Griz open season ranked No. 3 in preseason FCS poll

The Montana Grizzlies were the highest ranked team in the Big Sky Conference to land on this year's Stats Perform FCS Preseason top 25, slotting in at No. 3 in the nation.

The Griz, who were picked to repeat as Big Sky champions, picked up 1,285 voting points in the preseason poll to finish ahead of six other teams from around the league.

Montana will face five teams ranked in the preseason top 25 this year, starting at No. 24 North Dakota, followed by a visit to Washington-Grizzly Stadium by No. 20 Western Carolina. The Griz also host No. 22 Weber State on Oct. 5 and No. 18 UC Davis on Nov. 9 before capping the year against No. 4 Montana State in Bozeman. Montana will also travel to Eastern Washington on Sept. 28, which was just outside the top 25 with 14 voting points.

Montana returns a robust 16 starters (11 offense, 5 defense) from last season's championship team, with the offensive line alone returning 71 combined starts and the defense combining for 53 total starts.

UM returns six All-Big Sky honorees that won a combined eight awards last year, led by Junior Bergen (WR/PR) and Eli Gillman, a second team running back and the league's Freshman of the Year.

The Griz are led by head coach Bobby Hauck, the winningest coach of all time in the Big Sky Conference who enters the season with 129 wins at Montana.

Montana is now the winningest FCS team of the 20th century (2000-2023) with a 226-76 record in that time, passing North Dakota State's record of 225-46 with the semifinal win in Missoula last season.

The Grizzlies were selected to win a 20^th Big Sky championship by both the league's coaches and media in the conference's preseason polls that were announced earlier in July.

Montana opens the 2024 season on Aug. 31, under the lights at Washington-Grizzly Stadium with a first-time meeting against Missouri State, which recently announced it will be moving up to the FBS level in a year's time. Kickoff against the Bears is set for 7 p.m.

Season ticket packages, mini-plans, and single-game tickets to Montana's seven home games are on sale now at GrizTix.com and GoGriz.com/tickets.

Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top 25 Poll

1. South Dakota State (2023 Record: 15–0, 8–0 Missouri Valley), 1,396 points (52 of 56 first-place votes)
Final 2023 Ranking: 1; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Oklahoma State

2. North Dakota State (11-4, 5-3 MVFC), 1,327 (3)
Final 2023 Ranking: 3; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 29 at Colorado

3. Montana (13-2, 7-1 Big Sky), 1,285
Final 2023 Ranking: 2; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 vs. Missouri State

4. Montana State (8-4, 6-2 Big Sky), 1,199 (1)
Final 2023 Ranking: 9; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 24 at New Mexico

5. South Dakota (10-3, 7-1 MVFC), 1,155
Final 2023 Ranking: 4; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 29 vs. Northern State

6. Villanova (10-3, 7-1 CAA), 1,151
Final 2023 Ranking: 6; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 29 vs. Youngstown State

7. Idaho (9-4, 6-2 Big Sky), 1,021
Final 2023 Ranking: 8; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Oregon

8. Sacramento State (8-5, 4-4 Big Sky), 874
Final 2023 Ranking: 13; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 29 at San Jose State

9. Chattanooga (8-5, 6-2 SoCon), 868
Final 2023 Ranking: 14; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Tennessee

10. Southern Illinois (8-5, 4-4 MVFC), 832
Final 2023 Ranking: 12; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at BYU

11. Central Arkansas (7-4, 4-2 UAC), 724
Final 2023 Ranking: NR; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Arkansas State

12. Furman (10-3, 7-1 SoCon), 678
Final 2023 Ranking: 7; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Ole Miss

13. Richmond (9-4, 7-1 CAA), 625
Final 2023 Ranking: 15; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Virginia

14. UIW (8-2, 6-1 Southland), 605
Final 2023 Ranking: 22; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 vs. Northern Colorado

15. William & Mary (6-5, 4-4 CAA), 546
Final 2023 Ranking: NR; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 29 vs. VMI

16. UAlbany (11-4, 7-1 CAA), 527
Final 2023 Ranking: 5; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 vs. LIU

17. Lafayette (9-3, 5-1 Patriot), 359
Final 2023 Ranking: 21; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 29 at Buffalo

18. UC Davis (7-4, 5-3 Big Sky), 351
Final 2023 Ranking: 24; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at California

19. Illinois State (6-5, 4-4 MVFC), 350
Final 2023 Ranking: NR; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Iowa

20. Western Carolina (7-4, 5-3 SoCon), 318
Final 2023 Ranking: 23; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 29 at NC State

21. Tarleton State (8-3, 4-2 UAC), 302
Final 2023 Ranking: NR; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 24 vs. McNeese

22. Weber State (6-5, 4-4 Big Sky), 268
Final 2023 Ranking: NR; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Washington

23. Nicholls (6-5, 7-0 Southland), 201
Final 2023 Ranking: NR; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Louisiana Tech

24. North Dakota (7-5, 5-3 MVFC), 197
Final 2023 Ranking: 16; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 31 at Iowa State

25. Youngstown State (8-5, 5-3 MVFC), 177
Final 2023 Ranking: 19; 2024 Season Opener: Aug. 29 at Villanova

Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Elon (6-5, 6-2 CAA) 174; UT Martin (8-3, 5-1 Big South-OVC) 169; Eastern Illinois (8-3, 4-2 Big South-OVC) 139; Mercer (9-4, 6-2 SoCon) 98; Florida A&M (12-1, 8-0 SWAC) 65; North Carolina Central (9-3, 4-1 MEAC) 52; Austin Peay (9-3, 6-0 UAC) 51; Alabama State (7-4, 5-3 SWAC) 17; Holy Cross (7-4, 5-1 Patriot) 17; Eastern Washington (4-7, 3-5 Big Sky) 14; Drake (8-4, 8-0 Pioneer) 8; Duquesne (7-4, 6-1 NEC) 8; Harvard (8-2, 5-2 Ivy) 6; Samford (6-5, 4-4 SoCon) 6; Northern Iowa (6-5, 5-3 MVFC) 4

University of Montana Athletics

Griz open season ranked No. 3 in preseason FCS poll

Players Mentioned

Junior Bergen

Eli Gillman

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