Historically speaking, Notre Dame and UConn are known to be the only two college football programs that compete as independents at the Division I FBS level.

That sentence, however, is slightly fabricated once again for the 2025 season as Oregon State will compete like an independent despite still holding membership status in the Pac-12.

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Coming off a 5-7 campaign last season, the Beavers are entering Year 2 of the Trent Bray era in Corvallis and do so with a new quarterback under center in Duke transfer Maalik Murphy, who finished just shy of 3,000 yards and 26 touchdown passes last year for the Blue Devils.

The Beavers’ status as an unofficial independent also sheds continuous light on the Pac-12 and how the once Conference of Champions is in the process of a massive rebuild due to conference realignment and the revenue share from television deals that catalyzed it.

Here’s what you need to know about which conference Oregon State is competing in this season:

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Is Oregon State football in the Pac-12 this year?

Though Oregon State is one of two members that remain from the old Pac-12 and will be part of the new Pac-12 starting in 2026, the Beavers are not competing in the Pac-12 for football in 2025. The reason for this is to be considered for an automatic selection to the College Football Playoff, a conference needs at least an eight-team membership.

What conference is Oregon State football in for 2025?

While Oregon State is still considered a member of the Pac-12, the Beavers football program is once again competing as if they were football independent.

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This is the second straight season that Oregon State is competing under this model, as the Beavers and Washington State were the lone two teams remaining from the old Pac-12 when the conference lost 10 of its members to the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC through conference realignment.

The Beavers were one of four founding members of the Pac-12, which was originally called the Pacific Coast Conference, in 1915. One of the leading factors in the downfall of the Pac-12 was the conference’s inability to construct a media rights deal that would provide its members comparable revenue shares with other members of the Pac-12.

So, because Oregon State is competing like an independent once again in football, the Beavers have had to schedule a majority of their schedule against other Division I programs — something the Oregon State baseball program did last year. Of the 12 games that Oregon State will play this season, two of them will be a home-and-home series with Washington State.

Oregon State football schedule 2025

Here’s a look at Oregon State’s full 2025 schedule, including available start times and TV channel information:

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Saturday, Aug. 30: vs. Cal | 10:30 p.m. ET | ESPN (Fubo)

Saturday, Sept. 6: vs. Fresno State | 3:30 p.m. ET | The CW Network (Fubo)

Saturday, Sept. 13: at No. 24 Texas Tech | 3:30 p.m. ET | Fox (Fubo)

Saturday, Sept. 20: at No. 7 Oregon

Friday, Sept. 26: vs. Houston | 10:30 p.m. ET | ESPN (Fubo)

Saturday, Oct. 4: at Appalachian State

Saturday, Oct. 11: vs. Wake Forest | 3:30 p.m. | The CW Network (Fubo)

Saturday, Oct. 18: vs. Lafayette | 10 p.m. ET | The CW Network (Fubo)

Saturday, Nov. 1: vs. Washington State | 7:30 p.m. ET | CBS (Fubo)

Saturday, Nov. 8: vs. Sam Houston | 10 p.m. ET | The CW Network (Fubo)

Saturday, Nov. 15: at Tulsa

Saturday, Nov. 29: at Washington State | 6:30 p.m. ET | The CW Network (Fubo)

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oregon State football conference: Beavers playing independent schedule