Well, sports bettors, we've officially reached the MLB All-Star Break. You all know what that means. It's time to dig into some college football action for Week 0.
One of the more intriguing matchups on the Week 0 card pits the Fresno State Bulldogs against the Kansas Jayhawks, which will take place on August 23rd at 6:30 PM EDT on FOX. You can bet that lots of hardcore college football fans will be tuned in for this one.
I've done a deep dive into this game and came up with an early best bet for your wagering pleasures. Good luck and enjoy the action!
Online sportsbooks opened this line at Kansas -14.5 back in the latter part of spring. A touch of money has come in on Fresno State, so much so that the line is now Kansas -14 at most shops in the nation. Other spots like FanDuel and ESPN Bet are even hanging Kansas -13.5.
As for the game total, there hasn't been any movement at all. The line opened at 51.5, and it hasn't moved a lick in either direction. That will likely change as we get closer to the start of the season and the betting limits open up at most sportsbooks.
The Jayhawks had a roller coaster season in 2024. They started at 1-5, with tough losses to Arizona State, Illinois, TCU, West Virginia, and UNLV. They then made an impressive push for bowl eligibility by upsetting three ranked teams in a row (Iowa State, BYU, Colorado).
Those three big victories showed just how much talent Kansas had on its roster last season. Unfortunately, though, the Jayhawks were pummeled on the road against Baylor in the season finale to ruin their bowl dreams.
KU's offense should be pretty formidable once again this season, as QB Jalon Daniels will be back under center. He's a dynamic runner, and he also has a pretty decent arm. That said, he'll definitely miss handing the ball off to former RB Devin Neal, who was drafted by the Saints in the 6th round a few months ago.
Fresno State is coming off a slightly disappointing 6-7 season, but they did earn a bowl berth in the form of the ever-so-lovable Idaho Potato Bowl. The Bulldogs ended up losing by eight points to NIU. Even though this team didn't set the world on fire, I was impressed with how closely they played Michigan and UCLA.
The Bulldogs hired Matt Entz as the new head coach back in December of last year, and I think he can re-instill the "giant-killer" mentality that this program was known for a few years ago. Entz was at USC last year, but he had all kinds of success as the head man at North Dakota State.
Entz has brought in some interesting names from the transfer portal, most notably in the receiving corps. Josiah Ayon has all the tools to be one of the top wideouts in the Mountain West, so KU will have to keep an eye on him.
Call me crazy, but I think this is way too many points to be giving a proud program like Fresno State. EJ Warner will be the new Fresno QB, and he should be able to score some points against a KU defense that lost a lot from last year.
I'm kind of an old-school football handicapper, which means I place lots of value on the big fellas up front. Fresno State's starting offensive line has four redshirt seniors and a redshirt junior. That means something in this ever-changing transfer portal era.
Fading Jalon Daniels is a scary proposition, but I could see him having a slower start to 2025. KU may pull out the outright win, but they won't cover 2 TDs. Good luck!
Fresno State was 2-1 ATS last season as a road underdog.
Kansas was just 1-3 ATS last season as a home favorite.
Kansas was 0-3 ATS last season in nonconference games.
Prediction: Kansas 31- Fresno State 21