College Football Picks

Before you make your NCAA betting picks, you need to know how to read the odds and the main types of betting lines you can play. To help you make the most out of our Free College Football Picks and NCAA betting expert analysis and picks, we’ll explain how to read the odds and how the different types of wagers work. 

American Odds

Before you read our NCAA football expert analysis, you must know how to read the odds. Insiders Betting Digest’s experts and most online sportsbooks default to listing betting lines in American odds. American odds are created using win probabilities and center around a $100 figure.

Every betting line will have a favorite, indicated by a minus symbol (-), and a favorite, indicated by a plus symbol (+). American odds for the favorite tell the player how much money they need to wager to win $100. For example, if the Georgia Bulldogs are listed at -210 odds (67.7% win probability), then a player has to wager $210 to win $100. 

On the other hand, if the Ohio State Buckeyes are listed at +130 (43.5% win probability), these odds tell the player that if they wager $100, they’ll win $130.

Moneyline

Moneyline bets are the most straightforward and familiar type of bet you can make. When betting on the moneyline, you are placing a wager on who you think will win the game. If the team you pick wins, you win. 

Totals (or Over/Under)

A total points line is also commonly known as over/under wagers. Why? Because those are your betting options.

If you are betting on the totals or over/under betting line, you are betting on the total combined points in the game. Players can select whether the game will go over or under the betting lines posted total points. If the game finishes precisely on the total, that’s called a “push,” and your wager will be returned to you.

Point Spread

A point spread wager is the most complicated betting line, which has specific conditions to win. You are betting on the score differential between the two teams in a point spread wager. This will be referred to as “covering the spread” by betting experts and analysis.

As you dive into Insiders Betting Digest’s expert betting analysis, you’ll find out whether it’s best to make your College Football Picks Against the Spread or not. 

How do spread bets work? If you are betting on the USC Trojans (-3.5), this means that USC has to win the game by at least four points for your bet to win. 

Conversely, if you are betting on the Auburn Tigers (+4.5), Auburn can win outright or lose by four points or less for your bet to win. Taking Auburn in our example is referred to as “taking the points.”

Parlays, Props, and Furutres

There are three other betting types to know before starting your NCAA football betting adventure: parlays, props, and future bets.

Parlay

A parlay is combining multiple picks into one larger wager with a larger payout. It doesn’t matter how many selections you combine in a parlay; every selection you make has to be correct for your bet to win.

Props

Prop bets are bets on in-game action. Prop bets vary depending on the sport and can range from an individual player or a team’s statistical performance and head-to-head player matchups to betting on the outcome of a coin flip.

Futures  

Futures bets are simply betting on something to happen in the future. These bets can be for a team to win their conference, the National Championship, or who will win the Heisman Trophy, to name a few types of futures bets.