Betting College Football

Betting College Football Introduction The purpose of this page is to explain the various ways to bet on college football. I've provided my usual statistics and advice. Averages The following table may not be of any help in the sports books, but I thought it was an interesting way to compare college football to the NFL. 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.

1. Betting College Football Games
2. Betting College Football Online
3. Betting College Football Week 8
4. Betting College Football Online
5. College Football Odds Las Vegas
6. Betting College Football Games

NCAA Football Betting Strategies: Guide to the Top Systems

College Football Betting Intro

When we talk about football, we usually think first of the NFL. It is after all America’s most popular sports organization.

As we discussed in our Intro to NFL Betting, the American Gaming Association estimated bettors to have wagered upwards of $4.7 billion dollars on the nation’s most-watched sporting event this past year—the Super Bowl.

And that’s just one estimate. When you look at the global numbers, this figure nearly doubles. Mint, a prominent financial planning website, estimates that bettors stake more than $8 billion every year on the Super Bowl alone.

But the NFL is not the only league to garner such attention from bettors.

NCAA football is right up there with it.

In 2014, Super Bowl XLIX only generated about 10,000 more bets than the most heavily bet college football game

In 2014, Super Bowl XLIX only generated about 10,000 more bets than the most heavily bet college football game: 122,370 compared to 112,644. And, according to CNBC, bettors stake between $60-70 billion in illegal wages on college football each year.

Since the NCAA decided to establish and expand their playoff format, bowl games and championships have proven to be hot opportunities for bettors.

Unlike the NFL, which plays almost all its games on Sunday, college football offers bettors the chance to wage on matchups happening throughout the week, including thirty plus matchups on Saturdays.

A greater slate of games means more money lines, more spreads, more chances to get some bang for your buck.

According to SportsInsights there was a point spread listed for 894 college football games in 2015. Meanwhile, in merely a handful of offshore sportsbooks, a grand total of 12,774,988 bets were placed during the college football season.

With so many options it’s easy to see why college football ranks as one of the most bet-on sports in America.

As part of this article, we will discuss the different types of bets you can make on college games as well as some helpful tips and strategies for maximizing your returns.

But before we get into all that, let’s first take a look at the basics of our very own predictive wager system.

The Sports Analytics Simulator

The Simulator is built based on a predictive model created by a doctor with an extensive background in mathematics, psychology, and operations research.

The best networks were able to correctly predict the winning team 74.33 percent of the time (on average) as compared to the experts who were correct 68.67 percent of the time.

This individual has worked with multiple professional and collegiate sports organizations, player agents, sports data agencies and a top-ranked fantasy website. His work with professional sports organizations includes optimizing scout travel, in-depth player analysis and lineup configurations.

Among his greatest innovations was the discovery of neural networks as a powerful tool for sports betting.

A neural network is defined as a computer system modeled on the human brain and nervous system. Using this technology, the good doctor found that “the best networks were able to correctly predict the winning team 74.33 percent of the time (on average) as compared to the experts who were correct 68.67 percent of the time.”

While the model was initially developed around NBA betting, it has since been applied to other sports — chief among them, college football.

What makes the Sports Analytics Simulator unique is that it relies not on data inputs (statistics) from previous seasons, but on continuous game-to-game updates.

The Simulator’s specific algorithms run through up to forty different stat categories to create the most efficient model possible. From this model, we derive our picks for each game. And the best part is, our system is a living, breathing predictive model — it possesses machine learning capacities that allow to detect trends and potentials that we mere humans could only dream of finding.

For more information, check out this handy dandy video on how it works:

College Football Betting

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about the fundamentals of college football betting. Much like the NFL, college football offers the standard bets: spread, moneyline, totals, parlays, and teasers. Unique to college football are the 1st quarter and halftime bets. Let’s take a look at each type.

Spread Bet

Just like the NFL, college football’s most popular wager is the spread bet.

With spreads, bookmakers set a spread with a favorite and an underdog. This type of bet equalizes the chance of winning a wager.

In order for you to win on a bet of this nature, one team must cover the spread — so if the spread is -7 in favor of the Florida State over Oregon, the Sentinels must win by seven points or more. Whereas in order for the Ducks to cover the spread, they must either lose by less than seven points, or win.

