2017 Montana Grizzlies football team

The 2017 Montana Grizzlies football team represented the University of Montana in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Grizzlies were led by third-year coach Bob Stitt and played their home games on campus at Washington–Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Montana as a charter member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 7–4, 5–3 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for sixth place.

2017 Montana Grizzlies football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
2017 record	7–4 (5–3 Big Sky)
Head coach	Bob Stitt (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Bob Stitt (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Jason Semore (2nd season)
Home stadium	Washington–Grizzly Stadium (Capacity: 25,217)

2017 Big Sky Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 14 Southern Utah +^		7	–	1					9	–	3
No. 5 Weber State +^		7	–	1					11	–	3
Northern Arizona ^		6	–	2					7	–	5
No. 21 Eastern Washington		6	–	2					7	–	4
Sacramento State		6	–	2					7	–	4
Montana		5	–	3					7	–	4
Montana State		5	–	3					5	–	6
UC Davis		3	–	5					5	–	6
Idaho State		2	–	6					4	–	7
Northern Colorado		2	–	6					3	–	7
North Dakota		2	–	6					3	–	8
Cal Poly		1	–	7					1	–	10
Portland State		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

On November 20, it was announced that head coach Bob Stitt's contract would not be renewed.[1] He finished at Montana with a three-year record of 21–14.

Previous season

The Griz finished the 2016 season 6–5, 3–5 in Big Sky play to finish in eighth place.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	1:00 p.m.	Valparaiso*		Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	SWX MT	W 45–23	23,160
September 9	6:00 p.m.	at No. 7 (FBS) Washington*		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	P12N	L 7–63	68,491
September 16	1:00 p.m.	Savannah State*		Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	SWX MT	W 56–3	22,228
September 23	6:00 p.m.	No. 11 Eastern Washington		Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (Governors Cup)	RTNW[2]	L 41–48	25,944
September 30	3:00 p.m.	at Portland State		Hillsboro Stadium Hillsboro, OR	SWX MT	W 45–33	5,012
October 7	2:30 p.m.	at Idaho State		Holt Arena Pocatello, ID	ELVN	W 39–31	7,279
October 14	1:00 p.m.	North Dakota	No. 24	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	RTNW[2]	W 41–17	25,085
October 28	2:00 p.m.	at Weber State	No. 24	Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	SWX MT	L 27–41	8,912
November 4	3:30 p.m.	No. 18 Northern Arizona		Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	RTNW[2]	W 17–15	22,747
November 11	1:00 p.m.	Northern Colorado		Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	RTNW[2]	W 44–14	22,048
November 18	Noon	at Montana State		Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT (rivalry)	RTNW[2]	L 23–31	19,907
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

Game summaries

Valparaiso

	1	2	3	4	Total
Crusaders	6	7	0	10	23
Grizzlies	10	7	7	21	45

@ Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
Grizzlies	7	0	0	0	7
No. 7 (FBS) Huskies	21	14	14	14	63

Savannah State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	0	3	0	0	3
Grizzlies	14	21	14	7	56

Eastern Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 11 Eagles	3	3	21	21	48
Grizzlies	14	10	3	14	41

@ Portland State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Grizzlies	10	17	13	5	45
Vikings	7	7	7	12	33

@ Idaho State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Grizzlies	7	6	19	7	39
Bengals	7	14	7	3	31

North Dakota

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Hawks	0	3	7	7	17
No. 24 Grizzlies	7	13	14	7	41

@ Weber State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Grizzlies	0	6	7	14	27
Wildcats	10	24	0	7	41

Northern Arizona

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 18 Lumberjacks	3	6	0	6	15
Grizzlies	7	0	7	3	17

Northern Colorado

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	0	0	7	14
Grizzlies	14	23	7	0	44

@ Montana State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Grizzlies	3	10	0	10	23
Bobcats	0	21	3	7	31

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	21	24	RV	RV	RV	RV
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV

References

1. http://406mtsports.com/college/big-sky-conference/university-of-montana/stitt-out-as-montana-grizzlies-football-coach/article_d04717cd-b679-5529-a98f-469c27a34e6e.html
2. "Big Sky, Root Sports Announce Contact Extension, 2017 Schedule". Big Sky Conference. March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.