2004 Montana Grizzlies football team

The 2004 Montana Grizzlies football team represented the University of Montana as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by second-year head coach Bobby Hauck, the Grizzlies compiled an overall record of 12–3, with a mark of 6–1 in conference play, and finished as Big Sky co-champion. Montana advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where the Grizzlies defeated Northwestern State in the first round, New Hampshire in the quarterfinal, Sam Houston State in the semifinal, but lost to James Madison in the NCAA Division I-AA Championship. The team played home games at Washington–Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Montana.

2004 Montana Grizzlies football
Big Sky co-champion
NCAA Division I-AA Championship, L 21–31 vs. James Madison
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 2
Record	12–3 (6–1 Big Sky)
Head coach	Bobby Hauck (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Rob Phenicie (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Kraig Paulson (1st season)
Home stadium	Washington–Grizzly Stadium
Seasons ← 2003 2005 →

2004 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 2 Montana $^		6	–	1					12	–	3
No. 8 Eastern Washington ^		6	–	1					9	–	4
Montana State		4	–	3					6	–	5
Portland State		4	–	3					7	–	4
Northern Arizona		3	–	4					4	–	7
Idaho State		2	–	5					3	–	8
Sacramento State		2	–	5					3	–	8
Weber State		1	–	6					1	–	10
$ – 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 4	1:00 pm	No. 11 Maine*	No. 3	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	KPAX	W 27–20	23,228	[1]
September 11	1:00 pm	Hofstra*	No. 2	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	KPAX	W 41–23	23,100	[2]
September 18	6:00 pm	at Sam Houston State*	No. 1	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX		L 29–41	12,941	[3]
September 25	1:00 pm	Northern Colorado	No. 7	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	KPAX	W 27–16	23,220	[4]
October 2	6:00 pm	at Weber State	No. 7	Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	KPAX	W 42–21	5,139	[5]
October 9	1:00 pm	Idaho State	No. 7	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	KPAX	W 24–22	23,582	[6]
October 16	3:00 pm	at No. 23 Eastern Washington	No. 5	Woodward Field Cheney, WA (EWU–UM Governors Cup)	KPAX	W 31–28	10,754	[7]
October 30	3:30 pm	at Portland State	No. 4	PGE Park Portland, OR		L 32–35	8,413	[8]
November 6	12:00 pm	Northern Arizona	No. 10	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	KPAX	W 34–22	22,274	[9]
November 13	12:00 pm	Sacramento State	No. 9	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT		W 52–21	21,097	[10]
November 20	12:00 pm	Montana State	No. 7	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (rivalry)	KPAX	W 38–22	23,867	[11]
November 27	12:00 pm	No. 15 Northwestern State*	No. 7	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	KPAX	W 56–7	16,289	[12]
December 4	2:00 pm	No. 5 New Hampshire*	No. 7	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	ESPN2	W 47–17	20,919	[13]
December 11	12:30 pm	No. 9 Sam Houston State*	No. 7	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)	ESPN2	W 34–13	23,607	[14]
December 17	6:00 pm	vs. No. 8 James Madison*	No. 7	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN (NCAA Division I-AA Championship)	ESPN2	L 21–31	16,771	[15]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time