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 NCAA football fun to watch but there are also many betting opportunities. There are also a lot of strategies you can follow to help with the learning curve, especially when betting for the first time.
Another advantage of college football is the number of games available at any given time. On one day alone, you could have as many as 30 or more games. This allows multiple opportunities to place a wager. 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. To learn about college basketball betting, click here.
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 the schedule that a team has.
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. 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.
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 ranks 107th in the strength of schedule, it could indicate that the team 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. 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 on to 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: +160
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 $160 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. If one team is a huge favorite, this can get tricky, 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, moneylines, and 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 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 has been 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 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 team averages and news. You can also look up 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 check out any promotions that your sportsbook offers, as this can add more money to your bets. Some have even offered bonus 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.