For any spread, the underdog is indicated by a “+” while the favorite is indicated by a “-”. To make it simpler, the spread gives the underdog a ‘head start’. In this case, the Ducks have a +7 head start in points to kick off the game.

Also, when looking at spreads, you’ll see a larger number next to the actual spread. It might look like this:

• Florida State -7 -115
• Oregon +7 -105

The larger number is what’s called the Juice. It’s basically the fee that bookmakers charge for you to place a bet. In our example, if Florida State covers the spread a winning bet of $115 will yield $100 profit. Now, if you simply want to bet on the winner of the game you’ll want to place a…

Moneyline Bet

Betting College Football Games

Moneyline betting is an equally common form of sports betting as spread bets. The difference is that with moneylines, bookmakers will set lines representing the favorite and the underdog. Let’s go back to this Florida State-Oregon matchup.

Let’s say the Sentinels have a favored line of -150 and the Ducks have an underdog line of +125. What this means is that in order to win a hundred dollars on the Sentinels, you must wage $150.

As for the underdogs, if you wage $100 you will win $125. Generally, the moneyline reflects the spread.

With the sheer number of available bets on a given Saturday, a bettor may choose to parlay (see below) several big favorites, which will increase the risk AND the payout of the wager. So that’s that.

Totals Bet

Totals betting is rather self-explanatory.

Also known as over/under, this form of betting involves placing a wager on the total number of points scored by both teams combined in a game.

Let’s say bookmakers set an over/under of 32 points for the Sentinels and Ducks. Your job as a bettor is to decide whether the score will be… over or under 32 points.

Prop Bet

A prop bet is a special kind of bet that has nothing to do with the outcome or final score of a game.

Prop bets come in many different forms. Some of them are player-based — how many yards or touchdowns a specific player scores. Some of them are based in live betting, i.e. if a team scores on a specific drive.

During bowl games you’ll see all sorts of fun prop bets like coin toss wagers.

Parlay Bet

You might have seen a parlay bet featured in the film, Silver Linings Playbook, (or read it in the book), wherein Pat Solitano’s father, Patrizio Sr., places a bet on the Eagles-Cowboys game and the judging outcome of Pat and Tiffany’s dance number in a local dance-off.

In order for Patrizio to win the bet, the Eagles must win their game against Dallas and Tiffany and Pat must score 5 out of 10 in their dance competition.

This is what’s known as a parlay bet, wherein various games and outcomes are rubber-banded together into one single bet.

In order for the bettor to win the wager, all outcomes must unfold accordingly. This might involve a handful of other bets such as a totals bet and a moneyline bet. In college football, this is a common form of betting to increase risk and reward for your wagers.

Teaser Bet

A teaser bet is a form of parlay that involves a combination of two to ten wagers in which you adjust the point spreads and/or totals in your favor in exchange for a lower payout.

When your teaser includes a point spread, you have the option to decrease the spread for the favorite or increase the spread for the underdog.

When you’re teasing a total, you can increase the under or decrease the over.

Like a parlay, winning the bet is dependent on all of the wagers winning.

Standard teasers are 6, 6.5 and 7-point. There’s also a sweetheart teaser, which offers you have the choice to tease a line by 10 or 13 points. It’s basically a parlay with a little bit of zazz.

A teaser involves the same stipulations as a parlay; only you select a number of points to put down to decrease the risk (and reward) of a parlay.

For example, if a spread for a game is -7 and you place a 3-point teaser bet, your new line is -4. This 3-point advantage applies to each aspect of the teaser play.

College Football Betting Stats

Now that you know the basics of college football betting, let’s touch on some important factors to consider when handicapping games.

First and foremost, you’ve got to understand the nature of college football. In the NFL, all 32 teams are relatively equal in stature. Size, speed, skill—the NFL is filled with ever-tight competition.

But in college football, the stakes are different. Emotions run high. Motivations change week-to-week, game-to-game.

Up to 70 players can impact the outcome of a given matchup.

Experts have a lot of ideas about what statistics most impact a college football game. The following five, derived from numbers from the 2016 season, have consistently proven their influence on a team’s odds.

Explosiveness – as measured by PPP (points per play)

This one is simple. If a team makes more big plays than their opponent, they’re likely to win the game.

