College Football Week 0 Best Bets (Jai'Den Thomas and UNLV Will Steamroll Idaho State)

Iain MacMillan | Aug 21, 2025

Jai'Den Thomas will help UNLV cover the big spread against Idaho State. / D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Football is BACK!

As is tradition, Week 0 of the college football season provides us with a perfect appetizer for the upcoming 2025 campaign. We have just five games to bet on across the board, but that's plenty enough for us to lock in a few bets to try to win some money.

If you're looking for a few bets to place, you're in the right spot. I'm going to break down my best bets for the Week 0 slate of games.

Top College Football Week 0 Picks

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

• Iowa State +3.5 (-114) vs. Kansas State
• UNLV -26.5 (-110) vs. Idaho State
• Stanford vs. Hawaii OVER 50.5 (-110)

Iowa State vs. Kansas State Prediction

Kansas State may seem like the side to back at first glance, but weird things happen in the opening week of games, especially those that take place overseas. Iowa State's newfound commitment to its run game should bode well for it in Week 0. I expect Kansas State to lean more towards the passing game than they have in years past with Matt Wells taking over play-calling, but that could wind up hurting them with the amount of talent returning in the secondary for Iowa State, including Jontez Williams.

I won't hesitate to take the 3.5 points with Iowa State.

Pick: Iowa State +3.5 (-114)

Idaho State vs. UNLV Prediction

In this week's edition of First to Forde, I broke down why this is my favorite spread bet of the week:

Dan Mullen brought in a plethora of former four-star and five-star recruits through the transfer portal this offseason. They should steamroll Idaho State from the FCS based on talent alone. Look for running back Jai’Den Thomas to hit the ground running. He averaged 5.6 yards per carry with the Rebels last season. Idaho State allowed 5.8 yards per carry against FCS competition last season. UNLV will do whatever it wants on the ground in this one.

Pick: UNLV -26.5 (-110)

Stanford vs. Hawaii Prediction

The bet to make in Saturday's finale is the OVER between Stanford and Hawaii. Stanford is going to be an interesting case with Frank Reich as the interim head coach, and I think that will result in them having a strong offense. With that being said, their defense is going to be a rough watch, and that's going to result in the Rainbow Warriors putting up plenty of points.

The offenses for both teams are going to be more effective this season than their defenses, leading to a high-scoring affair when they meet in Week 0.

Pick: OVER 50.5 (-110)

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You can check out all of Iain's bets here!