What to know about the Montana Grizzlies, South Dakota State football’s FCS title game opponent

South Dakota State football will take on Montana with a chance to repeat as FCS national champions on Sunday. It’ll be the Jackrabbits’ third national championship game appearance in program history while the Grizz will be playing for their third national title.

It will be Montana’s seventh appearance in the FCS/I-AA national championship game.

Here’s everything you need to know about Montana heading into Sunday’s FCS title game. 

Coaching pedigree

Bobby Hauck became the 37th head football coach at the University of Montana, his second stint with the program, on Nov. 30, 2017. The 2023 campaign was his fifth year as the Grizzlies head coach this time around and his 17th overall year as a college football head coach.

He began his coaching career with the Grizzlies in 1988 after earning a bachelor’s degree in business and physical education at Montana in 1987.

Hauck’s first tenure as head coach at Montana was from 2003-2009 when he won more games than any other coach in FCS football, led the Grizzlies to three national championship appearances and won seven-consecutive Big Sky Conference championships.

His winning percentage of 82% was the highest in the FCS at the time, and he led Montana to three perfect seasons in Big Sky play, winning at least a share of the conference title in each of his seven seasons.

From 2010-2014 Hauck served as head coach and special teams coordinator at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. In 2015 he left UNLV to accept a special teams coordinator position at San Diego State under legendary head coach Rocky Long. 

Hauck returned to his alma mater in 2017 after eight years away.

In 2018, Hauck became the winningest coach in Montana history, surpassing Don Read, with 86 wins in eight seasons. Hauck is also the winningest coach in Big Sky Conference history, surpassing former NAU coach and longtime Montana assistant Jerome Souers’ career total of 123 with a win over Sacramento State in 2023. 

The quarterback is a playmaker

Senior quarterback Clifton McDowell entered fall camp hoping to just compete for the starting job, but by Montana’s third conference game, he was the undisputed No. 1 QB.

A fifth-year player, McDowell previously played for Louisiana, Kilgore and Central Arkansas. In high school, he was regarded as the 34th-best dual quarterback in the class of 2019. 

This season McDowell helped lead Montana to the 68th best passing offense in the FCS – the Grizz passed for 196.8 yards per game – and the 21st ranked rushing offense. He averaged 132.9 passing yards per game, 53.6 rushing yards per game and he finished the season with 13 passing touchdowns and nine rushing touchdowns.

McDowell’s best game of Montana’s playoff run was against Furman in the quarterfinals when he threw for 208 yards and rushed for 118.

University of Montana football history

Montana has been a perennial Big Sky contender, but Sunday will mark their first trip back to the national championship game since 2009.

The Grizz have won 18 conference championships and finished as runners-up on 13 occasions. Montana has finished either first or second in the Big Sky in 30 of the league’s 58 seasons.

The Grizz have played in a total of seven national title games and won two of them, in 1995 and 2001. Montana has made the playoffs 26 times; they’ve played in the quarterfinals 14 times and made the semifinals 10 times.

How the Grizz have fared this season

The Grizz ended the regular season with a 10-1 record and a 7-1 conference record.

They notched wins over four ranked opponents including No. 18 UC Davis, No. 3 Idaho, No. 7 Sacramento State, and No. 4 Montana State.

Montana has showcased some late-game heroics during their run to the FCS title game, winning in overtime during the quarterfinals against Furman and knocking off North Dakota State in the semifinals in a double OT thriller.

Jonathan Fernandez covers high school and college sports for the Argus Leader. Contact him at jfernandez1@argusleader.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFERN31