2020 Montana Grizzlies football team

The 2020 Montana Grizzlies football team represented the University of Montana in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Grizzlies were led by head coach Bobby Hauck, in the third season of his current stint and the tenth overall season leading the team, as he previously was head coach from 2003 to 2009. They played their home games on campus at Washington–Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Montana as a charter member of the Big Sky Conference.

2020 Montana Grizzlies football
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record2–0 (0–0 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorTimm Rosenbach (4th season)
Defensive coordinatorKent Baer (3rd season)
Home stadiumWashington–Grizzly Stadium
Seasons
← 2019
2021 →
2020 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 9 Weber State $^   5 0     5 1  
No. 10 Eastern Washington ^   5 1     5 2  
No. 14 UC Davis   3 2     3 2  
Northern Arizona   3 2     3 2  
Idaho State   2 4     2 4  
Idaho   2 4     2 4  
Southern Utah   1 5     1 5  
Cal Poly   0 3     0 3  
Montana       2 0  
Portland State       0 1  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
  • Notes: Due to COVID-19, the Big Sky suspended the fall 2020 football season.
    Montana State, Northern Colorado, and Sacramento State opted out of the spring season.
    † – Montana and Portland State opted out of the conference season, but scheduled non-conference games.
    ‡ – Cal Poly opted out of the remainder of the spring season on March 29, 2021.
Rankings from STATS Poll

Preseason

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Polls

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On July 23, 2020, 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)
1 Weber State 135 (7)
2 Montana 128 (3)
3 Montana State 121 (1)
4 Eastern Washington 118 (1)
5 Sacramento State 99 (1)
6 UC Davis 83
7 Northern Arizona 68
8 Portland State 67
9 Idaho 66
10 Cal Poly 46
11 Idaho State 37
12 Southern Utah 33
13 Northern Colorado 13
Media poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Weber State 546 (28)
2 Montana 496 (8)
3 Montana State 493 (6)
4 Eastern Washington 438 (1)
5 Sacramento State 389
6 UC Davis 325 (1)
7 Portland State 274
8 Idaho 273
9 Northern Arizona 238
10 Cal Poly 206
11 Idaho State 133
12 Southern Utah 105
13 Northern Colorado 88

Schedule

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Montana originally had a game scheduled against Central Washington (September 5), but it was canceled on July 19 due to the GNAC's decision to cancel fall sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] The Grizzlies' game against Morehead State (September 19) was canceled on July 27 due to the Pioneer Football League's decision to play a conference-only schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]

Montana's April 17 game against Portland State will be counted as a non-conference game, even though both schools compete in the Big Sky Conference.[4]

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
April 10 11:00 a.m. Central Washington* W 59–3
April 17 11:00 a.m. Portland State*
  • Washington–Grizzly Stadium
  • Missoula, MT
W 48–7

[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Eagles Selected to Finish Fourth in the Big Sky in 2020". July 23, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  2. ^ Kelley, Kevin (July 19, 2020). "Idaho, Montana each have non-conference game canceled due to COVID-19". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  3. ^ Kelley, Kevin (July 27, 2020). "Pioneer Football League to play conference-only football schedule in 2020". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  4. ^ Kelley, Kevin (March 2, 2021). "Montana, Portland State schedule spring 2021 non-conference game". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  5. ^ "2020 Montana Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved November 28, 2020.