Wake Forest Football has revealed plans to face off against Oregon State in upcoming games, initiating the series next year in lieu of a canceled match against Mississippi that irked Rebels coach Lane Kiffin.
The announcement of the series with Oregon State was made by Wake Forest on Wednesday morning. The Demon Deacons will head west to Corvallis in 2025, and the Beavers will reciprocate the visit to Winston-Salem in 2029 or potentially sooner.
Despite this new development, Wake Forest has assured it will uphold the terms of its original agreement with Ole Miss, which dates back to 2014. The details of the buyout to cancel the game with Ole Miss were not disclosed by the school.
John Currie, the athletics director at Wake Forest, emphasized in a statement, “We are committed to making decisions that best serve our program and our student-athletes, and that includes bringing national games to Winston-Salem. We have a high degree of respect for Ole Miss and their fans, but given the financial landscape in college athletics, securing this two-game series with Oregon State was the right business decision.”
Following a 40-6 defeat by the fifth-ranked Rebels on the road last Saturday, Kiffin claimed that Wake Forest had already informed Ole Miss of its decision to forego the return match next year. Kiffin expressed displeasure at Wake Forest’s actions, calling it a violation of an “unwritten rule” and expressing frustration over the need to find a replacement game.
Oregon State joins Washington State as entities remaining from the Pac-12, which underwent significant membership changes this year with teams moving to the ACC, Big 12, and Big Ten conferences. The Pac-12 also recently announced the addition of four Mountain West teams in 2026.
No current ACC team has played at Corvallis while part of the conference. Former Pac-12 members California and Stanford, now members of the ACC, were regular opponents of Oregon State.
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