# 2024 Montana Grizzlies football team

The 2024 Montana Grizzlies football team represented the University of Montana during the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Big Sky Conference. They were led by 14th-year head coach Bobby Hauck and played their home games at Washington–Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Montana.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 7:00 p.m. | Missouri State* | No. 3 | Washington-Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT | KPAX/ESPN+ | W 29–24 | 26,482 |
| September 7 | 5:00 p.m. | at No. 23 North Dakota* | No. 4 | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | KPAX/ESPN+ | L 24–27 | 11,595 |
| September 14 | 1:00 p.m. | Morehead State* | No. 8 | Washington-Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT | KPAX/ESPN+ | W 59–2 | 25,808 |
| September 21 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 24 Western Carolina* | No. 9 | Washington-Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT | KPAX/ESPN+ | W 46–35 | 25,720 |
| September 28 | 6:00 p.m. | at Eastern Washington | No. 8 | Roos FieldCheney, WA | KPAX/ESPN+ | W 52–49 | 8,846 |
| October 5 | 1:00 p.m. | Weber State | No. 8 | Washington-Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT | KPAX/ESPN+ | L 48–55 $^{OT}$ | 25,888 |
| October 12 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 24 Northern Arizona | No. 14 | Washington-Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT | KPAX/ESPN+ | W 31–20 | 26,229 |
| October 26 | 1:00 p.m. | at Northern Colorado | No. 9 | Nottingham FieldGreeley, CO | KPAX/ESPN+ | W 24–0 | 3,902 |
| November 2 | 3:00 p.m. | at Cal Poly | No. 8 | Mustang Memorial FieldSan Luis Obispo, CA | KPAX/ESPN+ | W 42–7 | 10,095 |
| November 9 | 8:15 p.m. | No. 4 UC Davis | No. 7 | Washington-Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT | ESPN2 | L 14–30 | 26,012 |
| November 16 | 1:00 p.m. | Portland State | No. 10 | Washington-Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT | KPAX/ESPN+ | W 28–17 | 24,773 |
| November 23 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 2 Montana State | No. 9 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT (Brawl of the Wild) | KPAX/ESPN+ | L 11–34 | 22,057 |
| November 30 | 8:15 p.m. | No. 21 Tennessee State* | No. 13 | Washington-Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT (NCAA Division I First Round) | ESPN2 | W 41–27 | 12,479 |
| December 7 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 2 South Dakota State* | No. 13 | Dana J. Dykhouse StadiumBrookings, SD (NCAA Division I Second Round) | ESPN+ | L 18–35 | 10,376 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Mountain timeSource: ||||||||

## Game summaries
### Missouri State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| No. 3 Grizzlies | 6 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 29 |
at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, Missoula, MT
* Date: Saturday August 31, 2024
* Game time: 7:00 p.m.
* Game attendance: 26,482
* TV announcers (ESPN+/MTN): Jay Kohn, Marty Mornhinweg, Kyle Hansen
| Statistics | MOST | MONT |
| First downs | 22 | 23 |
| Total yards | 356 | 347 |
| Rushing yards | 99 | 167 |
| Passing yards | 257 | 180 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 23-39-1 | 14-26-0 |
| Time of possession | 36:37 | 23:23 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Missouri State | Passing | Jacob Clark | 23/39, 257 yards, 1 INT |
| Missouri State | Rushing | Jacardia Wright | 19 carries, 76 yards, 1 TD |
| Missouri State | Receiving | Hunter Wood | 6 receptions, 70 yards |
| Montana | Passing | Logan Fife Keali'i Ah Yat | 5/7, 90 yards, 1 TD 9/19, 90 yards |
| Montana | Rushing | Eli Gillman | 15 carries, 89 yards, 2 TD |
| Montana | Receiving | Xavier Harris | 3 receptions, 69 yards, 1 TD |

