Week 0 is here, and that means college football is officially back. That also means it's time to grab favorable lines before sharps start hammering them.
A pair of underdogs have caught my eye, and when you pair them together, you’re looking at a payout of north of 6-1 to start your college football season off right.
Let's dive into my college football picks and NCAAF parlay for Week 0.
College Football Picks, Parlay for Week 0
Parlay Odds: +695 (FanDuel)
NC State vs Virginia Pick
Let’s unpack the NC State-Virginia matchup.
The Wahoos finished 11-3 last season, but I’m here to tell you they were a slightly above-average team masquerading as a College Football Playoff contender. They won three games in overtime and four games total by six points or less.
Of their 11 wins, four came against teams that finished 99th or lower in the final SP+ rankings, and another came over FCS William & Mary.
When they traveled to Raleigh to take on this same Wolfpack team, they squandered their red-zone opportunities — two touchdowns in five trips — and fell, 35-31.
Now, the Cavaliers are faced with an offensive rebuild. They lost their starting quarterback, top two rushers, top three wide receivers and their All-ACC first-team center.
While everything clicked last season, head coach Tony Elliott and his staff are counting on a lot of new pieces gelling in short order, and that starts with Beau Pribula at quarterback.
The dual-threat signal-caller is now on his third school in as many years, and while he’s a dynamic runner, he struggles to protect the football.
Turnover margin was a big ingredient in Virginia’s secret sauce last season, and I’m skeptical that Pribula can avoid turnover-worthy plays and sacks after what he put on tape last season at Mizzou (12 TWPs, 25 sacks in 10 games).
As for NC State, the Wolfpack return a difference-maker at quarterback in junior CJ Bailey. The 6-foot-6 pocket passer finished 12th nationally in QBR (79.4) and orchestrated an upset of No. 8 Georgia Tech.
Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren, now in his 14th year at NC State, gave Bailey some new weapons when he plucked Joshisa Trader and Victor Snow from the portal.
Trader is the former blue-chipper looking to break out, and Snow arrives as a proven commodity with 19 career touchdowns at Buffalo.
Speaking of Doeren, he has owned Virginia, sporting a perfect 4-0 mark straight up against the Cavaliers. I think he makes it five straight while exposing the Hoos as nothing more than an also-ran in the ACC this season.
Memphis vs UNLV Pick
The second leg of this Week 0 parlay kicks off at 10 p.m. ET out in Sin City.
UNLV, much like Virginia, is trying to validate a double-digit win season by hitting the ground running. But just like the Cavaliers, the Rebels' QB1 replacement gives me pause.
Jackson Arnold was an abject failure at Auburn. He threw two touchdowns in SEC play while taking 23 sacks. That was also his problem at Oklahoma; he simply doesn’t process fast enough to avoid sacks.
And in this game, he’s facing a Lance Guidry defense. In Guidry’s last two stops as a defensive coordinator at Marshall and Miami, his defenses’ average national finish in sack rate was 17th.
He finds ways to heat up opposing passers, and he has the best G6 transfer portal haul along the defensive line to make it happen.
J'Mond Tapp, who posted 12 tackles for loss in 2025, will likely introduce himself to Arnold before the end of the first drive.
Offensively, Kevin Decker is calling the shots for Memphis. To put it lightly, it’s an inspired hire by Charles Huff. The former Old Dominion offensive coordinator turned the Monarchs into a terrifying rushing machine that ranked seventh nationally with 238 yards per game.
He did this by leaning on a running quarterback, and he has two quality options to choose from here at Memphis. Air Noland was once a top-10 high school quarterback recruit, and Marcus Stokes dominated the D-II scene at West Florida last season.
Stokes’ 10 rushing touchdowns indicate that he may be the perfect fit in Decker’s scheme.
Last season, UNLV’s defense left a lot to be desired (SP+ 89th), and now it's facing a near rebuild (104th in returning production).
Paul Guenther struggled to contain running quarterbacks last fall as UNLV’s defensive coordinator, and that won’t change in this opener.
Whether it’s Noland or Stokes, Memphis will move the football and score the Week 0 upset.
