College Football Betting
Betting on college football is becoming one of America’s pastimes. Indeed, it is one of the most heavily bet on sports in the United States.
Not only is NCAAF fun to watch, but there are seemingly endless betting opportunities at the click of a button. There are also a lot of strategies you can follow to help with the learning curve if betting for the first time.
You must play on an NCAAF betting website that makes sure to keep all your data privates. The NCAA football betting sites we chose each use state-of-the-art technology to guard against cyber threats. Our security experts have vetted each of the college football betting sites, and all of them are verified secure. Find top College Football betting Odds, Matchups and Picks from VegasInsider, along with more college football information to assist your sports handicapping.
Another favorite that bettors enjoy is how many games are available at any given time. On one day alone, you could have as many as 30 or more games. This allows multiple opportunities to make quite a bit of money.
The key here is to find what works best for you. Below you will see many different options and how to bet on college football. Each person will have different results, but it is important to have a level head and a plan to get started.
How the College Football Season is Constructed
Just like many other sports, college football has teams in different divisions and conferences. One betting tactic that can be beneficial to add to your research is the strength of schedule that a team has.
For example, the South Eastern Conference has dominated the college football landscape over the last ten years, having different teams win eight championships across that time. That conference alone is one of college football’s toughest.
When play begins, teams will usually stick to a similar format but not always. Teams will have their non-conference and conference games on their schedule.
So the first few games of the season will usually be non-conference, where teams from different conferences play against each other. This is a good test for some, while potentially a blowout for others.
Conference play is where teams begin to settle down and figure out their plan for the rest of their season as far as lineup changes, new plays, and even coaching changes. When conferences have multiple teams ranked in the top 25, it arguably makes the conference stronger.
There are a lot of factors that go into teams playing each other during a season. It even breaks down to somewhat complex formulas for athletic departments to try and schedule a season in hopes of good revenue and hopefully a win for their team.
Then there is the home-and-home scheduling. This is where teams will compete one year at home and then play each other again the next year at the other team’s home.
You also need to factor in teams that perform well in their respective conference but in a weaker conference. So if a team goes undefeated, but they rank 107th in the strength of schedule, it could indicate that they played no one worth watching and they are not as good as a team with a few losses in a tougher conference.
Where to Bet on College Football
Depending on your location and legal betting options, you will have some options as to where you can place your college football bets. This could be either in person at a casino or online with a trusted sportsbook.
For online sportsbooks, this is a crucial part of your research. Doing a quick search online and finding the first one you see will most likely turn out bad for you.
Instead, you will want to do several searches regarding different factors. This includes sign up bonuses, betting options, payment methods, ease of use, rewards, and even competitive lines for payouts.
The easiest thing to remember is whether the sportsbook is legit, do they have the betting option you want, and how fast you can get your money. So this needs to be your first step before you begin to bet on your favorite college football team.
After you have found the sportsbook that you would like to use, it would be best to compare it to another competitor. This way, you can see how each one stacks up with their payments, odds, and whatever else you would like to use.
Once you have narrowed it down to your choice of a sportsbook, it is time to look into the type of bet you want to place. Assuming you have done your research on the team, you can move onto the next step.
Different Types of College Football Bets
The beautiful thing about college football is that there are plenty of betting opportunities. You have the luxury to incorporate all of these or just one or two.
The most common one is the moneyline, which is simply who will win the game. Below you will see an example of odds:
Alabama: -200
Florida: +125
Alabama is the favorite here due to the minus sign. Florida is the underdog, or least likely to win, as shown by the plus sign.
To read this, you would need to place a $200 wager on Alabama to earn $100 if they win. For Florida, you would need to place a $100 wager to win $125 should they win.
Another popular type of bet is the point spread. Using the teams above, you can see the example below.
Alabama: -10.5
Florida: +10.5
We already know that Alabama is the favorite by the minus sign. They have to win the game by at least 11 or more points in order to cover the spread.
For Florida, they would either need to win the game outright or lose by no more than 11 points. This can get tricky if one team is a huge favorite, so the market will adjust to make the odds interesting.
Those bets are the two most popular bets for college football. Other types of bets are totals, futures, props, teasers, and parlays.
How to Live Bet on the College Football
Live college football betting is another feature that you could look into adding to your style of betting. Live bets still include the odds you are looking for in spreads, totals, money lines, player and team props.