### at No. 23 North Dakota

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 4 Grizzlies | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| No. 23 Fighting Hawks | 7 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 27 |
at Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND
* Date: Saturday September 7, 2024
* Game time: 5:00 PM
* Game attendance: 11,595
* TV announcers (ESPN+/MTN/MidCo): Alex Heinert, Ryan Kasowski
| Statistics | MONT | UND |
| First downs | 16 | 25 |
| Total yards | 305 | 340 |
| Rushing yards | 160 | 243 |
| Passing yards | 145 | 97 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 21-31-0 | 11-24-1 |
| Time of possession | 22:46 | 37:14 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Montana | Passing | Keali'i Ah Yat | 21/29, 145 yards, 1 TD |
| Montana | Rushing | Eli Gillman | 8 carries, 86 yards, 1 TD |
| Montana | Receiving | Xavier Harris | 5 receptions, 56 yards, 1 TD |
| North Dakota | Passing | Simon Romfo | 11/24, 97 yards, 1 INT |
| North Dakota | Rushing | Gaven Ziebarth | 22 carries, 88 yards, 1 TD |
| North Dakota | Receiving | Bo Belquist | 4 receptions, 33 yards |

### Morehead State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| No. 8 Grizzlies | 15 | 24 | 13 | 7 | 59 |
at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, Missoula, MT
* Date: Saturday September 14, 2024
* Game time: 1:00 PM
* Game attendance: 25,808
* TV announcers (ESPN+/MTN): Jay Kohn, Marty Mornhinweg, Kyle Hansen
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Morehead State | Passing |
| Morehead State | Rushing |
| Morehead State | Receiving |
| Montana | Passing |
| Montana | Rushing |
| Montana | Receiving |

### No. 24 Western Carolina

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 24 Catamounts | 14 | 13 | 0 | 8 | 35 |
| No. 9 Grizzlies | 0 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 46 |
at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, Missoula, MT
* Date: Saturday September 21, 2024
* Game time: 1:00 PM
* Game attendance: 25,720
* TV announcers (ESPN+/MTN): Jay Kohn, Marty Mornhinweg, Kyle Hansen
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Western Carolina | Passing |
| Western Carolina | Rushing |
| Western Carolina | Receiving |
| Montana | Passing |
| Montana | Rushing |
| Montana | Receiving |

### at Eastern Washington (EWU–UM Governors Cup)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 8 Grizzlies | 10 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 52 |
| Eagles | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 | 49 |
at Roos Field • Cheney, WA
* Date: Saturday September 28, 2024
* Game time: 6:00 PM
* Game attendance: 8,846
* TV announcers (ESPN+/MTN): Ben Creighton, Ty Gregorak, Grace Lawrence
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Montana | Passing |
| Montana | Rushing |
| Montana | Receiving |
| Eastern Washington | Passing |
| Eastern Washington | Rushing |
| Eastern Washington | Receiving |

### Weber State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Wildcats | 14 | 14 | 3 | 17 | 7 | 55 |
| No. 8 Grizzlies | 7 | 10 | 6 | 25 | 0 | 48 |
at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, Missoula, MT
* Date: Saturday October 5, 2024
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* TV announcers (ESPN+/MTN/SWX NW): Jay Kohn, Marty Mornhinweg, Kyle Hansen
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Weber State | Passing |
| Weber State | Rushing |
| Weber State | Receiving |
| Montana | Passing |
| Montana | Rushing |
| Montana | Receiving |

### No. 24 Northern Arizona

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 24 Lumberjacks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 14 Grizzlies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, Missoula, MT
* Date: Saturday October 12, 2024
* Game time: 2:00 p.m.
* TV announcers (ESPN+/MTN): Ben Creighton, Ty Gregorak, Grace Lawrence
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Northern Arizona | Passing |
| Northern Arizona | Rushing |
| Northern Arizona | Receiving |
| Montana | Passing |
| Montana | Rushing |
| Montana | Receiving |

