Online Betting For College Football

Real Money Online Sports Betting Our reputable and respected online sportsbook is filled with bonuses and promotions to make your betting experience hassle free. The best odds, lines, totals and spreads are available for the top sporting events throughout the year. Bet on NFL, NBA, MLB, college football, college basketball, international sports. Bovada Sportsbook is the most reputable USA friendly site for betting on College football games. They are part of the Bodog Group, one of the most trusted names in online sports betting. Bovada was formed to cater exclusively to US players and offer the best football lines and odds around.

1. Online Betting For College Football Scores
2. Football Wagering Sites
3. Online Betting For College Football Bowl

Legal CFP betting has long been a major sensation, as the College Football Playoff itself is the crowning three-game event of the NCAA sports wagering year. While NCAAF betting is second in popularity after NFL betting in the US, when the CFP rolls around, sportsbooks experience a spike in action only surpassed by Super Bowl betting. As such, there’s a tremendous amount of interest in CFP betting, and that translates into big opportunities for savvy sports bettors. Most reliable estimates suggest that over 20 million US sports gamblers spend upwards of $4 billion in wagers on the College Football Playoff. Such overwhelming popularity means that there’s going to be thousands of different associated wagers you’ll be able to place on these three games.

Now that the federal sports betting ban has been lifted, more and more states are going to have legal CFP betting products offered within their borders. However, the vast majority of American bettors are still without any convenient land-based wagering options, and many millions of US residents bet on the CFP via online, international sportsbooks. Regardless of which legal sports betting method you choose, however, one thing is clear: if you like sports betting, you’re going to be betting on the College Football Playoff and the CFP National Championship. NCAA football betting is hugely popular, but the regular season is just a warmup for all the action you’ll find at your sportsbook of choice once the CFP rolls around.

About NCAAF Betting Online It's easy to get overwhelmed by the number of college football betting strategies and NCAA football betting trends at your disposal. Different experts have different approaches, and even how-to sites will relay disparate information. In college football, the most common teasers are 6, 7 or 10 points. Generally, online gambling sites will give you two teams for 6 and 7 points and three teams for 10-point teasers. Live Betting: When the Game is In Play Miami is playing Virginia Tech and you forgot to place your bets. Make A Deposit – Online college football betting sites take a variety of deposit options. Credit card and debit cards are still widely used but they come with 5-7.5% fees. They also cannot be used as a payout method and those depositing with a card often opt for checks for withdrawals.

Can I Legally Bet On The College Football Playoff?

You can absolutely enjoy legal sports betting on the CFP and the National Championship odds that are available, no matter where in the US you happen to live. To date, more than 20 states have legalized sports betting within their borders, with many more to follow in the coming months and years. By 2023, it is estimated that upwards of 35 states will have some form of regulated, licensed sports wagering product available to the public. In short, when you want to bet on college football, FBS bowl games, the College Football Playoff, or the CFP National Championship, Las Vegas is no longer the only game in town. However, despite far greater accessibility to legal sports betting around the country, the majority of avid NCAA bettors still don’t have convenient access to US-based sports wagering solutions.

For them, the only current option to get in on the action is to use a legal offshore sports betting site. These overseas sportsbooks – like Bovada, BetOnline, MyBookie and other top service providers – have been offering NCAA odds and lines to residents of all 50 states for over a combined century, each with a generation or more of action under their belts. Signing up at these sites is free, deposits are quick and easy, and the betting boards themselves are often far more robust – and offer far better odds – than any of the land-based options near you. Even if you join a local book to handle the bulk of your betting, it is highly advisable that you join one or more offshore wagering services so you can shop lines for the best values, especially when you’re betting on the home team.

Differences Between Land-Based And Online Sportsbooks

There are several important differences between land-based and online sportsbooks. No book is fundamentally better than any other in theory, but depending on where you live and how often you wager, you’ll definitely need to know about these differences to make an informed decision about where to place your NCAA football bets.

