How to Bet on College Football

College football weekends are packed with games ranging from Top 25 showdowns to dozens of conference matchups, big and small. With so many CFB games each week, it's challenging for oddsmakers to accurately assess every college football contest. The sides, totals, moneylines, and props posted can be dizzying to try and decipher. But since the oddsmakers can't nail every game accurately, that opens the door for many college football games to be a bettor's hidden paradise. 

College Football Odds: Inside the Numbers 

The way to win when betting on college football is to approach the wagering window prepared and confident. The sportsbooks post multiple odds on every game. Part of the reason is they want to attract as much money as possible, pay out the winners, and keep roughly 4.5% of the handle. Another reason is that their competition posts many numbers, so they must follow suit. If a book only posted Power Four conference action, bettors would take much of their business elsewhere. Less sportsbook action would mean less money for them. For bettors, it's essential to take the time to study matchups to get a good sense of what the final scores of games should be, then compare them with the actual betting numbers. 

NCAAF Point Spreads

There are many different sports betting lines and betting odds to wager on, but the most popular is the point spread or a spread bet when it comes to NCAA football betting. Oddsmakers post numbers on the favorite with a minus sign and a number, with a plus sign and a number for the underdog: 

(102) Miami -3.5 (-115) | OVER 53.5 (-110) | MONEYLINE -145

(103) Florida +3.5 (-105) | UNDER 53.5 (-110) | MONEYLINE +130

In this example, the point spread has Miami as a 3.5-point favorite. The (-115) after it means a bettor would lay $115 to win $100 if they think the Hurricanes will win the game by 4 points or more. You can wager any amount, and the ratio is still the same. To win $50 on Miami, the bettor would have to put down $57.50. Florida is a +3.5 underdog. The oddsmakers are saying that Florida isn't likely to win the game and will probably lose by around a field goal. If a bettor believes the Gators can cover the point spread (win the game or lose by three or less), they could put down $105 to win $100 and hope Florida at least keeps it close. A 24-23 Miami victory would mean underdog Florida covered the point spread. Point spreads change, too. The odds are posted around six days before the game. As money comes in, it's common to see odds shift during the week. Once you've made your wager, the number is locked in. If you get Miami -3 and two days later they're a 6-point favorite, you still have the Hurricanes at -3. You can't know which way the odds will move, though professional bettors can often recognize which opening numbers are off by a few points and have a good sense of the direction the numbers should move. 

Which Team Will Win: Moneyline 

A moneyline bet is wagering on who will win the game, not the margin of victory. In the Miami/Florida example, the CFB moneyline can be displayed as "ML -145" and "ML +130". If you back Miami on the moneyline, you'd wager $145 to win $100. In order to collect, Miami simply has to win the game. There are no point spreads involved. A moneyline bet on the underdog means they must pull the upset and win the game outright (no spread is involved). If Miami wins the game 24-23, underdog Florida covers the point spread but would lose on the moneyline. 

College Football Totals 

Totals, or OVER/UNDER CFB bets, are the total amount of points scored in the game by both teams. Totals attract less action than sides because the average bettor pays little attention to them. But if you want to win more than you lose, it's a good idea to incorporate totals into your handicapping regimen. There are plenty of times when the oddsmakers nail the side but are off by a few points with the total.

In our example above, the total is 53.5 points. The oddsmakers are telling you that the final combined score by both teams will be around 53 points, such as a 28-25 or 26-27. If your handicapping concludes that the offenses should do well and it will be a relatively high-scoring game, you can wager OVER 53.5 points. A bettor would tell the sports ticket writer, "$110 on (102) to go OVER the total," or "$110 on (103) to go UNDER." The (-110) is known as the odds on the bet and signifies the amount one has to wager to win $100. If the odds are negative, it shows the amount of money that has to be risked to win $100. So in this case, it would be $110 to win a hundred bucks. If the odds are positive, then it signifies how much money would be won by the bettor for risking $100. 

