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College football is known for many things, and one of the driving forces that gets fans glued to TVs is the prospect of an upset. We've already seen some notable upsets in the early stages of 2025, such as Florida State over Alabama in Week 1, South Florida knocking off Boise State and Florida, Texas A&M winning a thriller at Notre Dame and, last week, Syracuse beating Clemson on the road despite being a 17.5-point underdog. will wee see any more upsets this week?

If you're interested in college football betting on underdogs, we've got you covered. As we do every week, we're highlighting five underdogs who we feel can knock off a favored opponent. One of our picks is facing the No. 1 team in the country, Ohio State.

All spreads and money line odds are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook.

Washington (+8.5, +260) vs. Ohio State (DraftKings)

Something's gotta give on Saturday at Husky Stadium. Ohio State has won 19 straight road games against unranked foes while Washington has won 22 straight home games, the second-longest streak in the country. The Buckeyes are 3-0 with a close win over Texas to open the year and two blowouts after. The Huskies are also 3-0 with blowout wins over Colorado State, UC Davis and Washington State, and they haven't punted or turned the ball over since Week 1. 

The Huskies were a sleeper in the Big Ten ahead of 2025 after going 6-7 last year, and offensively they've been among the nation's best teams thanks to a stellar trio of dual-threat quarterback Demond Williams, running back Jonah Coleman and receiver Denzel Boston. Those three have all gotten off to great starts against lesser foes, and this week is a far different task against a loaded OSU defense that has a longtime NFL coach Matt Patricia running the show.

While Texas was supposed to be the Buckeyes' top foe early in the year, the Longhorns didn't appear to have the full playbook going on offense, with Arch Manning and the offense looking quite outmatched in Week 1. The Buckeyes have a dominant safety in Caleb Downs who will be a key player to watch here. The Huskies will need cornerback Tacario Davis back to contend with the dynamic receiving duo of Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate.

This line opened at Ohio State -14 and is down to -8.5 as more buzz heads the Huskies' way. This is a chance for Washington to show it's ready to take the next step forward this season.

Illinois (+6.5, +205) vs. USC (DraftKings)

Illinois was ranked No. 9 last week heading into its matchup with Indiana, but the Illini were road underdogs and wound up losing 63-10. Who in their right mind would throw them out there as a road underdog to watch in Week 4? Anyways ...

The Illini are looking to bounce back this week with another ranked Big Ten foe on the schedule in USC. This week, Illinois is at home, where Bret Bielema's squad went 6-1 last year. Luke Altmyer had just 146 yards and a touchdown against Indiana last week, and he's looking to show why he had so much buzz centered around him this offseason as one of the Big Ten's top quarterbacks.

Speaking of top Big Ten quarterbacks, one of the best QBs not just in the conference but the nation, is in this game with USC's Jayden Maiava. The UNLV transfer already has over 1,200 yards along with 11 total touchdowns, and it looks like he's continuing Lincoln Riley's quarterback pipeline that already includes NFL starters like Jalen Hurts, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Caleb Williams. 

We know the Trojans will score points, but can they keep points off the board against a good quarterback in Altmyer? USC just allowed 31 points to Michigan State last week. Shootouts can get hectic, and that can help underdogs stay in games against favored foes. Illinois can put points on the board so if USC doesn't clean things up defensively on the road, the Trojans could be handed their first loss of the year.

Arizona (+6.5, +195) at Iowa State (FanDuel)

Matt Campbell's Cyclones are off to a 4-0 start and are now ranked in the top 15, but some of their wins don't look quite as good in hindsight. Kansas State, Iowa State's first opponent of the year, has struggled early this year, and the Cyclones mustered just 24 points in a slim win over Arkansas State last week. 

Iowa State now welcomes Arizona to town, and the Wildcats look much improved from last year. Brent Brennan's first year in Tuscon didn't go as planned, with the Wildcats going 4-8 despite entering the year as a favorite in the Big 12. Arizona is 3-0 so far this year with 111 points scored. 

Wildcats QB Noah Fifita has had a resurgent start to 2025. He was great in 2023 under then-coach Jedd Fisch, who's now at Washington, but he didn't have the best 2024 season under Brennan, even with Tetairoa McMillan at receiver. Fifita has passed for over 700 yards with nine total touchdowns so far, and he and the Wildcats face their first big challenge in Iowa State, which is allowing 14.25 points per game this year.

This game being on the road makes it tougher for Fifita and Co. as the Cyclones went 6-1 in Ames last season. But Fifita won 10 games as a starter in 2023 and lost by just a score to highly-ranked USC and Washington teams that year. He's shown big-game ability in the past, and on the road at Iowa State is as good a time as any to showcase that ability once again.

Kentucky (+6.5, +172) at South Carolina (FanDuel)

Two SEC teams are looking for their first conference wins of the year when Kentucky visits South Carolina. The Wildcats are 2-1 with wins over Toledo and Eastern Michigan while the Gamecocks have lost consecutive conference tilts to Vanderbilt and Missouri.

The Wildcats' lone loss was a narrow 30-23 decision to Ole Miss, which is undefeated to kick off 2025. Kentucky hasn't had the most consistent quarterback play yet, but the Wildcats have had success running the ball, especially with Seth McGowan, who has 275 yards and six touchdowns this season. 

The Gamecocks going 2-2 to begin the year is disappointing as many pegged South Carolina as a College Football Playoff contender after a strong finish to 2024. That's still in the cards, though the Gamecocks can't afford another loss, and they really need quarterback LaNorris Sellers to take games over like he did a year ago.

The Wildcats can use the run game to kill clock and limit possessions and if the Ole Miss game is any indication, Kentucky has the ability to hang with top teams. The Rebels are a better team at this stage than the Gamecocks, so South Carolina better not look past Kentucky with its eyes set on LSU after its bye week next week.

California (+6.5, +176) at Boston College (FanDuel)

It'll always be hard to picture California, a university bordering the Pacific Ocean, being in the Atlantic Coast Conference facing teams like Boston College in ACC conference play. But that's where we're at in 2025, and the Golden Bears enter this matchup as an underdog against the Golden Eagles.

Cal has been a fun team to watch this year thanks in large part to Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele's hot start as a true freshman. The lefty looked the part of a freshman in the Bears' 34-0 loss to San Diego State but before that, Sagapolutele had six touchdowns to one interception in Cal's 3-0 start. 

Boston College being favored isn't that surprising given Cal just lost 34-0 and it's a home game for the Golden Eagles, but BC is 1-2 with losses to Michigan State and, more importantly, a rough looking Stanford team. The Golden Eagles should be slight favorites at home, but -6.5 seems a bit high considering how Sagapolutele has looked for the majority of the year and how Boston College lost by 10 to Stanford. 

This is the first time in a few years that Justin Wilcox's program has some momentum and a big conference win on the road would be big for the Golden Bears, especially Sagapolutele. If the freshman can flush his bad start against SDSU, the Golden Bears are more than capable of knocking off Boston College on Saturday.