### at Northern Colorado

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 9 Grizzlies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Nottingham Field, Greeley, CO
* Date: Saturday October 26, 2024
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* TV announcers (ESPN+/MTN): Jay Kohn, Marty Mornhinweg, Kyle Hanson
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Montana | Passing |
| Montana | Rushing |
| Montana | Receiving |
| Northern Colorado | Passing |
| Northern Colorado | Rushing |
| Northern Colorado | Receiving |

### at Cal Poly

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 8 Grizzlies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mustangs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Mustang Memorial Field, San Luis Obispo, CA
* Date: Saturday November 2, 2024
* Game time: 3:00 p.m.
* TV announcers (ESPN+/MTN): Jay Kohn, Marty Mornhinweg, Kyle Hanson
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Montana | Passing |
| Montana | Rushing |
| Montana | Receiving |
| Cal Poly | Passing |
| Cal Poly | Rushing |
| Cal Poly | Receiving |

### No. 4 UC Davis

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 4 Aggies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 7 Grizzlies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, Missoula, MT
* Date: Saturday November 9, 2024
* Game time: 8:15 p.m.
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Jay Alter (play-by-play) and Rocky Boiman (analyst)
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| UC Davis | Passing |
| UC Davis | Rushing |
| UC Davis | Receiving |
| Montana | Passing |
| Montana | Rushing |
| Montana | Receiving |

### Portland State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vikings | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 10 Grizzlies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, Missoula, MT
* Date: Saturday November 16, 2024
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* TV announcers (ESPN+/MTN): Jay Kohn, Marty Mornhinweg, Kyle Hanson
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Portland State | Passing |
| Portland State | Rushing |
| Portland State | Receiving |
| Montana | Passing |
| Montana | Rushing |
| Montana | Receiving |

### at No. 2 Montana State (rivalry)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 9 Grizzlies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 2 Bobcats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Bobcat Stadium, Bozeman, MT
* Date: Saturday November 23, 2024
* Game time: 12:00 p.m.
* TV announcers (ESPN+/MTN): Ben Creighton, Marty Mornhinweg, Ty Gregorak, Kyle Hansen, Grace Lawrence
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Montana | Passing |
| Montana | Rushing |
| Montana | Receiving |
| Montana State | Passing |
| Montana State | Rushing |
| Montana State | Receiving |

### vs No. 21 Tennessee State (NCAA Division I Playoff–First Round)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 21 Tigers | 3 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 27 |
| No. 13 Grizzlies | 3 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 41 |
at Washington–Grizzly Stadium, Missoula, MT
* Date: Saturday November 30, 2024
* Game time: 8:15 p.m.
* Game weather: Clear, 32 °F (0 °C)
* Game attendance: 12,479
* Referee: David Hergert
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play) and Jay Walker (analyst)
| Statistics | TNST | MONT |
| First downs | 18 | 19 |
| Total yards | 310 | 369 |
| Rushing yards | 14 | 254 |
| Passing yards | 296 | 115 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 29–39–1 | 12–23–0 |
| Time of possession | 29:48 | 30:12 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Tennessee State | Passing | Draylen Ellis | 29/39, 296 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT |
| Tennessee State | Rushing | CJ Evans | 6 carries, 26 yards |
| Tennessee State | Receiving | Karate Brenson | 11 receptions, 122 yards, 2 TD |
| Montana | Passing | Logan Fife | 11/22, 97 yards |
| Montana | Rushing | Eli Gillman | 20 carries, 136 yards, 2 TD |
| Montana | Receiving | Sawyer Racanelli | 2 receptions, 35 yards |

### at No. 2 South Dakota State (NCAA Division I Playoff–Second Round)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 13 Grizzlies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 2 Jackrabbits | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, Brookings, SD
* Date: Saturday December 7, 2024
* Game time: 12:00 p.m
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Lowell Galindo, Fozzy Whittaker
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: Comp–Att–Int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Montana | Passing |
| Montana | Rushing |
| Montana | Receiving |
| South Dakota State | Passing |
| South Dakota State | Rushing |
| South Dakota State | Receiving |