Land-based books have the advantage of being explicitly licensed and regulated in your home state (or a neighboring state, if yours doesn’t yet offer legal sports betting). This makes account management, deposits, and payouts potentially simpler for the bettor. Additionally, this can give first-time bettors more peace of mind from a legal perspective, especially those who are unfamiliar with the laws governing online, offshore sportsbooks. However, land-based books also have a couple of major drawbacks. For one, they’re simply not viable for most bettors in the US. Land-based books are only operational in a handful of states, and even fewer states actually have statewide online components for these books. Sports bettors tend to wager several times per week, and it’s not reasonable for everyone to take long trips to simply place their bets. Secondly, local sportsbooks in states that have them may not allow NCAA betting, and if they do, the local fanbase can easily shift the line so far in favor of the home team that the bet loses much of its value.

Legal online sportsbooks located overseas completely eliminate these latter two issues, as NCAA and CFP betting are available at all of them, and because they serve residents from just about every state in the US, there is no local fandom in play to skew the lines. These offshore books also have the benefit of offering cryptocurrency (Bitcoin et al.) deposits and withdrawals, which are not available at any land-based US sportsbooks. Generally speaking, crypto like Bitcoin is the favored way to fund and withdraw from online books, and the digital money has many other benefits to the US dollar and other bank-vested payment processors. Still, for most users, the biggest appeal of using offshore sportsbooks is that you can use them from literally anywhere you have an Internet connection. Offshore books are not geo-fenced, and you can travel state to state without every missing out on a wagering opportunity. These overseas betting sites have a tremendous head start on US-based sportsbooks when it comes to mobile betting and live betting, too.

Current CFP Betting Odds

After going into the National Championship heavily favored, Alabama ran away with the game and the CFB betting odds, as they went on to win the championship over Ohio State with money coming in on their side of the line. The closing spread for the game was set at 9.5 points and Alabama covered it with ease as they won with a final score of 52-24. Also, the game total was set at 75 points prior to the game in which Alabama powered their way through to just hit the Over as the game total was 76 points.

2021 College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship – Odds To Win

• Spread
• Win
• Total
• 1/11/21
• 8:00 PM
• Ohio State (#3)
• Alabama (#1)
• + 191 Bets

National Championship Player Props

While the CFP ends with the big game, the betting market increases as the playoffs extend. Player prop bets on the NCAAF Championship include betting on quarterbacks to pass over a certain number of yards, taking longshot odds on a player scoring the first touchdowns, or even comparing two players head to head – on the moneyline or spread! The National Championship player props are not limited, as online sportsbooks will break down odds and lines for every skill player, some defensive players, and even kickers.

National Championship Prop Bets

With the National Championship game between Alabama and Ohio State, college football fans were able to get many National Championship prop bets with NFL players on both sides of the ball. Aside from the regular game lines, bettors can also look to bet on college football odds the first scoring method of the game and even which team will call the first timeout. With this many prop bets for the National Championship available, bettors can stay invested throughout all parts of the game.

Legal Deposit Methods For CFP Betting

The legal deposit methods available to you when betting on the College Football Playoff are going to vary based on where you’re placing your wagers. If you’re using a land-based or state-licensed online sportsbook, you will be able to use most of the common payment processors you’re used to. These include Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal, eChecks, Skrill, Neteller, and so on. (Some venues will accept cash, but this is actually rarer than you might expect.)

If you’re using an offshore College Football sportsbook, you’ll have some of the same options as well as some different ones. Whether or not these are better options will depend on each individual bettor. Online sportsbook accounts can almost universally be funded by Visa, Mastercard, and American Express credit and debit cards, as well as international gift cards or preloaded cards from these brands. Additionally, every major offshore book offers Bitcoin deposits in addition to other cryptocurrency support (like Litecoin, Ethereum, Cardano, DASH, Bitcoin Cash, etc.). Most offshore books will also accept cashier’s checks, money orders, MoneyGram and Western Union transfers, and so on. Generally speaking, all books, both online and off, have adequate and accessible deposit options. The main thing is that if you want to use Bitcoin/crypto, offshore sites are your only option for the foreseeable future.