Successful totals betting requires digging deeper into each game to handicap matchups. Will one team be able to run the football well, moving the chains and chewing up yards and the clock with long drives? If so, there should be fewer scoring opportunities. Do both teams have above-average defenses? Do they have erratic field goal kickers? One or two missed field goals means 3-to-6 fewer points—a small number—but it could play a huge role in the final OVER/UNDER outcome. Or, maybe both quarterbacks are very good when facing below-average defensive secondaries. Running the football might be far less of a factor. Dropped passes stop the clock, caught passes can go for big plays, and the tempo of the whole game could be fast. All of which can suggest a high-scoring affair OVER the total. 

NCAAF Parlays 

Parlays are multiple bets tied together in one wager. For example, a 3-team college football parlay could have two favorites on the point spread and one underdog on the moneyline. To win the bet, both favorites would have to cover their numbers while the dog would have to win the game. The advantage of winning parlays is that the payout is larger than a single wager. Two point spread favorites parlayed with a moneyline underdog of +140 would pay out almost eight times what you bet. The downside, though, is parlays are difficult to win because you must be perfect.

Proposition Wagering 

Prop betting has been a popular addition to sports wagering in recent decades. Props were born in the 1980s. That decade saw a string of Super Bowl blowouts. Many were uncompetitive and boring. Casino operators didn't like seeing a boatload of customers exiting in the third quarter. So oddsmakers came up with various props tied into individual players to keep bettors interested even if the game was one-sided. Prop betting moved to other sports and is most prominent on TV games. College football props will be listed like this: 

(100) Singleton 60.5 rushing yards (-110)

(101) Jones Over 2.5 TD passes (-115)

(102) Lacy Over 69.5 receiving yards (-115)

They're OVER/UNDERS tied into one player. You wager OVER or UNDER Singleton's rushing yards of 60.5, laying $110 to win $100. Jones would be one team's quarterback and you can bet OVER or UNDER how many touchdown passes he will throw. College football games can go into overtime, so the potential extra quarter is a bonus for anyone wagering the OVER. Other props will be on a player scoring a TD or the number of interceptions a quarterback will throw. College football props used to be reserved for Bowl games and the National Championship but are now available every weekend. While college football prop betting has gained popularity in recent decades, it's still a small handle for sportsbooks compared to sides, totals, and parlays. Oddsmakers are less focused on props, so plenty of betting edges can be identified, but they require specialized knowledge and extra energy to monitor lines and odds that vary dramatically by the minute.

College Football Playoffs: College Football Bowls

While there are dozens of games on a college football weekend, the schedule slims down significantly during bowl season. Often, there is just one College Football Bowl game, so the odds posted will cover the side, the total, moneylines, and multiple props. Handicapping Bowls, however, can be very different from regular-season matchups. Most of the Bowl matchups will feature teams from different conferences. This makes it a challenge for betting sites and oddsmakers to post an accurate number. Big-name programs can be taking on schools from smaller conferences. The talent gap can be significant, as can the motivation. The better-known program is often the favorite, but they might not have much of an interest in playing in a Bowl game that is considered a disappointment for them. This happens when a school with high aspirations of winning their conference or even contending for the national title ends up with a relatively disappointing 8-4 campaign and results in playing an opponent they don’t respect. 

In contrast, teams that weren't expected to do well win their conference and play in the school's first Bowl game in years. Those teams can view the Bowl as a reward and are eager to cap off a surprising season with a bowl victory. The Boise State/Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl in 2007 is one of the most famous examples. Oklahoma was a 7.5-point favorite, but highly motivated Boise State jumped to a 28-10 lead and hung on for a memorable 43-42 upset. Professional handicappers put an emphasis on motivation, coaching, and QB play for bowls more than matchups and power rankings.

Using College Football Betting Options to Your Advantage 

"So many choices, so little time," is the saying, and during a busy college football weekend, the story rings true. With dozens of games at your fingertips and a multitude of options for how to bet them — from sides and totals to props and parlays — it's easy to become overwhelmed. But if you take a different stance, you start to realize that one of your biggest advantages as a sports bettor is the luxury of being able to pick your spots. Assess the games and develop a strategy for outlining value against the bookmaker's number. Once you create a shortlist, you can start delving deeper into the matchups to identify plays with the greatest potential for winning. Remember that consistency with your approach goes a long way toward successful betting.