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2023 Montana

13–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Big Sky).

Schedule and results

Montana in 2023, game by game: won vs. Butler 35–20; won at Utah Tech 43–13; won vs. Ferris State 17–10; lost at Northern Arizona 14–28; won vs. Idaho State 28–20; won at UC Davis 31–23; won at Idaho 23–21; won vs. Northern Colorado 40–0; won vs. Sacramento State 34–7; won at Portland State 34–10; won vs. Montana State 37–7; won vs. Delaware 49–19; won vs. Furman 35–28; won vs. North Dakota State 31–29; lost vs. South Dakota State 3–23+40−20Won 35–20 vs. Butler+15ButlerWon 43–13 at Utah Tech+30Utah TechWon 17–10 vs. Ferris State+7Ferris StateLost 14–28 at Northern Arizona-14Northern ArizonaWon 28–20 vs. Idaho State+8Idaho StateWon 31–23 at UC Davis+8UC DavisWon 23–21 at Idaho+2IdahoWon 40–0 vs. Northern Colorado+40Northern Colora…Won 34–7 vs. Sacramento State+27Sacramento StateWon 34–10 at Portland State+24Portland StateWon 37–7 vs. Montana State+30Montana StateWon 49–19 vs. Delaware+30DelawareWon 35–28 vs. Furman+7FurmanWon 31–29 vs. North Dakota State+2North Dakota St…Lost 3–23 vs. South Dakota State-20South Dakota St…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsButlerW 35–⁠2074%
Sep 9atUtah TechW 43–⁠1369%
Sep 16vsFerris StateW 17–⁠1057%
Sep 23atNorthern ArizonaL 14–⁠2876%
Sep 30vsIdaho StateW 28–⁠2085%
Oct 7atUC DavisW 31–⁠2344%
Oct 14atIdahoW 23–⁠2139%
Oct 28vsNorthern ColoradoW 40–⁠091%
Nov 4vsSacramento StateW 34–⁠754%
Nov 11atPortland StateW 34–⁠1070%
Nov 18vsMontana StateW 37–⁠748%
Dec 2Bowls & playoffvsDelawareFCS Championship – Second RoundW 49–⁠1970%
Dec 8Bowls & playoffvsFurmanFCS Championship – Quarterfinals, CFP QuarterfinalW 35–⁠2866%
Dec 16Bowls & playoffvsNorth Dakota StateFCS Championship – Semifinals, CFP SemifinalW 31–⁠2958%
Jan 7Bowls & playoffvsSouth Dakota StateFCS ChampionshipL 3–⁠2333%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to South Dakota State 23–⁠3 in the FCS Championship; unranked in the final AP poll; Big Sky champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 103 on file).

Big Sky champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Record
13–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 first in Big Sky
AP final
Unranked
Points
454–⁠258
Coach
—
Elo
1562 +162 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−4.2 No. 3 of 128 in FCS
Recruiting class
No. 161
Offensive coordinator
Brent Pease
Defensive coordinator
Ronnie Bradford
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

Leaders

Passing yardsClifton McDowell QB1,818 yds
Passing touchdownsClifton McDowell QB12 TD
Rushing yardsEli Gillman RB888 yds
Rushing touchdownsEli Gillman RB11 TD
Receiving yardsKeelan White WR657 yds
Receiving touchdownsAaron Fontes WR5 TD
InterceptionsTrevin Gradney CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Iverson Young RB★★★No. 1636
Clay Oven LB★★★No. 2529
Elijah Brady CB★★★No. 2529
Austin Buehler OT★★No. 2678
Cy Stevenson ATH★★No. 2678

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.770
Running backs13.00.843
Receivers22.00.775
Offensive line32.00.777
Linebackers13.00.800
Defensive backs13.00.800
Athletes and specialists22.00.785
Whole class112.30.788

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Transfers in 3

The 2023 portal
Hayden Harris DL★★★from UCLA
Riley Wilson WR★★★from Hawai’i
Sam Vidlak QB★★★from Boise State

Transfers out 0

No transfers out.

2023 Big Sky standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Montana7–⁠113–⁠2
Idaho6–⁠29–⁠4
Montana State6–⁠28–⁠4
UC Davis5–⁠37–⁠4
Northern Arizona5–⁠35–⁠6
Sacramento State4–⁠48–⁠5
Weber State4–⁠46–⁠5
Portland State4–⁠45–⁠6
Eastern Washington3–⁠54–⁠7
Idaho State3–⁠53–⁠8
Cal Poly1–⁠73–⁠8
Northern Colorado0–⁠80–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.