How To Bet On The College Football Playoff

The Straight Moneyline

The most important concept in CFP wagering is the moneyline. All wagers have attached moneylines, which show the ratio of how much a wager costs to how much it pays out. Moneylines work like this: Each side of a bet has a number attached, which is either positive or negative. A positive number shows how much money you stand to earn on a $100 bet, while a negative number shows how much money you must wager to win $100. (Note that these amounts show the ratio of a bet’s buy-in vs. payout and are not betting minimums). Now then, in straight betting, a positive moneyline number denotes an underdog, while a negative moneyline number denotes a favorite. Take the following College Football Playoff straight bet:

• Alabama (-290) vs. Ohio State (+240)

In this example, Ohio State is the underdog. If you wager $100 on them, a win would pay out $240. Alabama, meanwhile, is the favorite. If you wager $290 on them, a win would pay out $100. You as the bettor will use these ratios and apply them to whatever amounts you risk. If you put $10 on Clemson, a win would yield $24, while a $10 bet on the Tide would pay out $3.45. These payouts don’t include your original risk, so expect that returned as well. All reputable books will show you how much you stand to win when selecting.

The Spread Bet

The spread bet is the most popular College Football bet type, and that goes double for a huge event like the CFP. Spread bets use handicapping to balance action on both sides of a given wager, and the moneyline – or bet cost – is typically the same on either side of said wager (usually set at -110). With spread betting, the presumed favorite will “give” points to the presumed underdog. A favorite then has to win by a given number of points to pay out, while the underdog can lose by a given number of points and still win the wager.

– Oklahoma Sooners -3.5 (-110) vs. Georgia Bulldogs +3.5 (-110)

In this matchup, the Sooners are favored by 3.5 points. This means that if you wager on OU, they’ve got to beat Georgia by at least 4 points to win the bet. Meanwhile, the Dawgs can win outright or lose by up to a field goal and still win the wager. Sportsbooks usually use half-point increments on these kinds of bets in order to avoid “push” results, where all action on a particular wager would be refunded.

The Over/Under

The over/under is the third-most-popular CFP bet type. Over/under bets, also called totals bets, are not concerned with winners and losers, instead only focusing on the total combined points scored between both teams in a given matchup. Before the game, your book will assign the game an over/under number, and you simply place a wager on whether you think the two teams will combine to score more or fewer points than said number.

– Notre Dame vs. Ohio State O/U 48.5 (-110)

Here, the over/under (or O/U) number is set to 48.5 points, and the odds are posted at -110 on either side of the wager. If you pick the “over” and the final score is 27-23, that adds up to 50 points, so you’d win the bet. However, if you picked the “over” and the final score is 27-13, that adds up to 40 points, and you’d lose the wager.

Prop Bets

Prop bets, short for “proposition bets,” are based on elements and outcomes of a given game that aren’t covered by the above bet types. Props are not concerned with which teams win or lose, instead focusing on individual or team-based performance thresholds within given contests. For example, you can place a CFP player prop bet on how many TDs a quarterback will throw or how many tackles a DB racks up during the game. Similarly, you can also place team props, which are just like player props but oriented around team performances. Team prop examples include things like how many total touchdowns one club will score, how many total kick-return yards a special teams will gain, or how many turnovers a defense will force. Because College Football Playoff games are so popular, you will also get a variety of game props to choose from. These are game-related wagers on things like which team will score first, which club will win the coin-toss, and so on.

Other Ways To Legally Bet On The College Football Playoff

In addition to all of the above, big games like those that make up the College Football Playoff will typically have lots of other bets you can place. There will be game specials, like how long the national anthem will run or what color outfit the halftime performer will wear. You can also assemble multiple individual wagers into parlay bets, where all legs have to win in order for your ticket to pay out. Most sportsbooks will allow you to stack all kinds of different CFP bets into parlays, with straights, spreads, totals, props, and specials all on the same ticket. Parlay bets are harder to win, but they pay out at much higher rates than their constituent bets.

All that said, the most common type of CFP wager that doesn’t fall under the above categories is the futures bet. These bets will typically be available year-round, often posted a full year in advance of the CFP. Futures bets are basically long-term props. The most common NCAAF futures wagers are on which team will win the championship game and which player will take home the Heisman Trophy.

