  |  | 4  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 8  | - | 5  |
Portland State |  | 4  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 6  |
Weber State |  | 4  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 6  | - | 5  |
Eastern Washington |  | 3  | - | 5  |  |  |  |  | 4  | - | 7  |
Idaho State |  | 3  | - | 5  |  |  |  |  | 3  | - | 8  |
Cal Poly |  | 1  | - | 7  |  |  |  |  | 3  | - | 8  |
Northern Colorado |  | 0  | - | 8  |  |  |  |  | 0  | - | 11  |

* $ - Conference champion
* ^ - FCS playoff participant

Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2023 Montana Grizzlies football team represents the University of Montana as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Grizzlies are led by 13th-year head coach Bobby Hauck and play their home games at Washington–Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Montana.

## Preseason[edit]

### Polls[edit]

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)

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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[edit]

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

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## Schedule[edit]

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

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September 2| 12:00 p.m.| Butler*| No. 14|

* Washington-Grizzly Stadium
* Missoula, MT

| KTMF/ESPN+| W 35–20| 25,430
September 9| 7:00 p.m.| at Utah Tech*| No. 13|

* Greater Zion Stadium
* St. George, UT

| 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|

* Walkup Skydome
* Flagstaff, AZ

| KPAX/ESPN+| L 14–28|  6,428
September 30| 2:00 p.m.| Idaho State| 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|

* UC Davis Health Stadium
* Davis, CA

| KPAX/ESPN+| W 31–23|  9,576
October 14| 8:30 p.m.| at No. 3 Idaho| No. 16|

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

| 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|

* Hillsboro Stadium
* Hillsboro, OR

| 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|

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

| 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|

* Toyota Stadium
* Frisco, TX (NCAA Division I Championship Game)

| |  |

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

[4]

## Game summaries[edit]

### Butler[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Bulldogs  | 3  | 3  | 14  | 0 | 20
No. 14 Grizzles | 10  | 11  |  | 7 | 28

See also: 2023 Butler Bulldogs football team

### at Utah Tech[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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No. 13 Grizzles | 14  | 22  | 7  | 0 | 43
Trailblazers  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 13 | 13

See also: 2023 Utah Tech Trailblazers football team

### Ferris State[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Bulldogs  | 0  | 10  | 0  | 0 | 10
No. 12 Grizzlies | 3  | 0  | 14  | 0 | 17

### at Northern Arizona[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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No. 13 Grizzles  | 0  | 14  | 0  | 0 | 14
Lumberjacks | 7  | 14  | 7  | 0 | 28

See also: 2023 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team

### Idaho State[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Bengals  | 7  | 0  | 7  | 6 | 20
No. 18 Grizzles | 7  | 0  | 14  | 7 | 28

See also: 2023 Idaho State Bengals football team

### at No. 20 UC Davis[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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No. 17 Grizzles | 7  | 14  | 7  | 3 | 31
No. 20 Aggies  | 7  | 13  | 0  | 3 | 23

See also: 2023 UC Davis Aggies football team

### at No. 3 Idaho[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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No. 16 Grizzles | 10  | 10  | 0  | 3 | 23
No. 3 Vandals  | 0  | 7  | 0  | 14 | 21

See also: 2023 Idaho Vandals football team and Little Brown Stein

### Northern Colorado[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Bears  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0 | 0
No. 7 Grizzles | 0  | 14  | 12  | 14 | 40

See also: 2023 Northern Colorado Bears football team

### No. 7 Sacramento State[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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No. 7 Hornets  | 7  | 0  | 0  | 0 | 7
No. 4 Grizzles | 7  | 14  | 0  | 13 | 34

See also: 2023 Sacramento State Hornets football team

### at Portland State[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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No. 3 Grizzles | 7  | 17  | 10  | 0 | 34
Vikings  | 3  | 0  | 7  | 0 | 10

See also: 2023 Portland State Vikings football team

### Montana State[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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No. 4 Bobcats  | 0  | 0  | 7  | 0 | 7
No. 3 Grizzles | 14  | 6  | 10  | 7 | 37

See also: 2023 Montana State Bobcats football team and Brawl of the Wild

## FCS Playoffs[edit]

### No. 12 Delaware–Second Round[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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No. 12 Blue Hens  | 0  | 12  | 7  | 0 | 19
No. 2 Grizzles | 10  | 25  | 14  | 0 | 49

See also: 2023 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team

### No. 7 Furman – Quarterfinals[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4| OT | Total

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No. 7 Paladins  | 14  | 0  | 7  | 7| 0 | 28
No. 2 Grizzles | 14  | 6  | 8  | 0| 7 | 35

See also: 2023 Furman Paladins football team

### No. 8 North Dakota State – Semifinals[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4| OT| 2OT | Total

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No. 8 Bison  | 3  | 3  | 3  | 7| 7| 6 | 29
No. 2 Grizzles | 0  | 10  | 0  | 6| 7| 8 | 31

See also: 2023 North Dakota State Bison football team

### vs. No. 1 South Dakota State – Championship Game[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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No. 1 Jackrabbits  |  |  |  |  | 0
No. 2 Grizzles  |  |  |  |  | 0

See also: 2023 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team

## Ranking movements[edit]

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
т = Tied with team above or below.| Week

|

Poll| Pre| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9| 10| 11| 12| Final
STATS FCS| 14| 13| 12| 13| 18| 17| 16| 9| 7| 4| 3| 3| 2|
Coaches| 14| 13| 11т| 11| 16| 13| 10| 6| 5| 3| 3| 3| 2|

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Montana State Tabbed Preseason Football Favorites". July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
2. ^ "Five Griz named to preseason All-Big Sky team". University of Montana. July 23, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
3. ^ "2023 #BigSkyFB Preseason All-Conference Team Announced". July 23, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
4. ^ "2023 Montana Football Schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved March 6, 2023.

* v
* t
* e

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

National championship seasons in bold

* v
* t
* e

Big Sky Conference football champions

College Division / Division II|

* Idaho State (1963)
* Montana State (1964)
* Weber State & Idaho (1965)
* Montana State (1966)
* Montana State (1967)
* Idaho, Montana State, & Weber State (1968)
* Montana (1969)
* Montana (1970)
* Idaho (1971)
* Montana State (1972)
* Boise State (1973)
* Boise State (1974)
* Boise State (1975)
* Montana State (1976)
* Boise State (1977)

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)

National championships in bold

* v
* t
* e

2023 NCAA Division I FCS playoff participants

* Albany
* Austin Peay
* Chattanooga
* Delaware
* Drake
* Duquesne
* Furman
* Gardner–Webb
* Idaho
* Lafayette
* Mercer
* Montana
* Montana State
* Nicholls
* North Carolina Central
* North Dakota
* North Dakota State
* Richmond
* Sacramento State
* South Dakota
* South Dakota State
* Southern Illinois
* Villanova
* Youngstown State

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