College football Week 0 betting preview: Odds for Iowa State-Kansas State, Stanford-Hawaii, more
Week 0 has a few intriguing games on the slate, so let's check out the odds for the key contests from the top sportsbooks
College football fans have been waiting for months, but a new season will finally be kicking off this week. Week 0 is the appetizer ahead of a monster Week 1 that is headlined by three matchups between top-10 teams. But there is a battle between ranked foes taking place overseas in Week 0, which highlights the five contests involving FBS teams.
The 2025-26 campaign officially kicks off in Ireland on Saturday, Aug. 23, as Aviva Stadium in Dublin will host No. 22 Iowa State and No. 17 Kansas State at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN. These are two of the Big 12's four ranked teams, along with No. 11 Arizona State and No. 23 Texas Tech. At FanDuel Sportsbook, Kansas State is a +550 co-favorite to win the Big 12 Championship Game, along with Utah and Texas Tech. Iowa State possesses the seventh-shortest odds at +1200.
At Caesars Sportsbook, Kansas State is currently a 3-point favorite and -160 on the money line, while Iowa State is +135 to pull off the upset. The spread reached as low as Kansas State -2.5 and as high as Kansas State -4 before reaching its current position of Kansas State -3. Meanwhile, the total sits at 49.5 after it first opened at 49.
Another intriguing clash is between Fresno State and Kansas, with this season opener taking place in Lawrence, Kansas, at 6:30 p.m. ET on FOX. Fresno State hired Matt Entz to be its head coach this offseason, and Entz won two FCS championships in five seasons at North Dakota State. Entz's first game at the helm will be against a Jayhawks team that went 5-7 in 2024 under Lance Leipold, their first time not making a bowl game since Leipold's first season in 2021.
This spread has seen some noticeable movement as it's shifted off the key number of 14, and it's currently down to Kansas -12.5 at DraftKings Sportsbook. The total has also shifted from as high as 53.5 to now residing at 50.5. If you think Fresno State can pull off the upset to start off the Entz era, the Bulldogs are +370 on the money line while Kansas is -485.
The game where the favorite has flipped is the last matchup of the day, as Stanford takes on Hawaii at 7:30 p.m. ET on CBS. Stanford had a turbulent offseason in which it fired head coach Troy Taylor in March and replaced him with interim head coach Frank Reich. Andrew Luck was also brought in to be Stanford's general manager.
The Cardinals were first positioned as 2.5-point road favorites on the island, though the line has swung to Hawaii -2.5 at FanDuel. The total has also dropped considerably after reaching as high as 55.5, as it's now displayed at 51.5. Hawaii is -126 on the money line, while Stanford is now +105 to start the season 1-0.