Mobile Betting On The College Football Playoff

Mobile betting is available on the College Football Playoff in a small number of states that offer Internet-based betting (like Nevada and New Jersey), as well as at all the major offshore sportsbooks. While the state-based mobile betting platforms have official iPhone and Android apps, the offshore books actually make use of mobile web-app experiences to bring you all their odds and lines. These app-like interfaces require no downloads, are always automatically updated on the backend, and offer sports bettors in all 50 states quick, efficient odds browsing and ticket submission. To access any offshore book’s mobile betting portal, simply visit the site of your choice via your smartphone’s or tablet’s web browser, and you’ll automatically be redirected to a small-screen optimized mobile sportsbook interface. From there, you can tap and swipe your way to big College Football Playoff winnings!

College Football Playoff Live Betting

CFP live betting, aka in-game betting, is a major sensation, as live wagering in general has taken the sports betting world by storm. Whereas traditional sports betting requires you to have all your bets turned in and finalized before a given game gets underway, live betting allows you to wager on lines all game long. All of the major offshore sportsbook operators offer live betting, and almost all land-based sportsbooks do, as well. When live betting, all the typical wager types (straights, spreads, totals, props) will be offered, and these will dynamically adjust as the game is being played, in real-time! Live betting adds hundreds of lucrative and exciting betting opportunities to every game, and there’s no more immersive way to bet on the College Football Playoff than to do so via live betting.

Do all sportsbooks offer College Football Playoff odds?

Unfortunately, no. Many states with regulated sports betting do not allow for local college teams to be bet on. This is supposedly to maintain the integrity of the local teams and an attempt not to encourage point-shaving by players. The good news is, international sports betting sites offer betting lines for all college games regardless of what state you are in. No matter what, you can bet on your local teams with no restrictions thanks to international betting sites being unaffected by US regulations. These sites can provide betting lines for every game in the NCAA.

Why is it important to shop lines on the College Football Playoff?

Shopping lines is incredibly important if you want to get the most bang for your betting buck. Because sportsbooks compete with each other for your business, you are rarely going to find exactly the same odds at any two books, whether on-land or online. As a result, whenever you see a bet you’d like to go on, it’s important that you compare the odds on that wager across as many books as possible. After all, if one book has the Sooners at -175 and another has them at -135, you’d be leaving a lot of money on the table by going with the former. The biggest edge any College Football Playoff bettor can get is to join multiple sportsbooks to shop lines for the best payouts.

How do I pick the best CFP sportsbook bonus?

The best College Football Playoff sportsbook bonus will depend on how often – and how much – you wager. If you only bet a small amount of cash on a few big events each year, you should not accept bonuses generally speaking. However, if you’re a high roller or wager frequently, bonuses can add lots of value to your bankroll. Bovada has the easiest bonus for new bettors and small spenders, as it tops out at $250 and only has a small 5X rollover. For big spenders, of course, sites like BetOnline and SportsBetting offer $1,000 bonuses, though these come with 10X rollover requirements. No matter which bonus you’re looking to accept, always be sure you fully understand your sportsbook’s bonus terms and conditions.

What is the best way to withdraw my College Football Playoff winnings?

If you’re using a land-based or state-licensed (i.e. domestic) online sportsbook, the best way to withdraw is going to be via checks, eChecks, PayPal, prepaid cards, or – in some cases – cash. However, if you’re using offshore sportsbooks, there is only one option if you want to be paid out ASAP: Bitcoin (or other supported cryptocurrencies). Offshore books will pay your winnings out via other methods like money orders or courier checks, but these take up to two weeks to show up stateside. If you want same-day payouts from offshore books, crypto is the only option. Please note that in order to withdraw via crypto, you will have had to make the associated deposit via crypto first.

Does the favorite usually win its College Football Playoff games?

