Friday night college football has been going on since 2004, the appetizer getting you primed for the big all-day Saturday card. But be selective! This is a great example of why money management is essential to long-term sports betting winning.
You don't want to take a significant dent in your betting bankroll Friday night by getting too greedy. It can diminish your cash-on-hand while potentially shaking your confidence for the wagering weekend. And you need both to beat the oddsmakers on a consistent basis and turn a profit.
Why Use Free Friday College Football Picks
The oddsmakers don't make numbers on games for fun. They're also interested in grinding out a consistent profit - that's their job. But don't think that sports betting is for suckers and impossible to win. It's very possible if you take it seriously, put in the effort, learn the craft, and manage your betting bankroll using your brains and employing discipline.
You begin by gathering information on teams, studying the CFB weekly matchups, identifying strengths and weaknesses, then assessing what the betting numbers should be. Collecting free college football picks from established professionals who have a documented track record of winning will help build your understanding of what it takes to be a consistent winning handicapper.
Betting Value in Free Friday College Football Picks
Bettors should approach the NCAA College Football weekend as a three-game venture to wager on the best lines. Generally speaking, those three days are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Thursday and Friday feature a handful of games, almost all on national television, while Saturday is a smorgasbord of tilts all day and night from marquee matchups to smaller schools and added games buried at the end of the betting card.
Television schedules can help and hurt teams which is evident on Friday night. Teams are playing with one less day to prepare, which can be significant if a coaching staff is new or below average. When matched up against an experienced coaching staff, that extra day of prep can add value to the betting line. Teams used to playing on Saturday afternoons can also be at a disadvantage with Friday night games.
Finally, home field can provide even more wagering value if a team is playing its lone national TV game of the season at home on a Friday night. The fans will be sky-high, adding extra incentive with a raucous home crowd behind them.
Follow my Friday college football consensus picks to find out where the betting public is leaning on the Friday night matchups.
Wunderdog Free Friday College Football Picks
There's no guesswork or magic in trying to pick college football point spread winners. The difference-maker is information. Pro bettors accumulate information during the week about injuries, situations, on-field matchups, revenge, and sideline coaching differences.
I spend the week doing exactly that, then pick out the essential information, and compare my own odds to what the actual odds are. Watching line movement during the week is another facet of handicapping. Some line movement is meaningless, while others can be very inciteful, such as large money moves by sharp bettors.
The Friday College Football picks are ones that I'm betting on packed with the reasons why. You are welcome to wager alongside me, or simply study my analysis to help expand your handicapping prowess.
Free Friday College Football Picks vs. Premium Picks
Free Friday College Football Pros:
- Adds one layer of many needed to improve your handicapping acumen
- Someone else streamlines the key handicapping info for you
- Access to Friday picks to see what sides, totals, and props the pros are on at no cost
Free Friday College Football Picks Cons:
- Be suspicious of services with claims of overly high win percentages
- Not understanding why odds shift can confuse newcomers to the betting world
- Free plays don't always mean the person making the selections is any good at it
Premium Friday College Football Picks Pros:
- There's often more value in props and team totals
- Great insight into the other side of the betting window
- Premium service releases can contain key information on a game that most don't have access to
Premium Friday College Football Picks Cons:
- With so few games on the Friday card, line movement can be extreme
- Selections from an undocumented or below-average handicapper can mean you break even - or worse
- Only oddsmakers and experienced betting pros have the top power numbers
How To Win With Free Friday College Football Picks
On the one hand, wagering on Friday night NCAA College Football games is great for bettors as there are multiple ways to bet on one game that won't be available on the stocked Saturday card, such as props and team totals.
On the other hand, with so few Friday games the oddsmakers have a leg up narrowing down the best lines as the sharps will pound the limited number of games available or pass. That's why getting the free opinion of a respected pro bettor doubles your chances of finding the weak spots and softest lines on a limited Friday card.
The professional bettors will have isolated the overvalued lines and undervalued teams, so making the right assessment and finding the best line is critical to winning.
Friday College Football Betting Strategy
Team Schedules
Many teams will play a string of Saturday afternoon games then suddenly shift to a late Friday night game. This can disrupt game preparation and even the body chemistry of an athlete if they're changing multiple time zones to participate in a night game.
Check previous years to see how that team played on a Thursday or Friday night contest. Teams or coaches can have a history of flopping in those situations even when favored. In addition, a team that plays back-to-back Saturday home games and then heads out on the road for a Friday night game has several situations working against it (short rest, road travel, time changes).
Finally, look ahead to who that team plays the following week. If they're playing a weak team on a Friday night as chalk and are facing a big showdown against a conference rival the following week, the team may approach the Friday contest with less focus or urgency.
Established Coaching vs. Staffs in Turmoil
Coaching is key in football as there are so many players that need to be organized, evaluated, and taught. Putting together game plans takes time and practice and having one less day to prepare for a Friday game can be a lot more important than you think.
One season, Washington was a small underdog in the Apple Cup against rival Washington State on a Friday night. Washington State was 6-5 and was motivated for a strong effort to cement a winning season. Meanwhile, Washington was in turmoil with an interim coach that was winding down a losing campaign.
Their head coach had been fired a few weeks earlier after shoving a player on the sidelines in a home loss. Washington State not only won the game, 40-13, but covered by 26 points in the most lopsided victory in the history of the Apple Cup rivalry.
Styles of Play
There are so many unique styles of play that college football offenses run, such as the 'Pistol', a pro-style offense, run-oriented squads, a pass-happy 'Air Raid attack', a spread offense, or a West Coast attack. With a short week of preparation for a Friday night battle, defensive coaching staffs can find it a challenge to prepare for a very different offense from Saturday afternoon to a Friday.
For many years, the services academies utilized a run-heavy triple-option flexbone offense. One recent Friday night, I had Navy as a +11 underdog against a Tulsa team with a losing record. It was a tight game all the way as Navy pulled out a 20-17 victory with 302 rushing yards and close to a 2-to-1 edge in time of possession.
Live underdogs with a style of play that's difficult to prepare for can have wagering value on the moneyline, too.
Free Friday College Football Picks Subscription
My sports handicapping database goes back two decades so I'm able to dissect matchups, betting angles, and situations against the weekly odds. Winning is about streamlining the essential information and weighing the mathematical percentages against what the oddsmakers are projecting.
You can have access to my insight via free Friday College Football picks on a subscription basis. It will get you prepared for the big weekend while providing you with valuable insight at no cost. Because when you step up to the wagering window with cold cash in hand, you need to be fully prepared if you want to return to collect.
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