You can even place wagers as events are happening in real-time, hence the perk of betting on live sports. So for the Alabama and Florida matchup mentioned above, you could bet on opening drives or when each team has to make a defensive stop.
This can really add a whole new realm of sports betting since you can actively bet while you watch the game. This is different from traditional betting since before; you have to bet and then wait for the results to happen once the game is over.
When placing live bets, you still need to use the same principles as you did when researching your sportsbook or team. This means finding out what bets are best for you and understanding the flow of the game as it is happening before your eyes.
Tips for Betting on College Football
As it is said many times now, data and research are going to be your best friends. You simply cannot function without compiling information on teams before you place bets.
Going into a bet blindly is one of the worst mistakes you can make, unless you just enjoy throwing money away. Betting on a team because of a hot tip you heard, or you have been a fan since 2007 are not great reasons to place a bet on them.
Another tip for college football betting is to watch your bankroll. Oftentimes bettors think they have to bet a lot of money in order to get big returns.
If you keep it within your budget and win a majority of your bets, you do not have to lay it all out in one bet to make money. This will help you also mitigate any potential losses you incur.
Finally, you need to stay positive and know when to walk away. If you have a bad betting day or if your team is simply not performing as the research suggests, take some time to check back over your strategy and betting routine.
College Football FAQ
Where can I find the right information for sports betting research?
You can check multiple places for sports betting data and statistics online. Sports news outlets, like ESPN, keep up to date information on teams averages and news. You can also lookup any injuries or lineup changes before the game begins.
How do I set a budget for betting?
To set up a budget, you need to figure out how much extra cash you have on hand each month. Depending on what this is, you can roughly estimate how much you have available to bet with. Keep in mind you might also want to set up limits for yourself to allow good practice.
What are betting bonuses?
Depending on the sportsbook you have chosen, they might offer sign up bonuses or special offers just for placing bets on their site. You should definitely check out any promotions that your sportsbook offers, as this can add more money to your bets. Some have even offered risk-free bets to allow customers to place a bet without losing any money.
Why did the odds change?
Odds will change fairly often as the market reacts to certain news and how many bets they receive. For example, if one team is receiving a surplus in bets, a sportsbook might increase the price point to drive up sales on a team.
What is the most popular college football bet?
The most popular bet for college football is arguably the point spread. This is for bettors that want to not only predict the winner but how much they win or lose by. There is also the good old fashioned moneyline, where you pick the winner no matter what.
Bowl season, although very different this year, is upon us.
From September-November, the over was 38-22 (.633) in games with a total of 45 or lower. However, December has been a very different story; the over is 6-18 (.250) as we close in on Christmas.
Here are notes and more trends to know for the bowl games.
Odds listed are from Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill and subject to change.
How To Win Betting College Football
Saturday, Dec. 26
Betting College Football Playoffs
FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl: Liberty Flames vs. No. 12 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (-6.5, 59.5)
• Liberty is 3-0 against the spread as an underdog this season.
• Liberty is 8-2 ATS overall this season, which is tied for the fifth-best mark. Coastal Carolina is also tied for fifth at 8-2-1 ATS.
• Coastal is 5-0 ATS this season against teams with winning records.
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl: No. 19 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (-13, 57.5) vs. UTSA Roadrunners
• Louisiana is the only team in FBS with six outright road wins without a loss this season. Alabama and Coastal Carolina are each 5-0 straight up as a visitor.
• Louisiana is 0-3 ATS in bowl games since 2016.
• UTSA is 4-0 ATS in its past four as double-digit underdogs.
• UTSA is 9-3 ATS over its past 12 games as underdogs.
• The under is 8-3 in UTSA's games this season and 7-1 over its past eight games.
Tuesday, Dec. 29
Cheez-It Bowl: No. 21 Oklahoma State Cowboys (-2, 58.5) vs. 18 Miami Hurricanes
• Oklahoma State is 14-3 ATS in nonconference games over the past five seasons. That is the best cover percentage over that span.
• Oklahoma State is 4-0 ATS in bowl games since 2016.
• Oklahoma State is 9-3 ATS against ranked teams since 2018; only Tulsa (8-0) and Purdue (6-1) have a better cover percentage during that span.
• Miami is 4-1 ATS as an underdog since 2019.