The CFP was installed in 2014, and in that time, there have been a total of 15 games. Of these, the outright favorite has a record of 9-6 (60%). When measured against the spread (aka ATS), however, the favorite has only covered the spread six times in 15 chances. Thus, College Football Playoff favorites are 6-9 ATS, meaning that they cover only 40% of the time. Going back into the sport’s CBS days, favorites have won the NCAAF national championship nine times in 16 tries (9-7, 56%) and are 8-8 ATS (50%). Combining just the BCS and CFP title games, the favorite is 11-10 straight up (52%) and 8-13 ATS (38%). Since 1999, then, favorites have had a tiny edge outright while consistently failing to cover the spread.

Our team at The Sports Geek has spent countless hours combing through tons of online sportsbooks with college football odds, and we are proud to present our selections for the absolute best real money NCAA football betting sites.

Using an extensive list of criteria, we assessed nearly every aspect of each site to ensure the best possible player experience. You can trust that playing on any of these online NCAAF betting sites will be enjoyable.

It is worth mentioning that we don’t get paid for placing any of these sites on our list. Our recommendations are given based on our experience with these sites. We provide you with accurate, objective information. Later, we will discuss some of the criteria we used in making our selections, and we encourage you to use these as a resource when researching for any future NCAAF betting website.

Attributes of High-Quality NCAAF Betting Sites

Strong Website Security

The first important thing you should consider when looking for where to bet on NCAA football games online is website security. 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. We picked the platforms that use cutting-edge software and advanced encryptions to keep your data away from prying eyes. You can be sure that if you choose to play on any site we recommend, you’ll have the safest online gambling experience possible.

Online College Football Betting Platforms

It is also vital that you choose real money NCAAF betting sites that provide multiple ways to play. In this day and age, players want to have access to their accounts from anywhere. You must be able to place bets on your PC but also your phone and tablet. By providing a variety of ways to bet, you’ll have much better access to your account. You will be able to take advantage of any opportunity, even if you can’t get to a computer.

User Interface

In addition to multiple platforms, you want to play on a site that is easy to use. The user experience on your website will be a crucial driver in determining the quality of your playing experience. Each NCAAF betting website we selected has invested in building clean, straightforward, and beautiful CFB betting platforms. Not only will betting on any site we recommend be easy, but you will enjoy spending time on the site as well.

New Player Bonuses

Next, when looking for where to bet on NCAAF, you want to look for valuable new player signup bonuses. These are bonuses that college football betting websites offer to new players as an incentive to choose their site over the competition. Most of the time, these will come in the form of a deposit match when the account is first funded. Let’s say you find a site offering a 50% match on the first $500 deposited. This means if you start with more than $500, they will give you an extra $250 in credit.

Real Money Betting Promotions

Similar to new player bonuses, promos are tools used by online sportsbooks to attract and retain players. These are much less exclusive than new player bonuses, and these generally apply to all players. NCAA football betting websites can offer a wide range of promotions, from boosting odds to bet matches. There is no limit to the creativity of promos, and they can add a fun new twist to your bets. Many times, you will need to opt into a promo, so make sure to check regularly to see which ones may apply to you.

Competitive NCAAF Odds

As you might expect, you also want to bet on an NCAA college football betting website that provides you with the best possible odds. When we talk about odds, we are referring to the data provided by the bookmaker that tells us what a bet pays along with the relative likelihood of that bet winning. We’ll discuss odds in more detail, but for now, just remember that you want to play on a site with better college football odds so you get larger payouts when you win. Each online NCAAF betting website creates their own wagers, so the variety of bets and odds can vary from site to site. We’ve got a list of college football betting sites that offer some of the best odds on the internet.

Cryptocurrency

In 2017, Bitcoin exploded in value and became a household name across the world. Since then, cryptocurrencies have found a foothold as a viable currency worldwide. With millions of users and thousands of different coins, it was just a matter of time before this new form of money found its way into online gambling. Players prefer to gamble using cryptocurrencies because they usually offer more anonymity, more flexibility, and are less expensive to use than conventional currencies. You’ll find that the NCAAF betting sites on our list support crypto, and many of them even have exclusive promos just for crypto players.

