College Football Upset Picks for Week 0 (Bet on Memphis to Upset UNLV on Saturday)

The long offseason is over. College football is finally back in our lives this weekend, when eight different games take place across the country in Week 0 action.

Nothing hits better than cashing in on an underdog to pull off an upset, so we're going to look at this weekend's slate and target a couple of teams to win outright at plus-money.

College Football Week 0 Upset Picks

Hawaii +157 vs. Stanford via Caesars
Memphis +165 vs. UNLV via BetMGM

Hawaii vs. Stanford Best Bet

Pick: Hawaii +157

Hawaii's quarterback, Micah Alejandro, is poised for a huge season. The sophomore was beyond impressive as a freshman. He threw for 3,106 yards, 24 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He gets to open his season against a Stanford defense that significantly struggled last year, ranking 96th in opponent EPA.

Stanford didn't do enough this offseason to fix its defense with 62% of its production from last year returning. That means that for the Cardinal to win, its offense is going to have to match the production that'll be put forward by Alejandro and the Rainbow Warriors.

There's a big question mark at quarterback for Stanford. Davis Warren will begin the season as their starter. The former Michigan quarterback missed the entire 2025 season with an injury, but his 2024 numbers were less than impressive. He threw seven touchdowns but nine interceptions in 209 attempts that year, so he's going to have to improve for the Cardinals to be a threat offensively.

I'll back the Rainbow Warriors to take down Stanford in Week 0 for the second year in a row.

Memphis vs. UNLV Best Bet

Pick: Memphis +165

These two teams had two of the best rushing attacks in the nation last year, but it was Memphis that was much better at defending the run. They ranked 18th in the country in opponent EPA per rush. Meanwhile, UNLV ranked 127th in that metric. If those numbers carry over to 2026, the Tigers are going to have the advantage on the ground.

It's hard to trust any team with a defense as bad as what UNLV has. Dan Mullen is back as their head coach, and I don't know if they did enough in the transfer portal to fix the defensive issues they had last season.

The Tigers are going to have no issue putting up points in this game, making them live to pull off the upset.

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