Getty Head coach Bobby Hauck and the Montana Grizzlies kick their 2023 season off against Butler.
The Butler Bulldogs (0-0) and the Montana Grizzlies (0-0) will kick their respective seasons off on Saturday, September 2 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
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The game will be televised locally on SWX and ABC/Fox Montana, but if you don’t live locally or don’t have any of those channels, you can watch a live stream of the game on ESPN+:
ESPN+ includes hundreds of college football games in 2023, plus dozens of other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary and additional original content (both video and written) for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year (or $13.99 per month for a bundle of all three of ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu).
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch Butler vs Montana live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com.
Compatible devices for the ESPN app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X/S, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Samsung Smart TV, Oculus Go, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
Butler vs Montana Football 2023 Preview
The Bulldogs finished the 2022 campaign with a 7-4 mark, putting up 27.3 points a game on offense, while surrendering 22.18 points per contest on defense.
On the other side, Montana will be led yet again on offense by reigning Pioneer Football League Offensive Player of the Year Bret Bushka, who amassed 3,004 total yards and 25 touchdowns as a redshirt junior last season.
“The comfortability as a whole has gotten a lot higher because it’s not just basic stuff anymore,” Bushka said. “We can kind of take it to a higher level, upperclassmen-type level within the offense. Working with him for a year and a half now since he’s been here, two spring balls ago, knowing how he thinks, he knows how I think, he knows how all the quarterbacks think. So, getting that comfortability with each other and that bond, it’s real strong.”
On the other side, the Grizzlies finished with an 8-5 overall record last season, going 4-4 in the Big Sky Conference. Montana put up just over 36 points per contest on offense, while giving up 21.3 points a game on defense. The Grizzlies lost players on both sides of the ball, however, so they’re going to look a bit different this year.
Both sophomore Sam Vidlak and senior Clifton McDowell have been competing for the starting quarterback spot, and a starter has not been announced heading into the game.
“We have quarterbacks that we like that are competing to be our starter,” Grizzlies head coach Bobby Hauck said. “I know you guys are looking for an end to that or a conclusion to that. But there’s just not going to be an end to that in the first game. Whoever takes the first snap, it doesn’t mean they’re the permanent starter or anything like that.”
Despite question marks at the quarterback position, the Grizz are feeling confident heading into the season. “I think we’re going to be an explosive unit,” Montana offensive lineman AJ Forbes said about the team’s offense. “I’m excited about how we’ve looked in the offseason during spring ball and through the offseason. Going into training camp, I expect us to be a really explosive offense this year.”
This will be the first time these two teams have ever faced each other.
Ron Davis will serve as the play-by-play man for the televised broadcast, with former Grizzly QB Grady Bennett serving as analyst and Shaun Rainey serving as sideline reporter.