Week Zero proved itself as an excellent appetizer for the absolute football buffet that is Week One of the 2025 College Football season. All three plays of our Week Zero plays got home, and we’re coming in hot to Week One. We’ve gone through the Week One slate, and have three more choice cuts to build an Underdog Fantasy college football entry with. This week’s menu looks even tastier than what we served up last week!
Keep in mind that playing all three legs of our plays in Underdog Fantasy could win you 6X your money on a single entry. Let’s dig into this week’s plays and remember to let it ride!
Underdog Fantasy College Football Picks: Week One
Matt Dewoskin Underdog Fantasy College Football Pick Em Record (Est 8/22/2025)
All Pick Em Selections: 3-0-0
Perfect 3-0 Pick Em Entries: 1-0
Joey Aguilar Higher Than 213.5 Passing Yards
This is one of the easiest plays on the board this week. Joey Aguilar gets to start his career with the Volunteers in a dome against a Syracuse pass defense that allowed 230.1 yards per game last year. The Tennessee passing offense struggled last year, with Nico Iamaleava having to face SEC defenses. However, a move to a veteran like Aguilar may be an upgrade.
Aguilar started each of the last two seasons at Appalachian State and threw for over 3,000 yards each year. The only Power 4 school that Aguilar faced last year was Clemson, and he managed to throw for exactly 214 yards against a stingy ACC defense early in the year. He also threw for 275 yards against North Carolina in Week Two of the 2023-24 season.
Aguilar gets his first opportunity to throw to SEC receivers this weekend, and he should make the most of it on turf against a Syracuse defense that isn’t anything special. Sophomore Mike Matthews was a 4-star recruit and is a legitimate freak athlete. Chris Brazzell II is a big-bodied senior who was solid at Tulane before transferring to Tennessee. Braylon Staley was also a 4-star recruit who starred in track, and is in his second year as a redshirt Freshman. He also has senior tight end Miles Kitselman to check down to.
Aguilar has weapons, and the Tennessee offense will be looking to send a message after the off-season drama with Iamaleava. Lock up Aguilar to fly over 213.5 passing yards against Syracuse in your Underdog Fantasy college football entry.
Conor Talty Higher Than 3.5 XP Made
This pick is our way of saying ‘Alabama is going to wreck Florida State’. Conor Talty is a redshirt sophomore listed as PK1 on the Crimson Tide depth chart. He’s kicked four extra points in his college career and nailed all four. Talty was a 3-star recruit in 2023. He should get all the kicking duties moving forward.
The Alabama team total is listed at 31.5 points. That means the books favor the Crimson Tide to find the end zone at least four times against a Florida State defense that may struggle to keep up.
Alabama should win the battle between its offensive line and the Florida State defensive line. That means that there will be holes for the ground game and time for Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson to find receivers.
Also, Florida State quarterback Tommy Castellanos chose to give Alabama a bit of bulletin board material. Castellanos said that “they don’t have Nick Saban to save them.” Bad move, Tommy. Look for the Crimson Tide to run this one up if they get the chance, and that means more opportunities for Talty to knock in more than 3.5 extra points. Make sure you add this kicking play to your Underdog Fantasy college football entry.
Ismail Mahdi Higher Than 54.5 Rushing Yards
It’s hard to base a pick on what we saw in Week Zero, but the Hawaii defense struggled to contain the Stanford ground game. It was only when Stanford quarterback Ben Gulbranson dropped back to pass that the Cardinal got into trouble.
Stanford running back Micah Ford ran 26 times and racked up 113 yards against the Rainbow Warriors’ rush defense last week. This week? Hawaii has to travel to Arizona to face the Wildcats and running back Ismail Mahdi. This is Mahdi’s first start for the Wildcats after transferring to the desert from Texas State.
Mahdi comes into this game averaging 5.5 yards per carry on 510 carries in his college career. He’s listed as RB1 on the depth chart and should come into this one ready to shred the Rainbow Warriors’ rush defense again.
Arizona played New Mexico in Week One last year, and both Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Quali Conley went over 90 yards as the Wildcats wrecked the Lobos. This game has a chance to be equally one-sided, and Mahdi should clear 54.5 yards with ease. Lock up Mahdi to go higher than 54.5 rushing yards in your Underdog Fantasy college football entry for Week One.
The College Football Experience
For more analysis on every college football game for the 2025 season, make sure you tune into The College Football Experience. Colby Dant and Moneyline Mac talk about each game on the entire slate for every week of the college football season. Listen for input on ATS and moneyline college football picks every week!
