2006 Montana Grizzlies football team

The 2006 Montana Grizzlies football team represented the University of Montana as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2006 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Bobby Hauck, the Grizzlies compiled an overall record of 12–2, with a mark of 8–0 in conference play, and finished as Big Sky champion. Montana advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where the Grizzlies defeated McNeese State in the first round, Southern Illinois in the quarterfinal, and lost to UMass in the semifinal. The team played home games at Washington–Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Montana.

2006 Montana Grizzlies football
Big Sky champion
NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal, L 17–19 vs. UMass
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 3
Record	12–2 (8–0 Big Sky)
Head coach	Bobby Hauck (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Rob Phenicie (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Kraig Paulson (3rd season)
Home stadium	Washington–Grizzly Stadium
Seasons ← 2005 2007 →

2006 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 3 Montana $^		8	–	0					12	–	2
No. 10 Montana State ^		6	–	2					8	–	5
No. 19 Portland State		6	–	2					7	–	4
Northern Arizona		5	–	3					6	–	5
Sacramento State		4	–	4					4	–	7
Weber State		3	–	5					4	–	7
Eastern Washington		3	–	5					3	–	8
Idaho State		1	–	7					2	–	9
Northern Colorado		0	–	8					1	–	10
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	10:00 am	at No. 16 (FBS) Iowa*	No. 3	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPNU	L 7–41	70,585	[1]
September 9	1:00 pm	South Dakota State*	No. 6	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	KPAX	W 36–7	23,438	[2]
September 23	1:00 pm	Sacramento State	No. 5	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	KPAX	W 59–14	23,619	[3]
September 30	7:00 pm	at No. 14 Portland State	No. 4	PGE Park Portland, OR	KPAX	W 26–20	13,156	[4]
October 7	3:00 pm	at Eastern Washington	No. 4	Woodward Field Cheney, WA (EWU–UM Governors Cup)	KPAX	W 33–17	11,583	[5]
October 14	1:00 pm	Northern Arizona	No. 3	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	KPAX	W 24–21	23,626	[6]
October 21	1:00 pm	at Weber State	No. 2	Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	KPAX	W 33–30	5,424	[7]
October 28	1:00 pm	Idaho State	No. 2	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	KPAX	W 23–10	23,435	[8]
November 4	12:00 pm	No. 6 Cal Poly*	No. 2	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	KPAX	W 10–9	22,853	[9]
November 11	12:00 pm	at Northern Colorado	No. 2	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	KPAX	W 53–21	4,632	[10]
November 18	12:30 pm	No. 15 Montana State	No. 2	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (rivalry)	KPAX	W 13–7	24,018	[11]
November 25	12:00 pm	No. 22 McNeese State*	No. 2	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (NCAA Division I First Round)	KPAX	W 31–6	20,077	[12]
December 2	12:30 pm	No. 10 Southern Illinois*	No. 2	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)	KPAX	W 20–3	18,883	[13]
December 8	7:30 pm	No. 3 UMass*	No. 2	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (NCAA Division I Semifinal)	ESPN2	L 17–19	23,454	[14]
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

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