College Football Betting
While the NFL is the king of online sports betting, NCAA football betting isn't far behind. Saturdays are almost as busy as Sundays at most betting sites as players wager on the Top 25 and beyond, and here are the easiest ways to get started in college football betting.
College Football Spreads
The most popular way to bet on college football is spread betting, which is when you're taking into a count a points margin. You have a favorite and an underdog, so let's stay with LSU and Alabama are playing. Alabama might be favored by 6.5 points at home, so they would be -6.5, while LSU would be +6.5. Alabama would have to win by over 6.5 points to cover their bet – which means seven or more – while LSU could lose by less than 6.5 points or win outright in order to win their end of the wager. A lot of spreads will have a half-point at the end to make sure there is no tie; for example, if the spread is -6, and the final margin of victory is six points. That makes for a push and all money is given back like nothing ever happened.
College Football Moneylines
You can also bet on college football via moneylines, in which you're betting on who will win the game outright. Take a matchup between LSU and Alabama, for example, and Alabama is the home team. Alabama might be the favorite at -175, while LSU comes in at +150. The negative sign before the odds shows you that Alabama is the favorite, and what it also means is that you would have to bet $175 to win $100 on them. LSU, on the other hand, is the underdog as the positive sign shows, and you would stand to win $150 on them if you bet $150.
College Football Teasers
One popular option for NCAA football betting is using teasers. This is a parlay that allows you to move the spread in your favor on multiple games. If you like three games on the day and played a normal parlay, it might be tough to win all three. However, if you play a teaser, you’ll have a smaller payout if you win your three-team teaser, but the benefit is that you increase your chances of winning by getting points for each game. Let’s say you played a six-point teaser on your college football picks, you would be able to move the line six points in your favor for each of your three games. So if a team was originally -9.5, now your new line would be -3.5, which is much easier to cover. Read our full article on teasers to get a better understanding.
College Football Totals
You can also bet on the total amount of points that can be scored in a game and basically, you're betting on whether the actual total will be over or under the posted total from the sportsbook. For example, you could see LSU and Alabama with a total of 57.5 points, again with the half-point to avoid a push. You would bet on the total being over or under, and here is where it pays off to research each team's offense and defense, while also paying attention to things like weather.
College Football Futures
Finally, you have future betting, which is where you're wagering on things that might not happen for a while. An example of future betting is wagering on the national champion, which you can do basically as soon as one season is over. You can also bet on conferences (and divisions if a conference has them). You can also wager on player props like who will win the Heisman Trophy, which is given to the best player in college football, and the odds for all of these will change throughout the year. If you do your research, you might be able to find the best prices early on.
College Football Betting Odds
By now, you should understand how to read the point spread, the moneyline and the over under so, we recommend that you practice what you've learn! Check out the college football betting odds. When you finish, remember to come back and continue with our next lesson: MLB Betting.