Customer Service

Last but not least, any good real money NCAAF betting website needs to offer best-in-class customer service. We looked for sites that provide players with around-the-clock support via multiple channels, including phone, email, and live chat. These sites have millions of satisfied customers, and each has a long track record of putting players first. Should you ever have an issue, you want the sports betting site to have your back. If you ever run into a problem while playing on a website we recommend, you can be sure you will get a resolution quickly and professionally.

Resources for College Football Betting

Free NCAA Football Betting Picks

You’ll find tons of great resources on The Sports Geek to help you get into online NCAA football betting. The first of those is our collection of expert college football picks. Our experts provide both picks and in-depth analysis on tons of matchups that can help you make your decisions. Their analysis will include everything from stats to players to college football betting tips that will be game-changing for your strategy. You will get valuable peeks into what the pros are thinking, which can help you refine your own strategy. Over time, you will see patterns you can apply to your picks. Think of it as having your own personal mentor for each and every bet you place.

• Ohio State at Alabama NCAAF AI Prediction – CFP National Championship

• Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Alabama Crimson Tide Pick – National Championship January 11, 2021

• West Virginia at Army NCAAF AI Prediction – Liberty Bowl

• Ball State at San Jose State NCAAF AI Prediction – Arizona Bowl

• Tulsa at Mississippi State NCAAF AI Prediction – Armed Forces Bowl

• West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Army Black Knights Pick – Liberty Bowl December 31, 2020

• Ball State Cardinals vs. San Jose State Spartans Pick – Arizona Bowl December 31, 2020

• Tulsa Golden Hurricane vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs Pick – Armed Forces Bowl December 31, 2020

• Florida at Oklahoma NCAAF AI Prediction – Cotton Bowl Classic

NCAAF AI Computer Picks

In addition to expert picks, we also give you access to our AI picks. We use artificial intelligence models that use complex predictive algorithms to make the best possible picks. These models take thousands of factors into account in determining the most statistically probable outcome for each matchup. The great thing about using a computer model is that it learns over time, and the system is continually improving itself. Each incorrect pick adds another data point to make each subsequent pick better.

College Football Betting News

If you want to be successful in NCAAF betting, you need to stay on top of the news. Things happen too quickly to make informed decisions if you aren’t up to speed. We can help by providing up-to-date NCAAF news on everything happening within the college football world. While it’s great to know your numbers, football is more than just statistics. We can help you understand what’s happening while also helping you identify proper NCAAF betting opportunities and risks. Check out our college football news page to see all the breaking stories, so you can always be prepared to make informed bets.

• Ohio State QB Justin Fields Declares for 2021 NFL Draft

• Devonta Smith’s Record-Breaking First Half Lifts Alabama Over Ohio State in CFP Title Game

• Trevor Lawrence Officially Declares for the 2021 NFL Draft

• Alabama’s DeVonta Smith is First WR Since 1991 to Win Heisman Trophy

• Clemson Tigers Dominate Latest AP College Football Poll

• No.1 Clemson is Favorite To Win Sixth Straight ACC Title

• Big Ten Votes to Postpone College Football Season Until Spring of 2021

• UConn Is First FBS Team To Call Off 2020 Season

• ACC’s 11-Game Football Schedule For 2020 Includes Notre Dame

NCAA Football Betting Blog

On top of our comprehensive news coverage, we also address tons of other excellent topics in our NCAAF blog. Here, you will find a wealth of informative looks at different aspects of the sport beyond just current events. You’ll find NCAAF betting guides, tips, and analyses to help you further your knowledge about college football. Browsing through the archives is a great way to discover new perspectives and new insights that might not dominate headlines, but it might make the difference between winning and losing your next bet.

NCAA Football Betting Strategy

If you are looking to focus on a proper strategy, you’ll be glad to know we have an entire section dedicated to helping you build a winning NCAA college football betting strategy. To be successful, you need more than just a passing understanding of the matchup, and we help you dig deeper. These NCAAF betting tips and strategy resources are great for everyone from newbies to old vets. This college football betting guide will show you everything from where to start defining a strategy to teaching you how to squeeze max value out of any bet.

