The 2025 college football Week 0 slate is huge for the Big 12, and the early-season showcase for this conference extends beyond the 12 p.m. EDT (all times Eastern) Farmaggedon headliner between No. 22 Iowa State and No. 17 Kansas State.
At 6:30 p.m., Kansas gets its 2025 campaign underway with a visit from Mountain West foe Fresno State.
The Jayhawks are coming off a disappointing 2024 season after going 9-4 in 2023 and finishing the year No. 23 in the AP poll.
Fresno State won at least eight games in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The Bulldogs slipped to 6-7 in ’24 under interim head coach Tim Skipper, who took the helm last July after Jeff Tedford had to step aside due to health concerns.
The Bulldogs hired USC Trojans linebackers coach Matt Entz to take over this offseason. Prior to his time at USC, Entz led North Dakota State to FCS national titles in 2019 and 2021.
Fresno State vs. Kansas Betting Odds
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How To Watch Fresno State vs. Kansas
- Kickoff: 6:30 p.m.
- TV: FOX
Fresno State vs. Kansas Betting Analysis
- Fresno State 2024 record: 6-7 (4-3 Mountain West)
- Kansas 2024 record: 5-7 (4-5 Big 12)
Fresno State Betting News, Outlook
The Bulldogs are an intriguing team thanks to the hire of Entz as head coach and the offseason addition of transfer QB EJ Warner, the son of the former Rams star.
Warner has been a high-volume passer throughout his career at Temple (2022, 2023) and Rice (2024).
He’s among 20 incoming transfers for the Bulldogs, who will look very different than they did a year ago as their first-year head coach looks to lead a bounce-back.
Oddsmakers list Fresno State as longer than 10-to-1 (+1100 at DK) to win the Mountain West, but it’s worth noting that the only schools with shorter odds are reigning champ Boise State, UNLV and San Jose State.
Kansas Betting News, Outlook
Kansas will likely go as Jalon Daniels go, as any fans of the Jayhawks and/or the Big 12 are well aware. A year ago, the Jayhawks started the year 1-5, with four of those losses coming by a combined 17 points. This team finished last year with a brutal record of 1-5 in games decided by 6 points or less.
Of Daniels’ 12 picks in 2024, he threw seven of them during a four-game losing streak as Kansas fell to Illinois, UNLV, West Virginia and TCU.
He played well late in the year, though, helping Kansas win four of five from Oct. 19-Nov. 23, including victories over Iowa State, BYU and Colorado. Those teams finished the season ranked Nos. 13, 15 and 25, respectively.
This offseason, Kansas lost nearly every key offensive piece besides Daniels, and it also is dealing with a ton of turnover on defense.
In a deep, unpredictable Big 12, Kansas is among a number of teams with a range of potential outcomes in 2025.
Fresno State vs. Kansas Prediction, Best Bets
Both these teams are hard to figure out given how few players they return from last year’s rosters.
Daniels — who has thrown for 6,751 yards in five seasons in Lawrence — is certainly capable of getting hot and leading the Jayhawks to a comfortable season-opening win, but Entz’s rock-solid track record makes overlooking Fresno State dicey.
The safest bet here is probably a close game early, as both of these teams have a lot to figure out after so much offseason roster — and in Fresno State’s case, coaching — upheaval.
So, let’s go with the Bulldogs to cover the first-half spread.
Best bets:
- First Half Spread Fresno State +7.5 (-112 at DraftKings) — 0.5 unit
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