2000 Montana Grizzlies football team

The 2000 Montana Grizzlies football team represented the University of Montana as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by first-year head coach Joe Glenn, the Grizzlies compiled an overall record of 13–2 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning the Big Sky title for the third consecutive season. Montana advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where the Grizzlies defeated Eastern Illinois in the first round, Richmond in the quarterfinals, and Appalachian State in the semifinals before losing to Georgia Southern in the NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game. The team played home games at Washington–Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Montana.

2000 Montana Grizzlies football
Big Sky champion
NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game, L 25–27 vs. Georgia Southern
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 2
Record	13–2 (8–0 Big Sky)
Head coach	Joe Glenn (1st season)
Home stadium	Washington–Grizzly Stadium
Seasons ← 1999 2001 →

2000 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 2 Montana $^		8	–	0					13	–	2
No. 15 Portland State ^		5	–	3					8	–	4
No. 18 Weber State		5	–	3					7	–	4
Sacramento State		5	–	3					7	–	4
Eastern Washington		5	–	3					6	–	5
Idaho State		4	–	4					6	–	5
Cal State Northridge		2	–	6					4	–	7
Northern Arizona		2	–	6					3	–	8
Montana State		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	1:00 pm	No. 11 Hofstra*	No. 2	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	MTN	L 9–10	19,248	[1]
September 9	2:00 pm	at Idaho*	No. 10	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA (Little Brown Stein)	MTN	W 45–38	17,929	[2]
September 16	1:00 pm	Cal Poly*	No. 10	Washington-Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT		W 53–3	19,012	[3]
September 30	7:00 pm	at No. 18 Eastern Washington	No. 9	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA (EWU–UM Governors Cup)	MTN	W 41–31	15,678	[4]
October 7	1:00 pm	Sacramento State	No. 9	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	MTN	W 24–20	19,264	[5]
October 14	4:00 pm	at Cal State Northridge	No. 6	North Campus Stadium Northridge, CA		W 34–30	3,072	[6]
October 21	1:00 pm	Northern Arizona	No. 5	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT		W 17–7	19,109	[7]
October 28	3:00 pm	at No. 8 Portland State	No. 4	Hillsboro Stadium Hillsboro, OR	MTN	W 33–21	9,681	[8]
November 4	12:00 pm	Idaho State	No. 3	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT		W 38–21	18,943	[9]
November 11	1:00 pm	at No. 19 Weber State	No. 1	Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	MTN	W 30–28	9,632	[10]
November 18	12:00 pm	Montana State	No. 1	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (rivalry)	MTN	W 28–3	19,367	[11]
November 25	12:00 pm	No. 17 Eastern Illinois*	No. 1	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	MTN	W 45–13	16,212	[12]
December 2	12:00 pm	No. 10 Richmond*	No. 1	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	MTN	W 34–20	17,345	[13]
December 9	12:00 pm	No. 14 Appalachian State*	No. 1	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)	MTN	W 19–16 OT	17,401	[14]
December 16	1:00 pm	vs. No. 5 Georgia Southern*	No. 1	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN (NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game)	ESPN	L 25–27	17,156	[15]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

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Roster

2000 Montana Grizzlies football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 8 Jimmy Farris Jr OT 72 Dylan McFarland  Fr QB 7 Drew Miller Jr WR 17 Etu Molden Jr G 73 Thatcher Szalay Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 45 Jacob Yoro  So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Joe Glenn (1st year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster