Around college football many teams try to schedule a tune-up game in Week One, although it isn't always the case. Some marquee games highlight the early schedule.
Preseason No. 1 Texas travels to No. 2 Ohio State August 30. Clemson hosts LSU in a battle of Heisman favorites. Syracuse meets Tennessee at 9 a.m. PT that Saturday morning on ABC, all in just 24 days.
Meanwhile, Big Ten title contenders Penn State hosts Nevada of the Mountain West, and Indiana battles the Old Dominion Monarchs, 5-7 last season playing out of the Sun Belt Conference.
Oregon's opponent in 24 days in Autzen Stadium, Montana State falls in what fans think of as the tune-up category coming out of the Big Sky Conference, but in truth, the Bobcats are the class of the FCS, far more dangerous than a casual glance would suggest.
Oregon's Week 1 opponent - Montana State, checks in at #2 of the preseason FCS Top 25 poll. pic.twitter.com/KhYZHp1pH7
— Ted Leroux (@TedontheDucks) August 5, 2025
Last season in their opener the Ducks needed all four quarters to put away a stubborn Idaho team. The Vandals closed within 17-14 after a Jack Layne touchdown run with 9:45 to play.
It took a 10-play, 75-yard drive and a 12-yard touchdown pass from Dillon Gabriel to Tez Johnson on 4th and 2 to seal the win with 5:36 to go. A sack by Derrick Harmon and an interception by Nikko Reed finished it, but the Ducks struggled with their execution and managed just 2.9 yards a carry on the ground.
The offensive line gave up three sacks. On defense, the Ducks held their Big Sky foes to 217 yards of offense but got fooled on a couple of trick plays.
Matayo Uiagalelei had two sacks. Brandon Johnson took away a pass in the end zone, a beautiful play in the left corner. Overall, though, it was too close.
After the game Dan Lanning said, "Great teams are able to learn from from tight matches. This was a tight match, and we didn't create some of the explosive plays I was hoping we could create offensively."
In October Montana State beat Idaho 38-7, and in December they met them again in the FCS playoffs, rolling for 457 yards of offense to win 52-19. Good thing football games aren't settled by the transitive property, or the Ducks would be in a world of trouble.
In 2024 MSU made it all the way to the FCS Championship Game with a 15-1 record, losing to 10-time Division I-AA champion North Dakota State, closing within a field goal on a 19-yard pass from Tommy Mellott to Taco Dowler with 1:09 to play, 35-32.
Tommy Mellott DIME to Taco Dowler for the 19 yard TD! There's still a chance #FCSChampionship pic.twitter.com/gUenbAsIqJ
— 🏆🥇 (@fsh733) January 7, 2025
Like the Ducks the Bobcats have suffered a lot of turnover from last year's undefeated conference champion squad, but it's still a proud program that relishes the chance to show they can compete with anyone.
The Ducks will have an advantage in depth, size in the trenches and team speed, but the standard of execution they set in game one will follow them into the rest of September. With a new quarterback and a rebuilt offensive line, they'll want to be on point at home, 1 p.m. PT on the Big Ten Network.
After practice on July 31 Will Stein told the media,
"That's one thing when you think about where I want to be in week one, is I don't want to wait till week three or after to hit on all cylinders. I want to start fast and just to get that confidence early with a young group. So that's vital for me."
Game prep hasn't begun yet, but the challenge to start faster and play cleaner has already been laid down.