After back-to-back fall quarterfinal appearances, Montana faces its biggest expectations in years. With its great senior class coupled with key FCS program names no longer in the playoff picture, the time is now for the Grizzlies to truly contend at a national level.
Ranked No. 3 in the Stats Perform Preseason Top 25 media poll, can they deliver on the hype? Let’s take a look at the team and discuss.
2022 FCS Preseason Preview Central
Last Season
The Grizzlies finished 10-3 overall and 7-1 in the Big Sky Conference, featuring a 13-7 win at FBS No. 20 Washington and a 29-10 win against No. 3 Montana State. They received the No. 6 playoff seed, beating Eastern Washington 57-41 in the second round before losing 28-6 at No. 3 seed James Madison in the quarterfinals.
Montana ranked No. 39 in FCS scoring offense (29.6 PPG) and No. 8 in scoring defense (16.3 PPG).
2022 Roster
Montana’s defense is going to be elite elite this season. Not only do the Griz have some of the best defensive players in the Big Sky, they have top-tier players in all of the FCS.
On our Top 25 returning players by position series this summer, they have the No. 15 DL Alex Gubner, No. 23 LB Marcus Welnel, No. 1 LB Patrick O’Connell, No. 2 safety Robby Hauck, honorable mention CB Jayden Dawson, and the No. 1 CB Justin Ford. Keep in mind that this is out of thousands of FCS players per position group. So we’re talking the top 2% here.
Montana ranked No. 8 last season in FCS scoring defense (16.3 points allowed per game), No. 2 in turnovers gained (30), No. 5 in team sacks (44), and No. 3 in team tackles for loss (106).
The offense is where Montana needs to take the next step after scoring 29.6 PPG. The potential is there to do so in 2022.
It starts at the quarterback position, where Montana brought in San Diego State transfer Lucas Johnson as its new starter. Johnson (6-foot-3, 223 pounds) went 8-1 as a starter last season, including a Frisco Bowl win that saw a career-high 333 passing yards for 3 TDs while rushing for another score. He’ll have two great targets in veteran WR Mitch Roberts, last year’s receptions leader (55 catches for 683 yards and 1 TD). Cole Grossman is a fantastic talent at TE following an All-American freshman season (36 catches, 463 yards, 5 TDs).
After battling RB injuries last season, Montana gets Marcus Knight back after he missed 2021 with an ACL injury. Knight was a 2019 All-American as he set a program record with 23 rushing TDs.
While many eyes will be on the QB play, the offensive line is also a huge part in what Montana can accomplish nationally. The Griz ranked No. 70 in rushing offense last fall and No. 88 in sacks allowed. Two strong linemen lead that unit in 2022 — guard Hunter Mayginnes (2021 3rd Team All-Conference) and center AJ Forbes (who debuted last year after transferring from Nebraska). Montana also brought in Chris Walker this offseason, a 6-foot-6 transfer from Nebraska. He’s expected to start at left tackle.
Montana added nine total D1 transfers (8 FBS, 1 FCS).
The specialists will feature new starters after being one of the best overall units in the FCS. The return game will remain strong, though, with All-American Malik Flowers.
2022 Schedule
- vs. Northwestern State
- vs. South Dakota
- @ Indiana State
- vs. Portland State
- @ Idaho State
- vs. Idaho
- @ No. 7 Sac State
- @ No. 20 Weber State
- vs. Cal Poly
- vs. No. 13 Eastern Washington
- @ No. 4 Montana State
While the USD and Portland State games are not gimmes, Montana realistically should start 6-0. Then it’s four ranked opponents in the final five games, three of which are on the road. That will give us a true glimpse of how good this Griz team is.
Season Outlook
Much like asking the question of “Is Tiger Woods back?” or “Is Texas football back?” the FCS bit is asking “Is Montana football back?” While some use it as a jab at Montana looking to restore its glory years, many also use it as a sign of respect. You don’t hear “Is EKU football back?” or “Is Delaware football back?” Montana gets it because we know what this program accomplished in the past and that it has everything in place to get back to that national level.
If anything, FCS followers want Montana to be a national contender. It’s better for the FCS when the Griz are good, now more than ever…
Are they ready to challenge NDSU for that throne? If there is a year they can, it’s 2022 with the amount of depth and standout seniors on this roster. Yet, as we saw last season in Frisco during the NDSU vs. Montana State championship game and in the quarterfinal game between Montana and James Madison, the gap was still evident between Tier 1 teams and Tier 2 teams (regardless of some key injuries in those games).
Montana has the kind of defense this season you need to win a national title. What will determine if the Griz are legit national title contenders is the QB play. They need a gamer like Dalton Sneed, not a game manager. More offensive explosion is needed. Can Johnson be that playmaker?
But perhaps even more important than QB play is the OL. It’s a unit that has gotten stronger year after year in Bobby Hauck’s system. But even a pretty good o-line won’t win you a national championship. You need a great, probably even an elite line to do so.
What will define Montana as officially being back? Is it playing for a national title? Is it winning a national title? The 2022 Montana team is probably good enough to win a championship if it was 2011 or 2012. But the standard has skyrocketed on what it takes to hoist the trophy in Frisco. Then again, the standard for this program is always sky-high.
Here’s hoping Montana can reach its own standard and the FCS’ standard to make the championship picture a multi-team race.
NEXT: FCS Jersey Countdown