According to statistics, if a team leads in PPP they will win 86 percent of their matchups.

So look for a team with a penchant for big plays, and keep an eye on their opponents’ defensive stats.

If they’re giving up high PPP numbers each week, there’s a good chance they’ll lose.

Efficiency – as measured by success rate.

Success rate is measured by a number of baselines: 50% of needed yards on first down, 70% on second down, and 100% on third or fourth down.

This stat is similar to on-base percentage in baseball.

If a team has a high efficiency rating, they’re likely to avoid drive-crippling passing downs and, beyond that, stay on schedule, control the clock, and wear down their opponent’s defenses by keeping on the field.

If a team can best their opponent in efficiency, they’ll also win the game 83 percent of the time.

Field Position – as measured by average starting field position

They say special teams wins games. That’s what makes them so special.

Sure, it’s always a boost when a return man can return a kick or a punt for a touchdown. But it’s his ability to consistently provide his team with outstanding starting field position that determines his worth. Hence why good return men are so highly coveted in football.

They are often their team’s x-factor—the difference between having to drive 75 yards or 65 yards to the end zone.

As such, the team who wins the battle for field position wins the game 72 percent of the time.

Finishing Drives – as measured by points per trip inside the 40

Finish what you’ve started.

At this point you might find these tips a bit formulaic. It stands to reason that if a team creates big scoring plays, controls the clock, manages the ball, establishes solid field position, minimizes turnovers, and maximizes scoring drives, they’ll likely win the game.

When it comes to finishing drives, it’s less about how many opportunities you get inside the red zone, and more about how many points you can score once inside the 40.

There are numerous examples of teams creating more red zone opportunities but fewer scores than their opponent.

In 2012, Hawaii created 12 scoring opportunities against Colorado State’s four on October 27. They outgained the Rams by 102 yards, but still lost, 42-27. Talk about demoralizing.

The Warriors lost three turnovers (at the CSU 30, 31, and 33), punted twice (at the CSU 39 and 40), attempted three field goals (missing one), and turned the ball over on downs at the 2. Not to mention one of those three turnovers was an interception returned for a touchdown.

The point is straightforward: teams must score touchdowns on the majority of their drives that reach beyond their opponent’s 40.

Field goals will not cut it.

Basically, if a team can still put points on the board despite fewer scoring opportunities, they’ll win the game 72 percent of the time.

Turnovers – as measured by turnover margin

If we’re not beating a dead horse by now I don’t know what we’re doing.

Surprisingly enough turnovers are not the biggest factor to consider when handicapping games. But they still matter.

If you can minimize the amount of times you give up the ball, you’re obviously going to increase your chances of capitalizing on offense.

Keep the ball in your possession, and the game is likely yours—assuming you can put the ball in the end zone. The team that wins the turnover battle wins the game 73 percent of the time.

While mastering these five aspects will go a long way towards helping a team win, bettors must not solely rely on them for handicapping games. College football outcomes swing like a loose pendulum.

Cellar dwellers beat good teams when they’re not looking, or at the very least beat the spread. Slumping squads can come out strong against rivals or must-wins.

Oh, and there are other conferences besides the big ones (SEC, Big 12, Big 10, ACC, Pac 12).

Oddsmakers tend to look at the big TV games and the big conference matchups—the ones they know the betting public will be going heavy on.

This means, smaller conference games will likely slip through the cracks. If you’re betting ‘over/unders,’ look at the smaller conferences as value could be there because of the lack of two-way action.

There is big money to be made in smaller-market games. One thing I’ve learned in life is never to follow the crowd. If you want to outsmart oddsmakers and increase your returns, be your own advocate, look for the games people are sleeping on.

Thankfully, they’re not hard to find in the NCAA.

We know you want to bet on college football. That’s what landed you on this page. Don’t bet through a bookie, they may never pay out. We are guessing you don’t have time to fly out to Vegas and bet in the Sportsbooks.

Betting College Football Online

If you are in Las Vegas why get dressed, drive to the casino, and wait in a line. Nothing is quicker and easier than betting through our recommended sites.

The list below shows current top-ranking sites for college football betting. You are only moments away from making a bet. Just click on a site below and start winning!