• Miami is 1-7 ATS in bowl games since 2010, tied with WVU for the worst cover percentage over that span (min. 5 games).
Valero Alamo Bowl: No. 20 Texas Longhorns (-13, 63.5) vs. Colorado Buffaloes
• Texas is 3-0 ATS in bowl games since 2017.
• Teas is 4-1 ATS vs. Colorado since 2004.
• Colorado is 10-25-1 ATS vs. ranked teams since 2010; only New Mexico (3-12) has a worse cover percentage over that span (minimum 15 games).
• Texas is 8-10 ATS as a double-digit favorite the past five seasons.
• If the line holds, -13 would be tied for the most points Texas has been favored by in a bowl game (also -13 in 2001 vs. Washington; Texas won but did not cover).
Wednesday, Dec. 30
Duke's Mayo Bowl: Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs. Wisconsin Badgers (-6.5, 52)
• Wake Forest is 6-2 ATS (.750) this season. The last time the Demon Deacons finished a season with a cover percentage over 70% was 1997 (8-3, .727).
• Wake Forest has covered all four of its home games this season by an average of 14.9 points. Only Buffalo (20.7) and Air Force (18.0) have larger per game cover margins at home in 2020.
• Wake Forest is 3-0 ATS as an underdog this season.
• Wisconsin is 0-4 ATS over its past four games; it was a favorite in all four.
• Wisconsin is 4-1-1 ATS (5-1 SU) in bowl games since 2014.
TransPerfect Music City Bowl: No. 15 Iowa Hawkeyes (-15, 50) vs. Missouri Tigers
• Iowa is 3-0 ATS in its past three bowl games.
• The current 15 points is the most Iowa has ever been favored in a bowl game. The previous high was -7 in 1986 v.s San Diego State (Iowa won but did not cover).
• Iowa is 3-4 ATS (1-1 this season) as a double-digit favorite.
• Missouri have failed to cover each of its past three games.
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: No. 7 Florida Gators (-3, 71.5) vs. No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners
• Oklahoma is 3-0 SU (3-0 ATS) against ranked opponents this season; Alabama (4-0), Ohio State (3-0) and Cincinnati (3-0) are the only other teams with at least three wins without a loss against ranked opponents this season.
• Oklahoma is 6-1 ATS over its past seven games.
• Florida is 4-0 ATS following a loss since 2019.
• Florida is 26-11-4 ATS against top-10 teams since 2004; only Clemson has a better cover percentage against top-10 teams in that span (20-7-1; minimum 10 games).
• Florida is 10-0 in nonconference games since 2018; only LSU has more nonconference wins (12-0) without a loss during that span.
• Florida is 8-2 ATS in nonconference games since 2018, tied with Texas A&M (8-2 ATS) for the best cover percentage during that span.
Thursday, Dec. 31
Betting College Football Today
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl: No. 24 Tulsa Golden Hurricane (-2.5, 50) vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs
• Tulsa is 7-1 ATS this season; only San Jose State (6-0-1) and Indiana (7-0) have a better cover percentage.
• Tulsa is 3-0 ATS in bowl games since 2012.
• Tulsa is 4-1 ATS in its past five games as a favorite.
• Mississippi State is 0-4 against teams with winning records this season.
• Mississippi State is 1-3 ATS in Bowl games since 2016.
Arizona Bowl: Ball State Cardinals vs. No. 22 San José State Spartans (-7.5, 63)
• San Jose State is 6-0-1 ATS this season, tied with Indiana (7-0 ATS) for the best mark in the FBS.
• San Jose State is 26-13-2 ATS as a favorite since 2012; that is the third-best cover percentage as a favorite during that span (Tulane, 28-12-0 and Liberty, 11-5-3).
• Ball State is 3-0 ATS as an underdog in 2020.
• Ball State is 0-4 ATS in bowl games since 2007.
• Ball State is 2-14 SU against ranked teams since 2004.
Friday, Jan. 1
Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl: No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs (-7, 50.5) vs. No. 8 Cincinnati Bearcats
• Georgia is 6-1 ATS in bowl games since 2014.
• The over is 4-0 in Georgia's past four games this season.
• Georgia is 5-4 ATS as at least a 7-point favorite in bowl games since 2004.
• Cincinnati is 4-0 ATS in its past four as an underdog.
