Sam Avellone
Week 0 is officially here. College football fans will have 5 games to enjoy on Saturday, starting with an intriguing, ranked Big 12 matchup between Kansas State and Iowa State, and ending with a game between Hawaii and Stanford out on the island. With so much excitement surrounding the return of college football, I put together a parlay of my favorite Week 0 spots. Here’s a brief breakdown of my parlay picks; enjoy the action!
Kansas State ML (-160)
Kansas 1H -6.5 (-130)
Pofele Ashlock (HAW) 70+ receiving yards (-120)
Week 0 college football parlay odds: +427
Odds available at Fanatics Sportsbook at the time of publishing
Kansas State Wildcats ML over Iowa State Cyclones (-160)
I’m on Kansas State -3 and included Kansas State ML in my same game parlay, so naturally I’m going to include the Wildcats in this parlay. What could go wrong? In all seriousness, I’m a big fan of Kansas State’s run game and think it will be able to create chunk plays throughout this game against what is typically a soft 3-3-5 Iowa State run defense. The Cyclones yielded almost 189 yards per game last year, which ranked 110th in FBS, giving up 5.35 yards per attempt – 1 of the 10 worst marks in the country.
On the other side of the ball, the Cyclones will have to replace arguably the best wide receiver duo in the country in Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, both of whom eclipsed the 1,100 yard mark last year. They also accounted for 17 of Iowa State’s 25 receiving touchdowns. No one on the roster this year had more than 300 receiving yards or 2 touchdowns in this system a year ago.
I’m expecting KSU to strike early and utilize its rushing attack to control the clock and the pace of the game. Playing with a lead in this game would be a tremendous advantage for the Wildcats given how good they typically are on the ground, and would put tremendous pressure on Rocco Becht to air it out to a relatively unproven group of pass-catchers. Give me Kansas State.
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Kansas Jayhawks 1H -6.5 over Fresno State Bulldogs (-130)
It’s been quite a while since Kansas had a true home game. In fact, the Jayhawks played in makeshift home stadiums for the entire 2024 season as David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium received a $450 million face lift. Needless to say, it should be quite the atmosphere on national television on Saturday afternoon, one that will likely disrupt a Fresno State team playing on the road with just 41% of its returning production from last year.
The Bulldogs will be led by a new quarterback in E.J. Warner, who started previously at Temple and Rice. The issue is, Warner really struggles to take care of the ball. He’s thrown 37 interceptions in 3 years as a college quarterback, and it could be much worse considering he has 62 turnover-worthy throws in that time. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him throw a first-half interception while operating in a brand new offensive system on the road against a power conference opponent.
The Jayhawks have a serious quarterback advantage here, as Jalon Daniels returns for what will be his 6th season in Lawrence. His biggest issue has been availability, but when he’s healthy, he’s a difference maker. He will be joined in the backfield by senior tailback Daniel Hishaw, who should run all over this Fresno defense. Hishaw had to share the backfield with Devin Neal in previous years, but he’s ready to step in the spotlight now after averaging 5.3 yards per attempt on 282 total carries at Kansas thus far. In what should be a lively home environment, expect the Jayhawks to jump out to an early lead over the Bulldogs by creating havoc against a largely inexperienced offensive line and turnover-prone quarterback, while capitalizing on early offensive possessions with its veteran backfield.
Pofele Ashlock (HAW) 70+ receiving yards (-120)
The Rainbow Warriors love to pass the ball. For reference, there were 480 total pass attempts in their offense last year compared to just 332 rush attempts. They will have a new quarterback in Micah Alejado, but expect Timmy Chang’s group to stick with what they know – airing the ball out. A direct beneficiary of the pass-happy offense should be Pofele Ashlock, who has been Hawaii’s 2nd-leading receiver over the last 2 years – accumulating more than 1,400 yards on 144 receptions in that span. In fact, Ashlock was the leader in targets last year despite playing 1 less game than Nick Cenacle, who finished with more yards.
With 2 years of longevity as a primary target, Ashlock figures to be fed early and often, and I don’t see the Cardinal putting up much resistance even with a top 10 mark in returning defensive production. This Stanford stop-unit was the 4th-worst pass defense in the country last year from a yards per game perspective, allowing more than 280 yards per game along with the 3rd-most touchdowns in FBS. For what it’s worth, Ashlock surpassed this number 6 times last year, including in 5 straight games to start the season, after doing it 6 times in 2023. He’s a play-maker and a staple in this passing attack. Expect him to get plenty of looks.