The best sites for betting on college football stand out above the rest for many different reasons which we discuss in more detail on this page. We only recommend these online betting sites because we’re confident that they will payout and provide excellent opportunities for placing wagers on NCAA football games.

If you already know that you are going to be placing bets on college football then you can be sure you’re in good hands with any of the NCAAF betting sites above. If you are still unsure and want more information then we suggest taking a look through the rest of this page.

When we talk about the best sites to bet on college football, we must take many factors into consideration. Is our money safe? Is the site easy to navigate? Does it offer all the games we are looking for? These are all things we consider when ranking our sites.

We would not wager our money on a site we didn’t trust. We wouldn’t ask you to either. With so many sites out there, it’s nearly impossible to guarantee every single one of them is run with integrity. The sites listed above provide the customer with security knowing their money is safe. We go through a detailed process to determine the top sites.

In today’s world, we like fast, we like easy. We only mention sites that meet those demands. Depositing money is safe, secure, and quick. Everything is in plain view and you will feel protected. Picking the correct winners however, that is going to be up to you!

When we mention fast and easy, we of course are talking about the process of placing the bets. To see for yourself click any of the sites above and you will be making bets before you can finish the rest of this article. There are no secrets, no hidden fees or messages. Just deposit money, and start picking your winners!

Not all the best bets are the most popular games on ESPN and ABC. In fact, trying to find edges in the smaller market games where less information is known can be profitable. The sites listed offer a wide range of teams and games to bet on. Whether you are interested in point spreads, the over/under, or money-line bets-you will be in the right place if you click on any of the sites we have listed.

If you want to make some money betting on college football, you better be on the right side of the line. That means if the underdog is +4.5 on most sites but is +5 on one site, you better be getting the +5 number. Lines fluctuate throughout the day as bets come in. These sites ensure you won’t miss a line change if one of your underdogs happens to get an extra half point!

That’s right, who doesn’t love free money. By signing up on any of our recommended sites you can in some cases earn up to 100% back from your initial deposit. Say you start with $100 deposit, as you bet games the site will start to add funds into your account. As you can see, some sites will match the amount of your initial deposit dollar for dollar.

About the Top College Football Betting Sites

Now that you know a little about how we go about selecting the best sites for NCAAF betting, it’s time to learn more about the sites themselves. Here are some brief details on each of our recommended college football betting sites.

Betting College Football Week 8

One of the sites that we can heartily recommend as one of the very, very best is BetNow.

This site offers a wide range of college football betting options, including futures on teams, the Heisman Trophy winner, and propositions galore. Best of all, they offer a 50% sign-up bonus which is a great way to get some extra value from your real money wagers.

It’s impossible to have a serious conversation about the best college football betting sites without mentioning MyBookie and their 100% welcome bonus.

MyBookie place an emphasis on the customer experience, with 48-hour payout processing and service agents available on a 24/7 basis.

You bascially can’t go wrong betting college football online at SportsBetting.ag.

This sportsbook has been featured on major networks like Fox Sports and CNBC, and that speaks volumes about their cred. These guys come correct with welcome bonuses, and they provide a 25% cash infusion when you reload your account.

Betting College Football Online

Another top site for college football wagering is XBet. They provide a very straightforward, intuitive environment, and they have a generous bonus structure.

Initial deposits get rewarded with a 100% match, and existing customers get a 50% reload perk up to a maximum of $250.

We have to include the good peeps at BetOnline.ag to round out the list. They know what players value in an NCAA football betting website, and they deliver the goods.

At BetOnline.ag the lines are posted early, the payouts are swiftly processed, the bonuses are robust, and the customer service is extraordinary.

Why Bet on College Football?

On Saturdays, who doesn’t like watching college football and making a little money at the same time? If you are reading this article then clearly you do!

As football fans, we can’t get enough of the action. On Saturdays, college football games are basically being played from the time we wake up until we go to bed. The sites listed above allow you to place bets from the comfort and convenience of your own home. Imagine waking up and making a bet on your favorite team before you even brush your teeth. Or how about getting a bet in on your lunch break right before a game kicks off. It is all just a simple click away. Join these sites and you will see how easy and real it is.

Click on a site and you have the option to choose from well over 40 different college games every week. Much more choices than the NFL’s standard 13-15 game slate.

