NCAA Football Betting Guide

College Football Betting: Moneyline, Spread & Over/Under

If you’re a fan of college football, you may have thought of placing wagers on the outcomes of the games you’re interested in watching. Sports betting can be a fun and profitable hobby if you do the required research and use different betting strategies to your advantage. 

However, if you haven’t placed any bets because you don’t fully understand the ins and outs of sports betting, this guide should help. It explains the different types of bets and how to use them to your advantage. 

Sports Betting Takes Off

Online sports betting has become very popular in the last few years. The industry is constantly upgrading, making it more accessible and easier to play since the first online wager was placed back in 1996. 

Cutting-edge technologies have made it possible for fans to have the best experience possible when betting online. In addition, there are now an unlimited amount of opportunities for players and bookmakers alike. 

The popularity of betting on NCAA football has recently exploded onto the market, giving fans a chance to win money on game results for the first time. There are many sportsbooks to choose from and an extensive selection of betting types available for this and every other major sport. 

In the past, fans bet on college football among friends. This can be fun but isn’t organized the way online betting is today. With the popularity of fantasy football, a whole new aspect of sports betting was invented.

Keep in mind that when making any wager online, make sure not to bet more than you can afford to lose, and always practice responsible betting. This will make your experience a positive one and ensure you’ll always have fun when wagering on college football. There are certain types of wagers that can be placed when betting on NCAA football. 

Moneyline Bets

Many beginners will bet on the moneyline, as it’s the simplest way to wager on any sport. The only thing the bettor needs to be concerned with is who the winner of the game will be. The odds that are displayed next to each team indicate the payout for choosing each team. Here’s an example of what it looks like:

Team Moneyline 

Georgia +200

Alabama -200

Alabama again is the favorite in this scenario, indicated by the -200. It’s similar to a spread bet in that the bettor would have to wager $200 to win $100 if betting on Alabama. With a pick for Georgia, a wager of $100 would pay $200, as they are the underdog. 

The payouts for moneyline wagers can vary depending on the strength of the team you want to wager on. The moneyline represents the current market expectation of a game you’re betting on. 

By just looking at the moneyline odds, you can get useful information about the probable outcomes for any game. As the time of the event gets closer, the bookmaker constantly updates these odds until they become more relative to the actual probabilities of the game by the start. 

Information such as injuries and weather can affect how these odds move. It also can be influenced by betting trends on the event in question. For example, if a sharp player puts down a big on an event, the odds will tend to move when that action comes in. 

You may see odds change drastically from one day to the next as the game approaches, which sometimes means the bookmaker received some type of significant action from one of their accounts which warranted them moving the betting line or odds. 

Spread Bets

Betting on the spread is the most popular wager when betting on NCAA Football. The spread is determined by bookmakers to show how strong a team is against its upcoming opponent. It evens the playing field between two teams by assessing the margin of victory for the team that is favored to win the game. 

The lines, or spreads, are posted on betting sites days before the actual game is played and can change from the time they are posted until the time of the actual game. The favorite teams will usually be represented by a “-” and the underdog is indicated by a “+.” Here’s an example of how a spread bet may look:

Team Spread

Georgia +5 (-110)

Alabama -5 (-110)

In this example, Alabama is the home team as they’re listed at the bottom and are 5-point favorites, which is indicated by the -5. The -110 are the odds known as “juice.” This is what the house charges the bettor for making the wager, meaning to win $100 by betting on the favorite, who is Alabama, you’d have to wager $110. The extra $10 juice would go to the house.

You will generally see higher spread differences in college football than you would see in the NFL. This is mostly because there are many more teams in college, meaning there’s a bigger difference in the talent level between the best and worst teams. The spread levels the playing field for the two squads meaning the house will see action on both teams, not just the favorite.

There are three results possible on a spread bet. If Alabama wins by at least 6 points, then a wager on them would win the bet. Now, if they win by less than 5 points or lose the game, the winning wager would be a pick for Georgia. And if Alabama wins by exactly 5 points, the wager would be a “push,” meaning the bettor would have the amount of the wager returned.

Sometimes, the lines in a spread bet can be set with a half-point. So if the spread were 5.5, the favorite, Alabama, would have to win by at least 6 points for the bettor to win the wager and Georgia would have to lose by less than 5.5 for a wager on them to win. Since it’s impossible for a game to end with a 6.5 point difference, the push is eliminated from the equation.  

