The 2025 college football season has finally arrived, with the Week 0 college football schedule taking place on Saturday, Aug. 23. The slate is headlined by a Big 12 matchup between Kansas State and Iowas State in Ireland, which is hosting a college football game for the 10th time. Kansas State is the pre-season favorite in the Big 12 and the Wildcats are 3.5-point favorites in the latest Week 0 college football odds.
Other Week 0 college football spreads involving Power Four teams are Kansas (-14) against Fresno State and Hawaii (-2.5) against Stanford in the nightcap. Western Kentucky (-9.5) vs. Sam Houston is the other matchup on the slate in a battle of Group of Five teams. Before locking in any college football picks for Week 0 of the 2025 season, be sure to see the college football betting guide from legendary Vegas handicapper Bruce Marshall.
For years Vegas-based Marshall was synonymous with The Gold Sheet, the famous sports betting newsletter. He has also won various handicapping titles and also is working on several book projects. Marshall crushed his 2024 college football betting picks, going 64-43 and returning more than 16 units.
Now, using his Tech Corner technique that evaluates all the trends, Marshall has turned his attention to the latest college football odds for Week 0 and evaluated each matchup. Head here to see every pick, and new users can also target the DraftKings promo code, which offers new users $200 in bonus bets instantly plus over $200 off NFL Sunday Ticket:
Top college football predictions for Week 0
One of the top college football picks Marshall is recommending for Week 0: He says the trends point to backing Fresno State (+13.5) at Kansas in a 6:30 p.m. ET matchup.
“This is Matt Entz’s debut for Bulldogs,” Marshall told SportsLine. “Fresno has covered spread in last four openers, and was 13-3 against the spread in the first eight games of the season the past two years. The Bulldogs went 6-2 vs. the spread in non-Mountain West games the past two seasons, though just 1-4 as underdogs in 2024. The Jayhawks were 0-3 vs. line in non-Big 12 games a year ago and also 1-4 ATS as chalk.” See which other picks to make here.
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How to make college football picks for Saturday, Aug. 23
Marshall has evaluated every other matchup and he’s found a critical 23-12 betting trend in one of the other Week 0 matchups. Get betting analysis for each matchup at SportsLine.
So what college football picks can you make with confidence, and what alarming trend do you need to know about in the week’s biggest game? Check out the latest college football odds below, then visit SportsLine to see which teams to back, all from the legendary Vegas expert who has won multiple handicapping titles and went 64-43 last seasons, and find out.
College football odds for Week 0
See full Week 0 college football picks, odds, predictions here
Saturday, Aug. 23
(odds subject to change)
Iowa State vs. Kansas State (-3, 49.5)
Kansas vs. Fresno State (+13.5, 51.5)
Sam Houston vs. Western Kentucky (-9.5, 60.5)
Stanford vs. Hawaii (-2.5, 53.5)
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