# 2011 Montana Grizzlies football team

The 2011 Montana Grizzlies football team represented the University of Montana in the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. were led by second-year head coach Robin Pflugrad and played their home games at Washington–Grizzly Stadium. They are a member of the Big Sky Conference.
The team finished the regular season with an overall 9–2 record, 7–1 in Big Sky play. They then won two FCS playoff games, before being eliminated in the semifinals by Sam Houston State, thus ending their season with an overall 11–3 record. On July 26, 2013, Montana was sanctioned by the NCAA, which found that "boosters provided extra benefits to players." Montana vacated its last two conference games of the 2011 season (two wins), its last non-conference game of the regular season (one win), and its participation in the NCAA playoffs (two wins, semifinals loss), resulting in an official record of 6–2 overall, 5–1 in conference play.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | 4:00 p.m. | at Tennessee* | No. 12 | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN | ESPN3 | L 16–42 | 94,661 |
| September 10 | 1:05 p.m. | Cal Poly* | No. 15 | Washington–Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT | KWBM | W 37–23 | 25,855 |
| September 17 | 12:05 p.m. | No. 10 Eastern Washington | No. 12 | Washington–Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT (Governors Cup) | KPAX | W 17–14 | 26,066 |
| September 24 | 7:05 p.m. | at Sacramento State | No. 10 | Hornet StadiumSacramento, CA | KPAX | L 28–42 | 12,751 |
| October 1 | 1:05 p.m. | Northern Colorado | No. 19 | Washington–Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT | KPAX | W 55–28 | 25,919 |
| October 8 | 4:05 p.m. | at Idaho State | No. 16 | Holt ArenaPocatello, ID | KPAX | W 33–0 | 9,124 |
| October 15 | 1:05 p.m. | Portland State | No. 14 | Washington–Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT | KPAX | W 30–24 | 25,744 |
| October 22 | 3:05 p.m. | at Northern Arizona | No. 12 | Walkup SkydomeFlagstaff, AZ | KPAX | W 28–24 | 8,421 |
| October 29 | 1:00 p.m. | Weber State | No. 11 | Washington–Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT | KPAX | W 45–10 (vacated) | 25,401 |
| November 5 | 12:05 p.m. | Western Oregon* | No. 10 | Washington–Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT | KWBM | W 32–7 (vacated) | 24,984 |
| November 19 | 12:05 p.m. | at No. 1 Montana State | No. 7 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT (Brawl of the Wild) | KPAX | W 36–10 (vacated) | 20,247 |
| December 3 | 1:00 pm | No. 15 Central Arkansas* | No. 5 | Washington–Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT (FCS Playoffs Second Round) | ESPN3 | W 41–14 (vacated) | 22,005 |
| December 10 | 7:05 pm | No. 2 Northern Iowa* | No. 5 | Washington–Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT (FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals) | ESPN | W 48–10 (vacated) | 23,049 |
| December 16 | 7:00 pm | at No. 1 Sam Houston State* | No. 5 | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX (FCS Playoffs Semifinals) | ESPN | L 28–31 | 12,367 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game ||||||||

## Regular season
### Tennessee

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #12 Montana | 0 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 16 |
| Tennessee | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 42 |

### Cal Poly

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cal Poly | 10 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 23 |
| #15 Montana | 7 | 7 | 15 | 8 | 37 |

### Eastern Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #10 Eastern Washington | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 14 |
| #12 Montana | 10 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 17 |

### Sacramento State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #10 Montana | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| Sacramento State | 7 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 42 |

### Northern Colorado

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Northern Colorado | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
| #19 Montana | 10 | 17 | 28 | 0 | 55 |

### Idaho State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #16 Montana | 10 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 33 |
| Idaho State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Portland State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Portland State | 6 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 24 |
| #14 Montana | 0 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 30 |

### Northern Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #12 Montana | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| Northern Arizona | 14 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 24 |

### Weber State*

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Weber State | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| #11 Montana | 14 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 45 |

### Western Oregon*

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Western Oregon | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| #10 Montana | 6 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 32 |

### Montana State*

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #7 Montana | 0 | 12 | 17 | 7 | 36 |
| #1 Montana State | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
* On July 26, 2013, the NCAA sanctioned Montana and forced it to vacate its last five wins of the 2011 season, Big Sky Conference co-championship and NCAA FCS playoff participation.

## FCS Playoffs
### Second Round–Central Arkansas*

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #15 Central Arkansas | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| #5 Montana | 17 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 41 |

### Quarterfinals–Northern Iowa*

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #2 Northern Iowa | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| #5 Montana | 7 | 21 | 7 | 13 | 48 |

### Semifinals–Sam Houston State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #5 Montana | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| #1 Sam Houston State | 21 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 31 |
* On July 26, 2013, the NCAA sanctioned Montana and forced it to vacate its last five wins of the 2011 season, Big Sky Conference co-championship and NCAA FCS playoff participation.

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| The Sports Network | 12 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 19 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 5 | |
| FCS Coaches | 12 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 5 | |

## NCAA investigation and sanctions

In 2013, the NCAA investigated the University of Montana for violations of regulations concerning gifts to student athletes. On July 26, 2013, the NCAA announced its finding that the university had insufficiently monitored its football program, enabling boosters to provide gifts and services to players against NCAA regulations.
Much of the investigation centered on events surrounding the arrests of two Montana football players, cornerback Trumaine Johnson and backup quarterback Gerald Kemp, in October 2011. The NCAA found that boosters provided the players with bail and free legal counsel, in violation of NCAA rules. Several university personnel, including then-coach Robin Pflugrad, then-athletics director Jim O’Day, and the university compliance officer, evidently knew details of the situation but did not report them. The investigation also found that six boosters had provided smaller benefits to players over 100 times between 2004 and 2012.
Montana faced several penalties as a result of the investigation, most of which it self-imposed. Montana vacated five wins from the 2011 season in which Johnson and Kemp had played, including a win in the rivalry game against Montana State and two FCS playoff victories, vacating the school's participation in the FCS playoffs. Montana was also subjected to a probationary period and lost four scholarships in each of those years.