How to Understand NCAAF Betting Odds and Lines

The first step to getting started is learning how to read NCAAF odds and lines. While these might look intimidating when you see a massive wall of numbers at the sportsbook, they are much easier to understand than they look. We are going to talk you through understanding these critical pieces of information. They will drive every NCAAF bet you make. We are going to start with a high-level look, then hone in on some examples.

• Let’s start with understanding NCAAF odds. As we mentioned before, odds tell you what a bet pays if you win. These will generally be represented by a number higher than 100 or less than -100. A positive number means a team is an underdog, and a negative number denotes the favorite. These numbers will tell you what you win in relation to a $100 bet.
• Let’s say you take a bet that is paying +300, and you bet $1. In this case, you bet on the underdog, so you’ll win more if the underdog wins. +300 equates to winning $3. Add that to the $1 we bet, and you get a total payout of $4. Conversely, let’s say that the other team’s odds are at -300, and you bet on them. You’ve bet on the favorite, so your payout is expected to be much smaller. -300 correlates to winning $.33 in our example. Add that to your bet, and you get a total payout of $1.33. As you can see, that’s a massive difference.
  When it comes to real money NCAAF betting, with great risk, comes great reward.
• Next, let’s talk about reading the “line” or the “spread.” This is a single number that will be positive or negative based on which team is favored to win, just like the odds. But unlike the odds, this number represents the amount by which a team is expected to win. Perhaps you see a game showing +5.5 for one team and -5.5 for the other. This would mean the first team is expected to lose by 5.5 points while the second team is expected to win by 5.5 points. We’ll get deeper into how to apply this in the next section.

Most Popular NCAAF Bets

Long ago, sports betting was just a function of picking who would win a game. Nowadays, CFB betting has gotten much more complicated. The sheer range of bets you can place provides for opportunities that never existed in the olden days. We’re going to highlight a few of the main types of bets you can expect to see when you jump into real money college football betting. While we are going to present lots of choices, we recommend you pick one or two and stick with those. Most pros stay in the black by focusing on one or two rather than trying to be a jack of all trades. Follow their lead, and you’ll be on your way NCAAF betting for money.

NCAA Football Spread Bets

Up first is betting the spread. This is one of the easiest and most common bets you can make in NCAA college football betting. The idea behind setting a spread is to equalize two teams across a bet. Bookmakers “level the playing field” by handicapping the favorite and making them perform better than the underdog to win the bet. This is vital because no two teams are equal, so a straight 50/50 bet would never be fair.

The spread represents an expected variance between the two teams. This assigned number forces one side to not only win but outperform expectations. The spread shows how many points the favorite is supposed to win by, and conversely, the number the underdog should lose by. If there were no spread, everyone would always bet on the favorite, and the house would go out of business. Let’s take a look at an example of a typical NCAA football spread.

Here, we have the LSU Tigers playing the Florida Gators. In this matchup, we have the tigers offered at -8.5 points, paying -110, while the Gators are offered at +8.5 and also paying -110. You will notice that both bets pay the same because the probability of the Tigers winning by 8.5 is equal to the likelihood of the Gators losing by 8.5 in the bookmakers’ estimation. We would read this spread as, “LSU is expected to win the game by eight and a half points.” It is worth noting that the half points are used to prevent a tie since there are no half points in college football.

Another thing to remember is that the NCAA spread is not set in stone. Bookmakers move college football betting lines as needed to balance bets. The goal of any sportsbook is to have equal bets on each side of any bet. If one side gets too heavy, they need to adjust. They do this by moving the line. Say they had way too many bets on the Tigers. They could move the line from -8.5 to -9.5, meaning the Tigers need to do even better to win, and the Gators can do worse and still win. This incentivizes betting on the gators while discouraging betting on the Tigers.

NCAAF Moneyline Bets

The next type of bet we’ll discuss is moneyline bets. These are another straightforward type of bet that’s easy to pick if you are new to real money NCAAF betting. In this case, your goal is simply to pick a team to win the game. However, while that sounds simple, these aren’t just 50/50 bets. In spread betting, the teams are equalized using the spread. In moneyline betting, the teams are balanced using the odds. Rather than adjusting the expectations for each team, the bookmakers keep the expectations even (win the game) and adjusts the payouts.

