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2023 Montana Grizzlies football team

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2023 Montana Grizzlies football
Big Sky champion
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Ranking
STATSNo. 2
FCS CoachesNo. 2
Record13–2 (7–1 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBrent Pease (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorRonnie Bradford (1st season)
Home stadiumWashington–Grizzly Stadium
Seasons
← 2022
2024 →
2023 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 2 Montana $^   7 1     13 2  
No. 8 Idaho ^   6 2     9 4  
No. 9 Montana State ^   6 2     8 4  
Northern Arizona   5 3     5 6  
No. 24 UC Davis   5 3     7 4  
No. 13 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 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

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Polls

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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

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The Grizzlies had five players selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.[2][3]

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 212:00 p.m.Butler*No. 14KTMF/ESPN+W 35–2025,430
September 97:00 p.m.at Utah Tech*No. 13ESPN+W 43–13  5,766
September 166:00 p.m.No. 1 (D-II) Ferris State*No. 12
  • Washington-Grizzly Stadium
  • Missoula, MT
KTMF/ESPN+W 17–1026,978
September 232:00 p.m.at Northern ArizonaNo. 13KPAX/ESPN+L 14–28  6,428
September 302:00 p.m.Idaho StatedaggerNo. 18
  • Washington-Grizzly Stadium
  • Missoula, MT
KPAX/ESPN+W 28–2026,678
October 75:00 p.m.at No. 20 UC DavisNo. 17KPAX/ESPN+W 31–23  9,576
October 148:30 p.m.at No. 3 IdahoNo. 16ESPN2W 23–2114,218
October 281:00 p.m.Northern ColoradoNo. 7
  • Washington-Grizzly Stadium
  • Missoula, MT
KPAX/ESPN+W 40–025,463
November 46:00 p.m.No. 7 Sacramento StateNo. 4
  • Washington-Grizzly Stadium
  • Missoula, MT
KPAX/ESPN+W 34–725,888
November 118:00 p.m.at Portland StateNo. 3KPAX/ESPN+W 34–10  4,578
November 1812:00 p.m.No. 4 Montana StateNo. 3
  • Washington-Grizzly Stadium
  • Missoula, MT (rivalry)
KPAX/ESPN+W 37–727,178
December 27:00 p.m.No. 11 Delaware*No. 2
ESPN+W 49–1920,580
December 87:00 p.m.No. 7 Furman*No. 2
  • Washington-Grizzly Stadium
  • Missoula, MT (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)
ESPN2W 35–28 OT20,884
December 162:30 p.m.No. 8 North Dakota State*No. 2
  • Washington-Grizzly Stadium
  • Missoula, MT (NCAA Division I Semifinal)
ESPN2/ESPN+W 31–29 2OT26,544
January 7, 202412:00 p.m.vs. No. 1 South Dakota State*No. 2ABCL 3–2319,512

[4]

Game summaries

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Butler

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 3 3 14 0 20
No. 14 Grizzles 10 11 7 7 35

at Utah Tech

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 13 Grizzles 14 22 7 0 43
Trailblazers 0 0 0 13 13

Ferris State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 0 10 0 0 10
No. 12 Grizzlies 3 0 14 0 17

at Northern Arizona

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 13 Grizzles 0 14 0 0 14
Lumberjacks 7 14 7 0 28

Idaho State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bengals 7 0 7 6 20
No. 18 Grizzles 7 0 14 7 28

at No. 20 UC Davis

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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

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 16 Grizzles 10 10 0 3 23
No. 3 Vandals 0 7 0 14 21

Northern Colorado

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 0 0 0 0
No. 7 Grizzles 0 14 12 14 40

No. 7 Sacramento State

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 7 Hornets 7 0 0 0 7
No. 4 Grizzles 7 14 0 13 34

at Portland State

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 3 Grizzles 7 17 10 0 34
Vikings 3 0 7 0 10

Montana State

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 4 Bobcats 0 0 7 0 7
No. 3 Grizzles 14 6 10 7 37

FCS Playoffs

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No. 12 Delaware – Second Round

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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

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1 2 3 4OT Total
No. 7 Paladins 14 0 7 70 28
No. 2 Grizzles 14 6 8 07 35

No. 8 North Dakota State – Semifinals

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1 2 3 4OT2OT Total
No. 8 Bison 3 3 3 776 29
No. 2 Grizzles 0 10 0 678 31

vs. No. 1 South Dakota State – Championship Game

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 2 Grizzles 0 3 0 0 3
No. 1 Jackrabbits 7 0 16 0 23

Ranking movements

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below
Week
PollPre123456789101112Final
STATS FCS14131213181716974332
Coaches141311т11161310653332

References

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  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.