Football: Montana State odds

At long last we finally have a game week! In just less than 48 hours the Oregon Ducks will finally be kicking off the 2025 football campaign against the Bobcats of Montana State from the FCS ranks.

Do not let that 3 letter acronym fool you. Just because they play in a level of football that hasn’t been corrupted by greedy TV executives does not mean that Montana State is a bad football team, in fact Montana State is a very good football team.

Hythloday will have the full preview of Montana State up on the site tomorrow morning but from a results basis here are some facts about the Bobcats:

• They start this season as the Number 2 ranked FCS Team
• They have made it to the 2nd round of the FCS playoffs the past 6 non-COVID seasons
• They have made the FCS final 2 of the past 4 seasons including a heart-breaking 3 point loss to North Dakota State in the championship game last season
• They defeated FBS New Mexico on the road last season
• They defeated Oregon’s 2024 FCS opponent (Idaho) by 31 points last year
• And then defeated the Vandals by another 31 points 2 months later

In fact Bill Connelly would have Montana State favored over 50+ Group of 6 Teams, 4 power 4 teams, and 2 Big Ten Teams.

Jeff Sagarin would have Montana State and Cal as a Toss-up, and believes that the Bobcats are Oregon’s toughest opponent in the first 4 weeks of the season.

So when the line for this game opened at -27.5 on FanDuel, a smaller than typical number for a typical FBS power vs FCS team, it was no accident.

I’m not inclined to bet on the Ducks until I have confidence over the two main concerns that I gathered from Hythloday’s season preview article

1. Dante Moore’s fit in a Will Stein offence
2. The Offensive Line

Let alone bet on Oregon against a quality football team, like Montana State.