On Saturday, a fresh college football season begins with a five-pack of Week 0 matchups.
The pregame narrative: Kansas State and Iowa State kick things off at noon ET in Ireland, but there’s plenty of action to follow. I’m targeting rising sophomore running back Bryson Donelson (Fresno State) in what could be a breakout game against the Kansas Jayhawks.
My +335 college football parlay picks feature a prediction on the Sam Houston State Bearkats vs. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers game.
College football picks: Week 0
Parlay: Donelson over 66.5 rush yards | Western Kentucky ML | Hawaii over 26.5 points (+335)
Donelson over 66.5 rushing yards (-110): Donelson deserves more work in the Fresno State Bulldogs’ backfield this year.
Last season as a true freshman, Donelson rushed for 6.0 yards per carry (462 yards on 77 rushes). He split time with Elijah Gilliam, who averaged 3.9 YPC (466 yards on 121 carries).
Both tailbacks have returned, but Donelson has shown enough that he should be the feature back. And against a suspect Kansas run defence, that’s all you can ask for.
Kansas’ defence ranked 124th in EPA per play last season, according to Game On Paper.
Also, though Fresno State has been a pass-heavy team in the past, I could see a different approach coming this year.
- Starting quarterback E.J. Warner, who transferred in from Rice, led the American Conference in interceptions each of the past three seasons.
- Fresno State’s new offensive coordinator, Josh Davis, schemed an offence at the University of South Dakota (FCS) last year that yielded two 1,000-yard rushers.
NCAAF parlay picks
Western Kentucky moneyline (-435): This has by far the shortest odds of the three legs, and rightfully so.
The Hilltoppers won on the road against the Bearkats last year, 31-14. Now, they’ll vie for a third win in as many seasons since Sam Houston State joined Conference USA.
SHSU is completely starting over on defence. Literally. Not a single starter is back, and even counting the players transferring in, there are only four Bearkat defenders on the roster who had 110+ FBS snaps last season.
WKU has a lot of retooling to do on offence. But at least its new QB (Maverick McIvor) and offensive coordinator (Rick Bowie) are both coming from the same FCS school, Abilene Christian.
The Hilltoppers went 5-1 at home last year (4-2 ATS) and should get off to a good start as 10-point favourites.
Hawaii over 26.5 points (-112): Andrew Luck is back with Stanford Cardinal as the general manager, and he brought in longtime NFL coach — and Super Bowl champion — Frank Reich to coach.
But a couple of notable names on the sidelines can’t put lipstick on the pig that is Stanford football.
The on-field name that matters most in this game is Micah Alejado, the sophomore quarterback for the Hawaii Warriors.
- Alejado, born in Honolulu, threw for 125 touchdowns and just four interceptions during his high school career at heralded Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas.
- In 2022, he was named national junior of the year by MaxPreps.
- During his lone start for the Warriors as a true freshman last year, Alejado completed 37 of 57 passes for 469 yards, five TDs and zero INTs. Electric stuff, even if it was against the hapless New Mexico Lobos.
Stanford allowed 33.7 PPG last season, and nine of its 12 opponents cleared this total. I’m buying into the Alejado experience at home in Week 0.
College football picks made at 1:19 p.m. on 08/22/2025.
Jordan enjoys writing data-driven game previews and analysis articles — especially for MLB markets or NFL/NBA props. And as a proud Ohio University grad, he’ll always have a soft spot for college sports (especially if the Bobcats are involved). Previous stops include mlb.com, Sportsnet and The Athletic.