In the middle row, you will see the odds on a moneyline bet from our earlier example. Like we’ve discussed, the numbers represent the payouts of each outcome. Here, we can see that the LSU Tigers are -305 favorites over the +220 Florida Gators. This gap signifies both a perceived disparity in the capabilities of the teams, as well as a massive difference in payout for a winning bet. Keep in mind that, unlike spread betting, your team needs to win the game for you to win your bet. Let’s see various bets would work out with our example.

Scenario A: You bet $10 on the Gators, and they win the game. They were offered at +220, meaning they were supposed to lose according to the bookmaker. Because they were supposed to get walloped, you would win $22 if they win the game. Add that to your bet, and they house owes you $32 on a $10 wager. Not too shabby!

Scenario B: You bet $10 on the Tigers, and they win the game. In this case, they were the favorite at -305, meaning they were expected to dominate. As expected, they won the game and as a result, you earn $3.33 on your $10 bet. Add that to your original wager, and you get paid a total of $13.33.

As you might expect in NCAAF betting, it pays to choose the underdog when you are confident. However, things aren’t that simple. Bookmakers scale the odds explicitly to account for the variances in the team, so if you see a +220 underdog, you are much more likely to lose than win. In fact, in our example, the bookmaker thinks you are nearly 7x more likely to lose your money if you bet on the Gators. The real key to moneyline betting is to find bets where your knowledge helps you spot value. In other words, you want to spot bets where you think the risk represented in the odds is greater than the real-life risk.

Over/Under Bets on College Football Games

Next, let’s look at over/under bets. These are great if you are betting on an NCAA football game where you aren’t a major fan of either team or if you’re looking for live college football betting options. Or maybe you want a unique way to take advantage of specific matchups. Over/under CFB bets allow you to bet on whether the points scored by both teams will total more or less than a given total. Let’s go back to our example.

Over to the right, you’ll see numbers designated with an “O” or a “U.” You’ll also notice that the numbers are the same. This represents the total point threshold to win the bet. Next to the point total, you will see the payout for that bet. Here, we see that the O/U is 38.5 points with the bet paying -115 regardless of where you bet. If the total points are 38 or under, an under bet will win. If both teams total 39 or more points, an over bet will win. These bets can be particularly useful if you think a game will be more offensive or defensive than usual.

Online Betting For College Football Scores

College Football Prop Bets

Finally, there are prop bets. These are often some of the most fun bets to place as they make every single aspect of the game fun. Prop, or proposition betting, adds a whole new level of excitement by allowing you to bet on a ton of smaller outcomes in the game. Rather than just betting on the overall result, you can bet on NCAA football with wagers like who will win the coin toss or who will score the first touchdown. These bets can add massive upside when made as part of larger parlay bets.

You’ll find lots of prop bets available on NCAAF betting sites that aren’t available in live sportsbooks. In some states, NCAA football betting online is restricted and in others, the sportsbook simply doesn’t have the resources to offer such bets.

However, it’s helpful to remember that prop bets are all just about luck. While some will be, such as what color shoes a particular player might wear, others are much more calculated. If you are looking to try all the crazy bets and just have fun, go nuts. But if you are serious about making money, focus on the skilled prop bets. Look for college football bets that can be more predictable and use the right data to back up your wagers. These skill-based bets can be quite profitable with the right prep.

NCAA Football Betting Conclusion

Betting real money on NCAA college football can take the excitement of watching the game to a whole new level. With tons of different bets, plenty of weekly action, and edge-of-your-seat playoffs, real money NCAAF betting can be a great way to get your feet wet with sports betting. Even if you’re new to gambling on college football, putting a few bucks on your favorite team might be the start of a profitable sports betting career.

Hopefully, you’ve learned more about how to bet on college football. We’ve discussed the critical aspects of a good NCAAF betting site, shared valuable learning resources, learned how to read lines and odds, and we outlined the popular types of bets you’ll run into. Check out The Sports Geek for more info on how to build your strategy into something special. Always bet responsibly, and never bet more than you can afford to lose. Have fun and good luck!

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