• Cincinnati is 5-11 ATS in bowl games, including 1-4 ATS as an underdog.
VRBO Citrus Bowl: Auburn Tigers vs. No. 14 Northwestern Wildcats (-3.5, 43.5)
• The under is 7-1 in Northwestern games this season, including 4-1 when the total is under 50.
• Northwestern is 7-1 ATS this season; only San Jose State (6-0-1) and Indiana (7-0) have a better cover percentage.
• Northwestern is 4-1 ATS as a favorite this season.
• Auburn is 0-3 ATS as an underdog this season.
• Auburn is 4-1 ATS in nonconference games dating to last season.
Rose Bowl Game Presented by Capital One -- CFP semifinal: No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide (-19.5, 65.5)
• If the line holds, it would be the biggest spread in a College Football Playoff game. Alabama currently holds that record; the Tide were a 15-point favorite over Oklahoma in 2018.
• Alabama is 8-2 ATS this season, including 3-1 ATS against ranked opponents (all as a favorite).
• This is the 79th straight game Alabama has been a favorite, the longest active streak in FBS.
• Alabama is 7-1 ATS over its eight games as a favorite, as well as 6-1 ATS over its past seven as a double-digit favorite.
• If it holds, -19.5 would be the largest spread in a game between top-5 teams in our database.
• Notre Dame is 9-3 ATS against ranked teams since 2018, tied for the best cover percentage in FBS over that span (Oklahoma State, LSU, Indiana; minimum 10 such games)
• Notre Dame is 4-1 ATS against teams with winning records in 2020.
Allstate Sugar Bowl -- CFP semifinal: No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. No. 2 Clemson Tigers (-7.5, 65.5)
• Clemson is 19-5-1 (.783) ATS versus AP top-10 teams since Dabo Swinney's first full season in 2008, the best such cover percentage in FBS over that span (minimum 10 such games).
• Clemson is 4-0 SU against Ohio State; Clemson has covered the past three, but their 1978 meeting was a push.
• This will be the fifth time these teams have met and fourth during Swinney's career at Clemson; 7.5 points is the most either team has ever been favored in the matchup.
• Ohio State is 14-3 ATS as an underdog since 2009. That is the best cover percentage in such games during that span (minimum 5 such games).
• The last time Ohio State was an underdog of at least 7.5 points was in the 2014 CFP semifinal against Alabama. Ohio State won that game.
Saturday, Jan. 2
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: No. 23 NC State Wolfpack vs. Kentucky Wildcats (-2.5, 53)
• Kentucky is 3-0 ATS in bowl games since 2017.
• Kentucky is 12-4-1 ATS against ranked opponents since 2015; only Wake Forest (13-4 ATS) has a better cover percentage during that span (minimum 10 such games).
• Kentucky is 10-18-1 ATS as a favorite over the past five seasons.
• NC State is 0-4 ATS in its past four nonconference games.
Outback Bowl: Ole Miss Rebels vs. No. 11 Indiana Hoosiers (-6.5, 66.5)
• Indiana is 7-0 ATS this season, tied with San Jose State (6-0-1) for the best cover percentage in FBS.
• Ole Miss is 5-1 ATS in bowl games since 2008.
• Ole Miss is 0-3 SU against teams with winning records this season.
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl: No. 25 Oregon Ducks vs. No. 10 Iowa State Cyclones (-4.5, 57.5)
• Iowa State is 12-5 ATS against ranked teams since 2017.
• Iowa State is 4-1 ATS over its past five games as a favorite.
• Oregon is 2-1 SU (2-1 ATS) against top-10 opponents since 2018.
• The Ducks are 3-0 ATS the past three times they've been underdogs.
• The Ducks have won the past four bowl games in which they were an underdog.
• Oregon is 8-3 ATS as an underdog in bowl games since 1994.
Capital One Orange Bowl: No. 5 Texas A&M Aggies (-7, 68.5) vs. No. 13 North Carolina Tar Heels
• UNC is 1-12 SU (8-5 ATS) vs. top-10 opponents since 2005.
• UNC has lost its past five bowl games as an underdog.
• UNC is 9-5-2 ATS as an underdog over the past five seasons.
• Texas A&M is 8-2 ATS in nonconference games since 2018.
• Texas A&M is 4-5 ATS (6-3 SU) as a favorite in bowl games since 2000.