Montana football runne- up finish fuels team’s drive

SPOKANE, Wash. — Montana football coach Bobby Hauck pointed to two plays when thinking back to the FCS national championship game in January.

The first play was the failed fourth-and-goal run from the 1-yard line, which prevented Montana from a potential 10-3 halftime lead over South Dakota State, although he felt they were still in striking distance down 7-3.

The second play was a fumble in SDSU territory on the opening drive of the second half as the Griz tried to again take their first lead before giving up 16 points in the third quarter against a team that allowed 9.3 points per game.

“I thought we could have won the game,” Hauck said at the Big Sky Kickoff on Monday after the Griz were picked to repeat as conference champions. “It wasn’t like we were outclassed or something.”

UM senior wide receiver Keelan White pointed to the same two plays as Hauck after watching film in the offseason.

“I definitely think we were balling with them that first half,” he said. “We just couldn’t execute and finish.”

Griz senior linebacker and Missoula native Ryan Tirrell also highlighted Montana’s inability to execute in the game. He didn’t feel the Griz were that far away, either.

“Not a doubt in my mind that we could play with them,” he said. “They’re the standard right now because they’re the national champions. But there’s definitely no doubt that we can get back there.”

The loss has provided some motivation for Tirrell and White this offseason as they head into their final year. They helped the Griz win their first Big Sky title in over a decade last fall, and this is their final shot at national glory.

“It sticks with you,” Tirrell said. “You think about it when you’re training. You get a bad taste in your mouth when you end with a loss.”

White added: “That one definitely sticks in the back of your mind. It subconsciously motivates you because you were there and you got to get back there type of thing.”

Hauck’s focus shifted from the SDSU game to this year long ago as he’s working toward his first national title and the third in Griz history.

“I haven’t thought about it much at all, to tell you the truth,” he said. “We would have liked to have won it, but after any game for the most part it’s on to the next one.

“There’s no resting on your laurels or worrying about anything. You just go.”

Hauck’s teams didn’t rest on their laurels during his first stint at Montana. His teams won the Big Sky championship all seven seasons from 2003-09 and finished as the FCS national runner-up three times.

He’s shown a new generation of players in his second stint at UM that his approach can take the team to a Big Sky championship and the FCS title game, even if it did take until his fifth season. He now has to get his guys to buy into putting in that work again and not just expecting they’ll snap their fingers and be back there.

“That probably has to start with the head coach and not letting any type of complacency creep in,” he said. “We don’t have that and I think it speaks to the character of our staff and our team, in particular our seniors and our veteran players that there’s really none of that. You got to have an edge, you got to have an urgency and we’ve definitely got that.”

During Hauck’s previous stint, program building of player development over five years was more the norm with an occasional transfer. Now unlimited transferring forces coaches to build a somewhat new roster every offseason for the coming year as they replace more than just the graduating seniors.

Hauck pointed to trusting in his “process” as a reason why his teams have had success. That process, he said, includes things such as how they train in the weight room, how they practice, how they study film, how they teach football, how they attack academics, how they structure their week and more.

“Our process is our process, and that’s probably why we’re consistent,” he said. “We’re winning about an average of 11 games per year and then playoff games every year. Our process is good. I’m a believer in that.”

Montana has made the national title game once, the quarterfinals twice and the second round once since Hauck returned to UM in 2018. This year’s group of seniors has won at least one playoff game every season.

This year, the Griz will be playing 12 regular-season games instead of the typical 11, which is due to the number of Saturdays on the calendar, as they first try to defend their Big Sky title. They’ll then have to win three playoff games to make it back to the FCS championship game.

“It is a long journey, but we’re a team that makes those long journeys,” White said. “We win 10, 11, 12 games a season. We’re always in the playoffs. We win at least one or two playoff games every year. We’re always competitive in that sense. We have the ability to make it, so we just need to put the pieces together.”

The Griz head into this season searching for their 20th Big Sky championship and another national title to add to their ones in 1995 and 2001. Their trip to the title game and their Big Sky crown in 2023 were their first since 2009.

They brought in over a dozen transfers this offseason. They’ll also have a new defensive coordinator, with two assistants splitting duties.

“The biggest deal for our team this year is keeping our competitive edge,” Tirrell said. “As long as we do that, don’t let complacency fill our team, I think we’ll have a successful season.”

The target on Montana’s back just got bigger as the Griz come into this season as the No. 1 pick by both the Big Sky coaches and media. They were selected sixth by the coaches in 2023 but far surpassed that by finishing first. 

The last preseason favorite to win the Big Sky is still Eastern Washington in 2018. Last year, rival Montana State was the preseason darling after winning the conference in 2022 but ended up finishing in a tie for second.

“As far as outside noise with the polls, just has to go in one ear and out the other,” Tirrell said. “You got to keep everybody on the same one-track mind that you’re going in to win a game and no game is easy to win. You just can’t pay attention to any of that outside stuff and I think we do a really nice job of blocking that out.”

Being the preseason favorite isn’t entirely foreign to players on Montana. In 2022, the Griz were picked first in the coaches and media polls for the first time since 2010. They ended up finishing in sixth place.

Three consecutive one-possession losses in 2022 negatively impacted UM’s Big Sky outlook and playoff resume. It’s those small details, like the two plays Hauck mentioned in the SDSU game, that can swing games and seasons.

“It’s hard to win, so every game we know we’re going to get tested,” White said. “We just have to be ready for that. We’re going to get everybody’s best shot. We just have to be more prepared and execute better.”

The Griz begin preseason camp on Aug. 5 for three weeks of practices before game week. They open the season on Aug. 31 against Missouri State in Missoula.

Some schedule highlights include games against two Missouri Valley teams, a SoCon opponent, hosting UC Davis on national TV and closing the regular season at Montana State, which was picked second in both preseason polls.

“Missouri State is our first game, so it’s the most important game right now,” Tirrell said. “It’s our biggest game because it’s our first game.”

White added: “Obviously the game at the end of November we’re always looking forward to because that’s a pretty fun one.”