Total (Over/Under) Bets

Betting the total or over/under is another of the more popular wagers and doesn’t concentrate on one team beating the other. The total is simply the number of points scored in the game by both teams combined. 

The bookmaker will determine what it thinks will be the final combined total points scored in the game. The bettor will have to determine whether the total points scored will be over or under the indicated number. 

For example, if the total for Alabama and Georgia is 60 points, the bettor would select the “under” if it’s thought the total points scored by both teams will be less than 60 and choose the “over” if they think the total will be over 60 points. 

If the game total is exactly 60 points, then the wager would be a push, and the amount of the wager is returned to the bettor. Here’s an example of what a total bet would look like:

Team O/U

Georgia O 60 (-110)

Alabama U 60 (-115)

This particular wager has increased juice on the under, which is not always the case, meaning if you picked the over for this game, you would need to wager $110 to win $100. On the under, the wager would have to be $115 to win $100  

Sometimes, the bookmaker will set the totals with a half-point. So if the total were 60.5, any wager on the over or under would win as they normally do, but the push is eliminated from the scenario as it’s impossible for a game score to end with 60.5 total points.

Parlays/Teaser Bets

A parlay is a bet with more than one event integrated on the same wager. Every outcome on a parlay bet must be correct for it to be a winning wager. The bets are called “legs,” and the more legs you add, the higher the potential winnings are. Some online sportsbooks will let you bet up to 15 legs on one parlay. Any pushes within the legs are removed from the parlay. 

Say you had a 10-team parlay and one of the games is a push. This would now change the wager to a nine-team parlay and would pay out less than the original wager. 

You can combine the types of bets to add to your parlay. For example, you could play a three-team parlay and bet the moneyline on one game, the spread on another, and the total on a different game, all on one ticket. You can also combine wagers on the same event into a parlay. 

There’s one important thing to remember when betting parlays. In order to win, every single wager of the parlay must be won in order to walk away with the win. Of course, the more legs to your parlay, the harder it is to win. 

Teasers allow the bettor to move the line on any particular event by either 6, 6.5, or 7 points. For teasers, a maximum of ten teams can be combined into the wager. There are also “sweetheart” teasers. These allow the bettor to move the lines by 10 or 13 points. 

This type of teaser must involve a minimum of three teams and a maximum of ten. The more points you move the line by, the less a teaser will payout, but the odds of winning will increase. 

Prop Bets

Proposition or “prop” bets allow the bettor to wager without having to pick a particular team or rely on the winner in order to cash in. Instead, props are based on the individual players’ performance, team stats, or events that are related to the particular game. 

For example, bettors have been able to wager on the color of Gatorade that will be dumped on the winning coach’s head at the end of the Super Bowl, or how many receiving yards a certain player will have in a game. These offer a great way to have fun while betting on college football. 

Futures Bets

Futures are wagers on future events that are upcoming in college football. A prop bet on who will win the National Championship may look something like this:

Alabama +200

Georgia +1000

Boston College +2500

The odds on future bets will change as the season progresses, so it’s best to make your wagers before the start of the season in order to see the biggest payoff. For example, in the above scenario, a $100 bet on Georgia at the beginning of the season could win you $100,000 if they ended the season as the champions. 

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to collect on your bet until the end of the season (or until after the action is completed). Even so, this could turn out to be the best wager you could make for the entire year. This type of bet is very popular when betting on NFL teams, so check out the odds before the start of the season to see which team you think might win it all. 

Time to Get Started

Sports betting continues to become more popular because of the entertainment value it offers, as well as the possibility to earn money. It can be challenging to get started; however, becoming skilled isn’t overly complicated. 

Make sure to always do your research before wagering and if you’re a beginner, start with small bets and set a budget to set aside that you’ll only use for wagering. Some experts suggest taking the amount of your bankroll and dividing it by 100 and don’t make bets bigger than this amount as you learn and improve your outcomes. 

Every new bettor will make some mistakes, so if you do, you won’t lose as much by employing this strategy. Also, try to focus on just one sport to start. This way, you can gain as much knowledge as possible on one sport before trying to wager on another. 

Once you’ve gathered enough information to make yourself successful, then you should start to make a profit. Also, don’t chase your losses. Continue to be disciplined in your betting, and you should be making money sooner than you anticipated. Want to learn more about College Football Betting? Follow us on Twitter.