Oregon State's rebuild gets its first real gut-check three games in: a Montana team good enough that beat writers are already calling it a trap game, and the first Griz-Beavers meeting since 1996.
Bush’s Picks
MONTORST
MONTORST
OverUnder
Best BetMontana
There's no line up yet, but this profiles as a live spot for Montana regardless of price. The Griz return the best skill-position trio in the FCS in Ah Yat, Gillman, and Davis, while Oregon State is starting a brand-new coach, quarterback, and running back just three games into a fresh era. Back Montana here, whatever number eventually goes up.
Montana
+Returns FCS' top passer in Keali'i Ah Yat
+Gillman closing in on all-time Big Sky rushing marks
+Predicted top-3 Big Sky finish, Nashville-or-bust hopes
−Zero returning O-line starters with 200+ snaps
−Cornerback room has no returning starters either
−First-year head coach Bobby Kennedy after Hauck's exit
Oregon State
+Home game at Reser Stadium, first meeting since 1996
−Went 2-10 last year, lost 3 games by 4 points or fewer
−Historically brutal red zone: 11 empty trips inside 20
−Backfield gutted, leaning on unproven transfer AJ Newberry
Both sidelines will be led by first-year head coaches on Saturday, September 19. Oregon State handed the keys to JaMarcus Shephard, an offensive-minded hire tasked with rebuilding a program that went 2-10 a year ago. Montana countersforward with Bobby Kennedy, who inherited a roster still carrying serious championship expectations after Bobby Hauck's abrupt exit. Neither staff has called a game together yet when this one kicks off at Reser Stadium.
The name doing the most damage to Oregon State's optimism is Eli Gillman. The Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year needs just 393 rushing yards to break the conference's all-time rushing record and only 4 more touchdowns to own that mark too. He's paired with QB Keali'i Ah Yat, who led all of FCS in passing yardage last season, and Freshman All-American receiver Brooks Davis. That's about as complete a skill-position group as an FBS team will see from a lower-division opponent all year.
Show fees
10:00 PM CT
Spread
ML
Total
MONT Montana
ORST Oregon State
Oregon State isn't walking into this blind, though. Shephard wants to throw the ball early and often, and he inherits a Beavers offense that was historically inefficient in the red zone last year — 11 empty trips inside the 20 was a big reason three separate games slipped away by 4 points or fewer. The backfield is also brand new, with Vanderbilt transfer AJ Newberry replacing departed starters Anthony Hankerson and Salahadin Allah.
Montana Grizzlies
Oregon State Beavers
Sep 12?vs Texas Tech—
Sep 5?@ Houston—
Recent form.
Montana isn't walking in spotless either. The Griz return zero offensive linemen who played over 200 snaps last season, and the cornerback room is in the same boat — nobody back with meaningful starting experience. That's the tension of this whole matchup: a top-shelf skill group trying to function behind a green line, against a rebuilding Power Conference team that still can't finish drives.
Analysts have Montana finishing third in the Big Sky with real postseason aspirations — Nashville-or-bust, as the preview crowd is calling it. For Oregon State, this is a much simpler equation: prove Year 1 under Shephard isn't a repeat of the collapse that got the previous staff fired, starting with not losing an FCS crossover game at home.
