MISSOULA — The Montana Grizzlies have added a pair of one-off football games to the 2026 and 2027 football schedules, featuring matchups against an old conference foe from the FBS ranks and a first-time opponent that advanced to the FCS playoffs last season.
Montana will travel to Corvallis, Oregon, on Sept. 19, 2026, to face Oregon State of the re-established Pac-12 at Reser Stadium. The Griz will then open the 2027 schedule at home with a matchup against Lehigh University of the Patriot League on Sept. 4 in Missoula.
Montana and Oregon State were co-members of the Pacific Coast Conference from 1924-1950 until the Grizzlies departed for the old Skyline Conference in 1951. The Griz and Beavers have faced each other 16 times over the years, dating back to the first meeting in 1925. While Montana has a 2-12-2 all-time record against Oregon State, the Grizzlies have won the previous two meetings.
UM last beat OSU 35-14 in the 1996 season opener en route to a 14-1 record and a trip to the Division I-AA national championship game at Marshall under head coach Mick Dennehy. The Griz also beat the Beavers 22-15 in the 1990 season opener in Corvallis with Grady Bennett at quarterback under coach Don Read.
Lehigh comes to Missoula to kick off the 2027 season in a first-time matchup between the schools, historically a pair of the most successful in FCS history. The Griz and Mountain Hawks are two of less than 30 teams currently in the subdivision that boast more than 600 wins in program history. Lehigh played its first year of college football in 1884, while Montana would not start a program for more than a decade in 1897.
Based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, roughly an hour and a half northwest of Philadelphia, Lehigh is coming off a Patriot League championship season in 2024, going 9-4 overall and 5-1 in conference play to share the title with Holy Cross and receive the league’s automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs.
Lehigh defeated No. 9 Richmond on the road 20-16 in the first round before traveling to Moscow to face Idaho in the second, falling to the Vandals 24-13.
The Grizzlies now have one remaining open date in both 2026 and 2027 before the schedules are complete. Montana also has future non-conference games scheduled for 2028 against Monmouth and a home-and-home series against Incarnate Word in 2028 and 2029.
In 2025, Montana will play an FCS-record eight home games starting with Central Washington in the season opener on Sept. 6 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula. Highlights on the schedule also include home games against North Dakota, Idaho, Eastern Washington and Montana State, with Homecoming set for Oct. 11 against Cal Poly.
Future Griz Football Schedules
2025 Schedule
| 9.6 | Central Washington |
| 9.13 | North Dakota |
| 9.20 | Indiana State |
| 9.27 | Idaho |
| 10.4 | @ Idaho State |
| 10.11 | Cal Poly |
| 10.18 | Sacred Heart |
| 10.25 | @ Sacramento State |
| 11.1 | @ Weber State |
| 11.8 | Eastern Washington |
| 11.15 | @ Portland State |
| 11.22 | Montana State |
2026 Schedule
| 9.5 | Open |
| 9.12 | Utah Tech |
| 9.19 | @ Oregon State |
| 9.26 | Portland State |
| 10.3 | @ UC Davis |
| 10.10 | Sacramento State |
| 10.17 | Open |
| 10.24 | @ Idaho |
| 10.31 | Idaho State |
| 11.7 | @ Northern Arizona |
| 11.14 | Northern Colorado |
| 11.21 | @ Montana State |
2027 Schedule
| 9.4 | Lehigh |
| 9.11 | Open |
| 9.18 | Utah Tech |
| 9.25 | @ Cal Poly |
| 10.2 | Weber State |
| 10.9 | @ Northern Colorado |
| 10.16 | @ Portland State |
| 10.23 | Open |
| 10.30 | UC Davis |
| 11.6 | Northern Arizona |
| 11.13 | @ Eastern Washington |
| 11.20 | Montana State |
2028 Schedule
| 9.1 | Monmouth |
| 9.9 | @ Incarnate Word |
2029 Schedule
| 9.8 | Incarnate Word |