The larger selection of games means there are more opportunities for you to find a spot you like. Dig deep and do the research on the less popular games and you may be surprised to find some advantages that other bettors are unaware of.

What Else Is Different Between Betting on College Football and NFL?

Most of you are probably much more familiar with betting on NFL games. Fortunately, the betting process for college football is exactly the same. There’s more to it than just a larger selection of games, a lot more actually.

College Football Odds Las Vegas

Yes, this is true. Think about how popular the NFL is. Only 13-15 games per week, Everyone knows every team. The news about each player’s injuries or troubles is accessible to anyone who wants to know. Type in a player’s name on a popular social media platform and all the information is right there. Oddsmakers are very aware and sharp when it comes to predicting outcomes in the NFL.

But what about in college when Savannah State is playing Bethune-Cookman? Or how about when the Towson Tigers take on Elon University? There simply is not enough information out there to come up with as complete and dependable projections.

This is a fun one. Who doesn’t love seeing a powerhouse team like Alabama or Oklahoma as a 41-point favorite? This happens week in and week out on the college football betting board. This is because of something that is much more common in college football than in the NFL- large talent gaps.

There are 32 teams in the NFL. Players get to the NFL by standing out in college and continually outworking the people around them. The point being, NFL players are all professionals that get paid big bucks to perform at a high level. Of course, some players in the NFL are better than others, but the gap between them is much smaller than the great college players and the……… not so good ones.

In college football, there are 128 Division-I teams alone. Throw in another 169 Division-II programs. You get the point. The kids getting recruited to play football at Florida State and University of Texas are dedicated and aspiring football players. They want to play at the next level. The majority of the members on the football teams at Yale University and Tennessee Tech are much less likely to go on and pursue a career in the NFL.

Betting College Football Games

This means that we will see matchups that look like this. One team is ranked 2nd in the country and had 9 players drafted into the NFL last year. Their opponent maybe hasn’t won a game in two seasons and hasn’t had a player drafted into the NFL since 1976. Therefore, we see college teams favored by forty points regularly. It is extremely rare to see a line in the NFL get above 15 or 16 points.

This is the fun part because it will be personal to you. We can certainly recommend the best sites in terms of overall quality, safety, and ease of use, as we have in the list at the top. But you might be someone who is only interested in which site has the largest first-time deposit bonus. Or maybe you want the site that has three ways to withdraw your money instead of just one. Find out what is important to you and meets your specific needs and demands.

When we are buying a car, we don’t typically buy the first one we see. We like to look at options and compare not only prices but the pros and cons of each car. Which has better gas mileage, which car is more spacious, is one newer than the other, is one faster? These are all valid questions we want to ask and have answered before choosing the car.

Why should betting on college football games online be any different? There are so many sites out there, look at all your options first. See if some are easier to use than others or if certain sites offer better promotions than others. If finding the perfect fit for you is important, then do not skip this step.

We encourage you to join more than one site and be active. We talked about finding the best line. If a team is +4.5, we won’t know if they are +5 on another site unless we are actively scanning multiple sites and checking the lines.

This is another important reason to play on multiple sites. Many sites offer significant deposit bonuses, but only on your first and initial deposit. Say you want to deposit $200 and start betting. Instead of using one site, put $100 into 2 separate sites, or even put $50 into 4 different sites.

Because each site will have unique reward programs, depositing on multiple sites will potentially earn you more money back. Make sure you are taking full advantage of all the cash-back rewards. Read through the information before depositing to make sure you are using the right promotional code to earn you the most possible cash back.

Another great thing about this is after some sampling you will begin to realize which sites are better suited for you. You may notice some are much faster than others getting your money withdrawn. Some sites may lag in updating line movements and therefore you don’t trust them entirely. The more sites you experience the more you will be able to weed through the ones that don’t satisfy you.

College Football Is That Exciting

When you don’t pay the players, they are playing simply for pride and to win. They leave it all out on the field and it is reflected in the final product we see.

Watching the game becomes even more exciting when you are financially invested into it. We want to bet on the games, we just need to know the best place to do so.

As mentioned, we took into consideration multiple factors to choose the best sites. Whether it is that fat juicy deposit bonus or the speediness of the transactions, we covered all the bases for you. The sites recommended ensure the user the best betting experience the internet has to offer.