College football returns this weekend with an appetizer. Week 0 features 5 games this season, only 1 of which includes power conference teams on both sidelines. We do get a legitimately high-stakes battle between Big 12 contenders in Dublin, and that’s where the bulk of my attention will be this weekend.
I gave my thoughts on the 5-game slate earlier this week. From a bettor’s perspective, here’s what I’m targeting.
As always, the best price at the time of publication is listed in parentheses, but shop around at any of your preferred sports betting apps.
2024 season record: 31-33
2024 postseason record: 2-4
Week 0 schedule, odds
SDS has you covered with live, up-to-date college football betting odds this season. You can find point spreads, game totals, and money line odds for each of the 5 Week 0 games below.
Bet Dylan Edwards over 60 rushing yards vs. Iowa State (-230 via FanDuel)
Part of Tuesday’s preview of the Week 0 game between No. 22 Iowa State and No. 17 Kansas State was heavily centered around a Cyclone run defense that wasn’t very good last year and might struggle to even maintain that level in 2025. They stuffed a bunch of runs but offset that strength by giving up a ton of explosives. Only 13 FBS teams gave up a higher explosive run rate to opposing offenses than Iowa State’s 16.4%.
And they have to replace their top 3 defensive linemen from that group.
Enter Dylan Edwards, the rising K-State junior running back who ended his sophomore season with the kind of bang that would make Mike Breen smile. Edwards was a jitterbug kind of player at Colorado as a true freshman, doing damage as a runner and receiver. He transferred to Kansas State for his sophomore season and spent most of the year in a timeshare with DJ Giddens.
But Giddens is now in the NFL. And in the bowl game against Rutgers, when Giddens sat and Edwards got to dominate the backfield touches, he absolutely roasted a Big Ten defense. He had 223 all-purpose yards — the second-most by a Wildcat in a bowl game in school history. He had 196 rushing yards — the most by a Wildcat in a bowl game in school history. He scored twice, including on a 65-yard explosion.
The potential exists for Edwards to clear this number one 1 or 2 carries. He’s that electric. But if the game is more methodical, I still think he can have a productive debut.
Last fall, Iowa State played 14 games. In 8 of those games, the Cyclones’ opponent had a running back go off. Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson (1.1 yards per carry better than his season average), Arkansas State’s Devin Spencer (0.6), Houston’s Stacy Sneed (2.8), UCF’s RJ Harvey (1.0), Kansas’s Devin Neal (0.6), Cincinnati’s Corey Kiner (1.0), Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo (4.8), and Miami’s Damien Martinez (6.5) all outperformed their season averages against the Iowa State run defense.
The great backs destroyed Iowa State. Johnson, Harvey, Skattebo, and Martinez all had over 170 rushing yards. The last 2 combined to average 11.6 yards against the Cyclones.
They got torched.
Maybe Iowa State is better in 2025. If it is going to make another run at the conference title, it needs to be. But I’m not betting on marked improvement right out of the gates, not in Week 0 and especially not with so many moving pieces. Edwards should have a fine day, with the potential for a great day. If you feel great about his role, go for a bigger number, or maybe even find an all-purpose prop that lets you factor in receiving totals. But this rushing number is as safe as it gets in the opening salvo.
Bet Avery Johnson over 47.5 rushing yards vs. Iowa State (-114 via FanDuel)
In the same way the run defense was battered by great running backs, the Iowa State run defense had a disastrous time trying to contain the mobile quarterbacks it faced last season.
UCF’s Jacurri Brown was a complete non-factor in the pass game against the Cyclones — 8-for-20, 62 yards, 2 picks — and the Knights still made the Cyclones sweat out a 3-point win. Why? Because there was no answer for Brown’s legs. He had 13 carries for 154 yards and 2 scores.
Three weeks later, Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels ran 12 times for 68 yards and a score. The following week, Cincy quarterback Brendan Sorsby ran it 13 times for 143 yards and a score. And K-State’s Avey Johnson had 64 rushing yards on 13 carries in the regular-season finale against the Cyclones.
The expectation is that Johnson will show improvement as a passer in his second season as a full-time starter. But I don’t expect Kansas State to let him throw it all over the yard in the opener. The Wildcats should have a gameplan that lets Johnson make use of his legs, but even if Iowa State is keyed in to try and take the quarterback run element away, this total gets hit with 1 or 2 third-down scrambles on a broken play. Johnson is a pro at that.
Last season, he averaged 46.5 rushing yards a game at 5.4 yards per carry. The opportunities will be there.
Bet UNLV -24.5 vs. Idaho State (-110 via BetMGM)
We get to welcome former Florida head coach Dan Mullen back to the FBS coaching ranks right away when the Rebels host an FCS visitor in the desert.
Idaho State went 5-7 last season, losing an FBS game to Oregon State 38-15. The Bengals lost a game to Utah State 78-28 in 2023. They lost a pair of buy games to UNLV (52-21) and San Diego State (38-7) in 2022. They haven’t been competitive against an FBS squad in years, but they haven’t really been competitive at all in years.
The Bengals haven’t enjoyed a winning season since 2018. From 2021-24, Idaho State is 10-35, with the losses coming by an average of 22.7 points. Fifteen of those 35 defeats came by at least 24 points.
UNLV, conversely, might be pretty powerful in 2025. Mullen approached the offseason like a coach looking to retool rather than rebuild. The Rebels completely flipped the roster, with Mullen pulling 42 players from the transfer portal. From that group, 26 came from power conference schools. That includes a pair of former 4-star running backs and former Michigan quarterback Alex Orji.
In this Week 0 matchup, UNLV should be able to run all over a smaller Idaho State team. Mullen’s RPO-heavy system fits Orji well, so I expect to see a ton of the former Wolverine regardless of who actually starts at quarterback. And the Bengals have only 4 defensive linemen on the entire roster north of 280 pounds — none of whom have any sort of experience at the FBS level.
UNLV controls the line of scrimmage and gets the Mullen era off to a roaring start at home.
21+ and present in Participating states. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Offer not available in NY.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
