The 2018 Montana Grizzlies football team represented the University of Montana in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Grizzlies were led by first-year coach Bobby Hauck, 8th overall as he previously was head coach from 2003–2009, and played their home games on campus at Washington–Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Montana as a charter member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 6–5, 4–4 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for sixth place.
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Big Sky Conference |
6–5 (4–4 Big Sky) |
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Timm Rosenbach (2nd season) |
Kent Baer (1st season) |
Washington–Grizzly Stadium (Capacity: 25,217) |
Seasons |
2018 Big Sky Conference football standings |
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| Conf | | | Overall |
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Team | | W | | L | | | | | W | | L | |
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No. 6 Weber State +^ | | 7 | – | 1 | | | | | 10 | – | 3 | |
No. 2 Eastern Washington +^ | | 7 | – | 1 | | | | | 12 | – | 3 | |
No. 7 UC Davis +^ | | 7 | – | 1 | | | | | 10 | – | 3 | |
No. 17 Montana State ^ | | 5 | – | 3 | | | | | 8 | – | 5 | |
Idaho State | | 5 | – | 3 | | | | | 6 | – | 5 | |
Montana | | 4 | – | 4 | | | | | 6 | – | 5 | |
Cal Poly | | 4 | – | 4 | | | | | 5 | – | 6 | |
Northern Arizona | | 3 | – | 4 | | | | | 4 | – | 6 | |
Portland State | | 3 | – | 5 | | | | | 4 | – | 7 | |
Idaho | | 3 | – | 5 | | | | | 4 | – | 7 | |
Northern Colorado | | 2 | – | 6 | | | | | 2 | – | 9 | |
Southern Utah | | 1 | – | 7 | | | | | 1 | – | 10 | |
Sacramento State | | 0 | – | 7 | | | | | 2 | – | 8 | |
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- $ – Conference champion
- ^ – FCS playoff participant
- Although North Dakota was classified as an independent, games against them still counted as Big Sky Conference games.
Rankings from STATS Poll |
The Griz finished the 2017 season 7–4, 5–3 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for sixth place.
On November 20, it was announced that head coach Bob Stitt's contract would not be renewed.[1] He finished at Montana with a three-year record of 21–14.
Polls
On July 16, 2018 during the Big Sky Kickoff in Spokane, Washington, the Grizzlies were predicted to finish in seventh place in the coaches poll and fourth place in the media poll.[2]
Coaches poll Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
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1 | Eastern Washington | 134 (6) |
2 | Weber State | 124 (3) |
3 | Northern Arizona | 121 (3) |
4 | Idaho | 101 (1) |
5 | Sacramento State | 94 |
6 | Southern Utah | 91 |
7 | Montana | 82 |
8 | Montana State | 76 |
9 | UC Davis | 64 |
10 | Cal Poly | 40 |
11 | Northern Colorado | 30 |
12 | Idaho State | 29 |
13 | Portland State | 21 |
Media poll Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
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1 | Eastern Washington | 651 (27) |
2 | Weber State | 636 (19) |
3 | Northern Arizona | 535 (1) |
4 | Montana | 496 (2) |
5 | Idaho | 483 (3) |
6 | Southern Utah | 449 (1) |
7 | Sacramento State | 415 |
8 | Montana State | 391 (1) |
9 | UC Davis | 331 (1) |
10 | Idaho State | 170 |
11 | Cal Poly | 169 |
12 | Northern Colorado | 166 |
13 | Portland State | 103 |
Preseason All-Conference Team
The Grizzlies had one player selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team.[3]
Josh Buss – Sr. LB. Also selected as the preseason defensive player of the year.
Award watch lists
Listed in the order that they were released
Award | Player | Position | Year |
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Butkus Award[4] | Josh Buss | LB | SR |
Buck Buchanan Award[5] | Josh Buss | LB | SR |