College Football Upset Picks for Week 0 (Predictions for Stanford-Hawaii, Fresno State-Kansas)

Breaking down some of the best upset picks for the college football action in Week 0 of the 2025 season.

Stanford head coach Frank Reich is looking to lead the Cardinal to an upset win on Saturday. / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

College Football is back!

Week 0 begins on Saturday with a few FBS games, including a matchup between a pair of top-25 teams in Kansas State and Iowa State.

A lot is going on in the state of Kansas on Saturday, as the Jayhawks are also in action for a date with the Fresno State Bulldogs.

Even though there are a limited number of games this weekend, there is still room for some upsets to happen!

I have two games that bettors should be on the lookout for underdogs to at least cover – and potentially win – on Aug. 23. 

Best College Football Upset Picks for Week 0

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Stanford (+110) vs. Hawai’i

Both of these programs are in a bit of a rebuild, and Stanford head coach Frank Reich would love to pull off a road win in his first season leading the school.

He has a veteran signal-caller to lean on in sixth-year quarterback Ben Gulbranson, and while the Stanford defense struggled last season (116th in scoring), the new coaching staff brings in a bit of a culture reset.

Our own Sean Treppedi noted in his betting preview this week that the Hawai’i defense relies a lot on turnovers, something that a veteran like Gulbranson could avoid. 

There’s also an interesting trend with Hawai’i head coach Timmy Chang, as his groups have struggled against Power 4 teams, going 0-6 straight up.

With a lot of variance in Week 0 since we don’t have a huge body of work on these two teams, I don’t mind taking the Cardinal as short underdogs in this one. 

Fresno State (+350) vs. Kansas

If you want to get bold in Week 0, Fresno State and quarterback E.J. Warner could be worth a look as double-digit dogs against Kansas.

Treppedi likes the Bulldogs to cover the spread in this game, and while an upset is unlikely, it’s not impossible.

The Jayhawks were 103rd in the country in passing yards allowed per game last season, and Warner could take advantage after he threw for over 2,700 yards in the 2024 season. 

Kansas returns a lot of talent, including quarterback Jalon Daniels, but the Jayhawks were just 1-3 against the spread when favored at home in the 2024 campaign. 

As always with a large spread, the turnover battle will be key, but Warner has a lot of experience in his career that the Bulldogs should be able to lean on. It’s worth noting that Fresno State was able to hang tough with UCLA late in the 2024 season despite finishing under .500 in the campaign. 

This upset has a low chance of happening (hence the odds), but Kansas’ inability to cover the spread as a home favorite last season is worth noting, especially with the team facing some injuries heading into this game. 

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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