Caleb Wilfinger
It’s been a long and eventful spring and summer, and now the 2025 college football season is finally upon us. The battle for a spot in the newly revamped 12-team College Football Playoff begins on Saturday and won’t slow down until a champion is crowned next January. Last season’s National Championship game saw Ohio State knock off Notre Dame to claim its first title in a decade. Who will reach the pinnacle of the sport this season? It’s almost time to find out.
With the offseason chaos behind us and our extensive college football previews for every conference available for your reading pleasure, it’s time to get into the Week 0 slate with the return of my weekly best bets column. Much like the 2 years prior, the 2024 season was a profitable one for this column, as I finished the season on a 21-7 run to close out bowl season and the College Football Playoff. Hopefully you cashed with me!
As with most Week 0 slates in recent years, this isn’t the most exciting platter of games on paper — but there are some good value bets of which we can take advantage. At the very least, it will whet the appetite before next week’s massive slate of games. Let’s take a look at our CFB best bets for Week 0 as the college football season gets underway.
Want more college football picks? Check out our NCAAF futures betting guide for EVERY Pickswise prediction for the 2025 CFB season
CFB best bet: Sam Houston State vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Over 61 (-110)
Odds available at Caesars Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to 62.
Few games represent what life is like in the new world of college football than Saturday’s matchup in Conference USA between the Sam Houston State Bearkats and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Both of these teams are wildly different compared to where they were a season ago, and while I typically like to target the underdog in a game with this much variance, I’m going to take a look at the total and focus on what should be a high-scoring affair given the profile of these teams.
Sam Houston State was a defense-first side in 2024, as the Bearkats were one of the better units in the Group of 5 in opponent passing success rate (37th), quality drive rate (13th) and points per drive allowed (22nd). However, the offseason brought massive changes to this program, with the Bearkats losing their head coach and both coordinators following a 9-win season. Now, former NC State assistant Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay will take over a defense that returns zero starters and lost its top 16 tacklers from a season ago.
Things won’t get any easier for the Sam Houston State defense against a Western Kentucky offense that is looking to replicate the magic of Bailey Zappe and Zach Kittley from their historic 2021 campaign by bringing in quarterback Maverick McIvor (63 career touchdowns) and offensive coordinator Rick Bowie from Abilene Christian. This combination has the potential to be electric in Conference USA all season long, and McIvor and this offense should find an early groove against this brand new and unproven Sam Houston defense.
On the other side, Western Kentucky’s defense was already outside the top 100 in success rate in 2024, and the Hilltoppers are now going be without their top 12 tacklers from a season ago. In fairness, it’s not as if Western Kentucky is a program that is known for its defense, and I wouldn’t expect that to change in Week 1 against a Sam Houston offense that should be running a ton of tempo and looking to snap the ball every 20-25 seconds with new head coach Phil Longo at the controls. Given the fact that both teams have offensive play-callers who will emphasize playing with tempo and consistently taking shots downfield, the over is the only way I can look in this matchup. Grab your popcorn and get ready for some points on Saturday.
Be sure to check out our full Sam Houston vs Western Kentucky prediction
CFB best bet: Kansas State Wildcats -3 over Iowa State Cyclones (-110)
Odds widely available at time of publishing.
Unlike a season ago, the centerpiece game of this Week 0 slate belongs to the Big 12, as we’ll get “Farmageddon” between the Kansas State Wildcats and Iowa State Cyclones to kick off the 2025 campaign in Dublin, Ireland. This is a game that has massive implications within a conference that should be super competitive from start to finish. However, while both teams have aspirations of a conference title, and rightfully so, these programs are pretty different on paper, primarily when comparing the experience levels of both outfits.
While a ton of teams across the country suffered a ton of losses across both sides of the ball, Kansas State brings a ton back from last season’s team. Chris Klieman’s team is ranked inside the top 15 nationally in returning production, and the Wildcats should pick up where they left off a season ago behind 3rd-year quarterback Avery Johnson, top wide receiver Jayce Brown and veteran running back Dylan Edwards, who should all be extremely productive in Matt Wells’ offense. The Wildcats will also bring back over 60% of their defense from a season ago, which should give them a relatively high floor on that side of the ball.
As for Iowa State, the Cyclones are outside the top 40 in returning production and Matt Campbell’s team will have to replace a ton of key pieces on both sides of the ball. Rocco Becht is back at quarterback, which gives Iowa State a fairly high floor in the passing game on paper. However, given the fact that the Cyclones will have to replace its top 3 wide receivers, there could certainly be some growing pains for this unit against a Kansas State defense that should have some of the best trench play in the conference this season. On the other side of the ball, Iowa State’s defense will be without more than half of its starters from a season ago, which doesn’t bode well when heading into a matchup against a deep and experienced Kansas State side. I’ll lay the points with the Wildcats in this one.
Now find out our Iowa State vs Kansas State Same Game Parlay picks at +525 odds
