Fresno State vs Kansas Prediction 8/23/2025 Today’s College Football Picks

The Fresno State Bulldogs and the Kansas Jayhawks meet Saturday in college football action from David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Here’s a Fresno State vs Kansas prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Fresno State vs Kansas pick. We will examine: 

The Fresno State Bulldogs recent form and player performance

The Kansas Jayhawks recent form and player performance 

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Fresno State Bulldogs

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Kansas Jayhawks

Recent betting trends in games played between Fresno State and Kansas

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Fresno State vs Kansas game

Fresno State Bulldogs Betting Preview

You could look at Fresno State’s 2024 campaign in a few different ways. The good news is that the team was able to make it to a bowl game under interim head coach Tim Skipper (Jeff Tedford stepped down in July due to health issues). The bad news is that the Bulldogs ended up with a losing record overall and fell in a tough double-overtime finish in that bowl game. Fresno State was looking pretty good in late October, sporting a 5-3 record. Losses came in four of the next five games however, as the Bulldogs dropped to Hawaii, Air Force, UCLA and Northern Illinois (28-20 in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl) along the way. That would leave the team with a 6-7 mark overall, leaving them in fourth place among the Mountain West. 

Coming into this season, Fresno State gets a fresh look in the coaching staff. Matt Entz will lead the way in his first season with the team, and he’ll bring with him a couple of first-year coordinators. They’ll have to deal with quite a bit of turnover due to transfers (the WR position was hit especially hard). That said, incoming quarterback EJ Warner (Rice) should help make things interesting on offense. 

Kansas Jayhawks Betting Preview

Over on the Jayhawks’ side, they ended up with a disappointing 2024 campaign on the surface. Kansas opened the year in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2009, then limped to a 2-6 record across their first eight outings. The Jayhawks put together a great run in November though, taking out nationally-ranked teams Iowa State (17), BYU (6) and Colorado (16) in succession before a season-ending road loss to Baylor at the end of the month. Kansas would end up with a 5-7 overall record and a 4-5 mark among the Big 12, leaving the team far down the ranks of a competitive conference. 

Fifth-year head coach Lance Leipold is back at the helm for the Jayhawks, and he’ll have a new group of coordinators behind him. The team will be playing their games inside a new-look David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium after being displaced last year due to renovations. Kansas has been able to practice inside the new digs over the summer, which should help the team with some much-needed familiarity when it comes to play clock sight lines and halftime scenarios. 

Why the Kansas Jayhawks will win

• Kansas has won each of its last four season openers.
• Fresno State has lost four of its last five games.
• Kansas has covered the spread in five of its last six games at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
• Fresno State has failed to cover the spread in three of its last four games as an underdog against non-AP-ranked teams.

Why the Fresno State Bulldogs will win

• Kansas has lost four of its last five games as a favorite against non-AP-ranked teams.
• The underdog has won three of Kansas’ last four games at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
• Kansas has failed to cover the spread in seven of its last eight home openers.
• Fresno State has covered the spread in each of its last four road games against non-conference opponents.

Total Points Facts

• Five of Kansas’ last six games against non-conference opponents have gone UNDER the total points line.
• Four of Fresno State’s last five season openers have gone UNDER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

• Kansas ranked 2nd among FBS teams for 3rd down conversion percentage last season (50.7).
• Kansas ranked 13th among FBS teams for rushing yards per game last season (211.4).
• Fresno State ranked 5th among FBS teams for Q2 opponent points per game last season (3.9).
• Fresno State ranked 12th among FBS teams for average point differential in second quarters last season (+5.8).

Fresno State vs Kansas Prediction 

I’ve got to stay with Kansas here. The Jayhawks kicked off last season with a major whimper, however their November run helped reenergize the team on the national stage. There are already some injury issues plaguing the team, but hopefully QB Jalon Daniels will be able to avoid that bug this season and help build some momentum. Thanks to all the turnover among the coordinators, there’s plenty of work to do when it comes to creating chemistry on both sides of the ball this year. It also won’t be a small feat to replace the production of RB Devin Neal. That said, if Kansas can gel quickly the team could do a bit of damage on the schedule this season. There are some winnable games early on, starting with this one.