2025 College Football Week 0 Picks, Odds, Best Bets: All Roads Lead To Ireland

By Bill Speros Jul 30th, 2025 3:56 PM EDT

Kansas State and Iowa State kick off the college football season at 12 p.m. ET on August 23 from Dublin, Ireland. (USA TODAY)

The 2025 college football season begins on Aug. 23 when Kansas State and Iowa State meet in Dublin, Ireland.

A mere 149 days later, the national championship game occurs on Monday, January 19, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Wager responsibly in the interim.

Those two Big 12 teams cross the Atlantic Ocean to play in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic to begin Week 0 at 12 p.m. ET.

Kansas State has been installed as a 3.5-point favorite on a 49.5-point total at the top sports betting apps.

This game will be the lone CFB Division I game until Saturday evening.

The college football season poses a challenge to bettors and oddsmakers, given the unprecedented upheaval in the transfer portal. The proposed settlement of the NIL should deliver some stability in the future.

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K-State Seek Luck Of Irish In Big 12

Kansas State enters the season as the +550 co-favorite to win the Big 12 along with Arizona State. K-State finished 5-4 in the conference last season. But the Big 12 title game teams were not determined until the final Saturday of the regular season. With 2 weeks to play last season, 9 Big 12 teams, including K-State, had a mathematical chance to earn a title game berth.

K-State offers a serious parallel with Arizona State. ASU rocketed from second-to-worst-to-first in the conference last season. The Big 12 expanded to 16 teams last season, and that stretched the conference from Utah to Florida.

Elsewhere during Week 0, a handful of teams play on Saturday, including 3 from the Mountain West.

Kansas plays host to Fresno State, Stanford visits Hawaii, and Idaho State hits Sin City to face UNLV.

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Week 0 College Football Picks

Here are our Week 0 picks for the College Football Season to back on your favorite sports betting sites. 

Date	Matchup	Week 0 Picks
Sat. Aug. 23	Kansas State vs. Iowa State*	K-State -3.5 (-105) DraftKings
Sat. Aug. 23	Fresno St. at Kansas	U 51.5 Points (-110) DraftKings
Sat. Aug. 23	Stanford at Hawaii	Hawaii -1.5 (-110) DraftKings

* - Game played in Dublin, Ireland

Week 0 College Football Best Bets: Game-By-Game Analysis

Saturday, Aug. 23

Kansas St. vs. Iowa State, 12 p.m. (ESPN)

Buzz: K-State enters the season as a co-favorite to win the Big 12 at +550. The Wildcats finished 9^th in the conference last season at 5-4. K-State returns the core of its productive offense – QB Avery Johnson, RB Dylan Edwards, and WR Jayce Brown. The name of head coach Chris Klieman fails to register in Manhattan (NY, not Kansas) but expect his notoriety to grow if the ’Cats overperform. Iowa State just missed a spot in the Big 12 title game, finishing 7-2. The road to the Big 12 title begins here. And given the myriad of tiebreakers, point differential matters.

Best Bet: K-State -3.5 (-110) (-110) at DraftKings via OddsJam

Fresno State at Kansas, 6:30 p.m. (FOX)

Buzz: Kansas joins Big 12 brethren K-State and Iowa State in starting its season in Week 0. Kansas sits in the middle of the pack when it comes to odds to win the Big 12 (+1800) and its win total is 6.5. Kansas underachieved in the Big 12, going 4-5 last season. But the Jayhawks remain a tough out at home. Kansas has the numbers and size on both sides of the ball here. Shop around to get KU at -13.5 (-110) at ESPN BET and FanDuel. Or, better yet, take the under at 51.5 points as this one feels like a 34-10 type affair.

Best Bet: Under 51.5 Points at DraftKings via OddsJam

Stanford at Hawaii, 7:30 p.m. (CBS)

Buzz: Stanford remains on the wrong side of the continent to make an impact in the ACC. The Cardinal finished 2-6, tied for second-to-last in the conference last year. The Mountain West Rainbows over performed on the line last season, going 7-5 ATS and 5-7 outright. They played host to UCLA last year in this spot and easily covered as 13.5-point underdogs in a 3-point loss. Oddsmakers aren’t making the same mistake this time. Hawaii’s high-octane offense relies on quarterback Micah Alejado and receivers Nick Cenacle and Pofele Ashlock. And they boast 7 returning starters on defense.

Best Bet: Under 51.5 Points at DraftKings via OddsJam

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