American college football season
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.
Preseason
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.[ 1]
Coaches poll
Predicted finish
Team
Votes (1st place)
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)
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.[ 2]
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
Schedule Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 1 7:00 p.m. No. 13 Northern Iowa * No. 24 SWX W 26–2325,018
September 8 1:00 p.m. Drake * No. 14 Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT SWX W 48–1623,132
September 15 2:00 p.m. at Western Illinois * No. 15 ESPN+ L 27–314,011
September 22 1:00 p.m. Sacramento State No. 19 Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT RTNW W 41–3424,060
September 29 5:00 p.m. at Cal Poly No. 17 ELVN W 48–287,157
October 6 2:00 p.m. Portland State No. 14 Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT SWX L 20–2225,205
October 13 12:00 p.m. at North Dakota No. 22 SWX L 14–4110,497
October 27 2:00 p.m. No. 6 UC Davis Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT SWX L 21–4924,141
November 3 1:00 p.m. at Southern Utah RTNW W 57–147,162
November 10 4:30 p.m. at Idaho RTNW W 46–2714,571
November 17 12:00 p.m. No. 25 Montana State Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (rivalry ) RTNW L 25–2926,508
Game summaries
Northern Iowa
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 13 Panthers
0
0
7
16
23
No. 24 Grizzlies
16
10
0
0
26
Drake
1
2
3
4
Total
Bulldogs
0
3
7
6
16
No. 14 Grizzlies
3
7
21
17
48
At Western Illinois
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 15 Grizzlies
18
0
3
6
27
Leathernecks
14
3
0
14
31
Sacramento State
1
2
3
4
Total
Hornets
14
14
3
3
34
No. 19 Grizzlies
14
10
7
10
41
At Cal Poly
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 17 Grizzlies
17
14
10
7
48
Mustangs
0
7
14
7
28
Portland State
1
2
3
4
Total
Vikings
10
3
0
9
22
No. 14 Grizzlies
0
0
14
6
20
At North Dakota
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 22 Grizzlies
0
0
0
14
14
Fighting Hawks
21
13
0
7
41
UC Davis
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 6 Aggies
3
0
10
36
49
Grizzlies
7
14
0
0
21
At Southern Utah
1
2
3
4
Total
Grizzlies
20
10
21
6
57
Thunderbirds
7
7
0
0
14
At Idaho
1
2
3
4
Total
Grizzlies
14
22
7
3
46
Vandals
3
3
7
14
27
Montana State
Game information
First quarter
UM – Gabe Sulser 1-yard pass from Dalton Sneed (Tim Semenza kick), 12:31. Montana 7–0. Drive: 6 plays, 73 yards, 2:29.
Second quarter
UM – Adam Eastwood 1-yard run (Tim Semenza kick), 13:30. Montana 14–0. Drive: 10 plays, 58 yards, 3:41.
UM – Samuel Akem 37-yard pass from Dalton Sneed (run good), 8:15. Montana 22–0. Drive: 2 plays, 39 yards, 0:40.
MSU – Troy Andersen 3-yard run (Tristan Bailey kick), 0:23. Montana 22–7. Drive: 10 plays, 72 yards, 2:43.
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
MSU – Troy Andersen 1-yard run (run good), 14:24. Montana 22–15. Drive: 9 plays, 87 yards, 3:15.
UM – Tim Semenza 34-yard field goal, 7:46. Montana 25–15. Drive: 14 plays, 58 yards, 6:32.
MSU – Troy Andersen 1-yard run (Tristan Bailey kick), 6:01. Montana 25–22. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 1:45.
MSU – Logan Jones 13-yard run (Tristan Bailey kick), 2:19. Montana St 29–25. Drive: 7 plays, 35 yards, 2:57.
Top passers
MSU – Troy Andersen – 15/24, 158 yards
UM – Dalton Sneed – 22/34, 354 yards, 2 TD
Top rushers
MSU – Troy Andersen – 23 rushes, 107 yards, 3 TD
UM – Jerry Louie-McGee – 4 rushes, 43 yards
Top receivers
MSU – Travis Jonsen – 11 receptions, 101 yards
UM – Samuel Akem – 6 receptions, 147 yards, TD
Ranking movements Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final STATS FCS 24 14 15 19 17 14 22 RV RV — RV RV RV Coaches 25 16 16 20 18 15 23 RV — — — RV RV
References
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture and lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold