How To Bet On College Football: Wagering Guide & Betting Tips

Even before college football betting was legal throughout the United States, spreads were still prevalent. You could always find the spread for every college game on the ESPN ticker during College GameDay. However, mainstream media talent never discussed which teams would cover on national television because sports betting was still considered taboo.

Nowadays, however, nearly every sports show discusses which teams will cover the spread, showing how popular college football betting has become in the United States.

The point spread is the expected difference in the game’s final score. If the spread is six points, the favorite should win by a touchdown in bookmakers’ minds.

The favorite is represented by a minus sign (-), and the underdog is shown by a plus symbol (+). The (-) sign can be translated to “win by,” and the (+) means “to be within” when it comes to the final score.

If you bet on a favorite, they must win by the spread to cover and for your wager to be successful. Conversely, an underdog must be within the spread or win the game for your wager to hit.

For example, say Alabama is playing Georgia. Georgia is -3.5, and Alabama is +3.5.

If you bet on Georgia, they must win by at least four points for your wager to be successful. If you took Alabama to cover, they must be within three points or win the game for your bet to cash.

The good thing about spreads is that the odds are usually close to even, usually around -110. That makes them good bets to target since you stand to win roughly the same amount as your stake, which often isn’t the case for moneyline bets.

Since there is so much talent disparity in college football, spreads will vary greatly. It’s not unusual to see massive favorites of 30 or 40 points when a top-ranked school is facing a middling program. This is far different from the NFL, where favorites rarely exceed two touchdowns due to the league’s superior parity.

Everything from talent to game location affects the spread. Home-field advantage is a significant factor that is captured by the spread. Injuries can also significantly influence spreads, especially if star players or starting quarterbacks are out.

When making a spread bet, it’s best to garner as much information about the matchup as possible. Additionally, trends are critical for spread betting, as some teams may frequently win close games without covering, or underdogs may frequently outperform their projections.

It’s best to look at a team’s cover rate and performance against common opponents. These two qualities can help you decipher the best side of the line to take every Saturday.

The moneyline is the most common and straightforward bet in college football. Spreads, totals, and props take some extra betting knowledge to understand, but moneylines are simple.

When you bet on a moneyline, you take a team to win the game. The only thing that matters is that they’re ahead on the scoreboard at the end of the game. It doesn’t matter if they win in regulation or overtime or by two points or 100.

Unlike the NFL, college football games can’t end in ties, so you never have to worry about a push for your moneyline bet.

Moneylines can be viable betting options in college football. Since there are so many matchups, you can always find reasonable moneyline prices to bet. However, it can be hard to bet on college football moneylines because of team talent disparity.

Bookmakers use the exact same details as the spread to make the moneyline. They look at talent, schedule, game location, injuries, etc. However, you’re forced to pay a higher price for favorites on the moneyline than the spread.

Since spreads are adjusted to account for talent disparity, both sides typically have odds around -110. For the moneyline, however, we frequently see favorites with odds of -2000 in college football – much shorter than the odds for any NFL game.

When odds are this short, it forces bettors to play the spread for favorites and underdogs. Heavy underdogs typically don’t win in college football, so it’s always best to take points when you believe in an underdog.

The Over/Under is the third and final primary market for college football betting. The Over/Under, also known as the total, reflects the projected number of total points to be scored by both teams combined in an individual contest.

Since college football teams’ styles differ drastically, totals can typically range from 40 to 65 points, depending on the matchup. This is a significant difference from the NFL, where totals rarely exceed 50 to 55 points.

Bookmakers’ three most significant factors when setting totals are each team’s pace of play, offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency.

Regarding pace, some teams in college football rarely huddle and run multiple plays per minute. When two fast-paced teams compete, the projected total will be much higher.

However, if a team like Iowa takes the field, the total will rarely be set above the low 40s because of their excellent defense and mediocre offensive efficiency.

Betting college football totals can be very difficult because explosive plays frequently occur. Explosive plays create points and can easily ruin Under tickets, but they help Over bets.

As a bettor, you must choose if the total points in a game will go Over or Under the line. For example, if a game’s total is set at 54.5, you bet whether there will be more or fewer points scored than that number.

The odds are typically -110 on each side of the line, but occasionally you’ll see a shade to one side. For example, the Over may be -115 while the Under is priced at -105.

You must research Over/Unders, as totals require an intense look at both teams’ offensive and defensive styles. It can be hard to predict how teams will match up, but always consider the caliber of talent and efficiency to help determine your bet.

The full-game Over/Under isn’t the only total you can bet in college football. You can also wager on totals for specific quarters, halves or teams.

A team total follows the same concept as a complete game total but only involves one side.

For example, if we return to our Alabama-Georgia example above, the Crimson Tide’s team total line could be 23.5, and the Bulldogs’ line could be 27. These team totals are 3.5 points apart, reflecting the 3.5-point spread.

If you want to take a team total, you would bet on it going Over or Under its set line.

College football prop betting can be very lucrative because players can put up massive numbers every week. The talent disparity in college football makes prop betting Overs more profitable than in the NFL, where big statistical performances can be rare.

The most important thing to note for college football wagering is that player props aren’t legal in every state. However, game props like winning margins or drive props are legal everywhere you can bet on college football.

Prop bets will vary by sportsbook. The larger platforms will have more props because they have the resources to list these bets. Smaller books may only have simple props like touchdowns and yardage totals.

Here are some standard college football player props most books will have available for major games.

Anytime Touchdown Scorers

The most common prop market available is usually a wager on a player to score a touchdown. Since college football is typically higher-scoring than the NFL and star players tend to get more volume, these can be good wagers to attack weekly.

Over/Under Props

Sportsbooks will vary how many Over/Under props they list for each game. The main bets you can typically take for Over/Under bets are passing, rushing and receiving yards. The more prominent sportsbooks will also list Over/Under bets for receptions, completions, attempts and even kicking points.

If you’re looking for the best prop betting experience for college football, we recommend larger platforms like DraftKings and FanDuel. These are the highest-rated sportsbooks for prop betting because they have countless prop markets for significant college football games.

Defensive Props

Defensive props have become very popular in the NFL, and they’re also seeping into the college game. Sportsbooks will list sack, tackle and interception props for notable players.

Full-game spreads, totals and moneylines are the most popular markets for college football betting. However, sportsbooks also offer lines for quarters and halfs.

Quarter and half bets can help bettors find extra value in games if they bet correctly. Some teams are known to be fast starters but struggle to finish with the game on the line. If this is the case, a quarter or halftime bet could make more sense than a full-game wager.

Let’s look at an example of Alabama vs. Georgia once again for a first-quarter and halftime spread. Suppose 3.5 points favor the Bulldogs for the whole game. This would typically make the halftime spread 2.5 and the quarter spread 1.5.

Since three is a critical number in football, many bettors would take Georgia at -2.5 for the first half rather than -3.5 for the game because a field goal lead would win at the half and lose for the entire game.

An Alabama bettor may have a different mindset because the +3.5 spread is more appealing than +2.5. Crimson Tide bettors would win if Georgia won by a field goal, making the full-game market more appealing.

If you want to forget the points, quarter and halftime moneylines are also good bets. We recommend leaning toward underdogs for quarter and halftime bets. Favorites sometimes start slow, and underdogs have a better chance of winning a quarter or a half than a full game.

If you believe an underdog can compete but may not win, you can still back them in these markets at plus odds.

More prominent sportsbooks also offer player props for quarters and halves. These can range from yards in a quarter or half to touchdown scorers in these spans.

There are many ways to attack college football games from a betting perspective, so don’t forget these types of markets.

Parlay betting isn’t profitable in many cases, but it’s still popular with the public. That’s because bettors can risk a smaller amount and win more money by combining multiple wagers into one.

There are two main types of parlays. The first is a traditional parlay, which combines bets from different games on a single ticket.

For example, you could take Alabama to cover the spread, Oregon moneyline and the Over in the Penn State vs. Michigan game, all on the same ticket. However, all parts of the bet – known as “legs” – must come true for the bet to cash.

It can be hard to hit a single wager, let alone three or four together, making parlays difficult to hit consistently. Nevertheless, big parlay wins happen every week of the season, so don’t discount them. Focus most of your betting bankroll on single wagers, which are more likely to hit, and don’t get carried away on parlays.

The other main type of parlay is a same-game parlay. Whereas traditional parlays involve wagers from multiple games, same-game parlays are comprised of multiple wagers from one game.

Sportsbooks price these correlated parlays differently, but they can sometimes be easier to hit if you correctly predict a game’s “script.”

For example, if you think a team will win by running the football in a low-scoring affair, you could create a same-game parlay with a moneyline, Over/Under and running back prop as your three legs.

The possibilities are endless, and since these wagers can be correlated, they can be easier to hit than parlays with legs from multiple contests.

You don’t solely have to wager on individual games or players when betting on college football. Sportsbooks also provide odds for college football futures bets.

There are a few main types of college football futures bets. The most common is the National Championship market, where bettors can select their College Football Playoff winner. Another side market is betting which teams will make the College Football Playoff.

These two futures go hand in hand, but the odds of making the College Football Playoff are shorter because 12 teams have this opportunity. Picking the National Championship winner is more challenging, so the odds are longer.

You can also bet on conference championship game winners on most sportsbooks. Larger platforms typically give odds for every conference, whereas smaller sportsbooks usually stick to the Power Five conferences.

Next up on the college football futures board are win totals. Bookmakers project how many games teams will win in a season, and bettors can take the Over or Under on the line.

For example, Florida State’s win total heading into the 2024 season was 9.5. After three straight losses to begin the season, the Under has already hit. Usually, each side of the line is between +100 and -115 for these wagers.

The final notable future is betting on postseason award winners. The Heisman Trophy winner is the most common market, and the most recognizable award platforms will post.

When betting on awards, look down the board at names under the radar. The biggest names in college football aren’t always the best players, and stars can emerge everywhere. You can get great value if you find a good bet with long odds for a player stepping into a starting role with limited preseason hype.

NFL betting and college football betting are relatively similar. Spreads, moneylines, totals and props are posted similarly for both leagues. Football is the same game at nearly every level, so the odds will always look the same, but the ranges are much broader in college football.

The NFL has plenty of bad teams, but the difference between most teams usually comes down to a handful of plays per game and a couple of wins per season. The games are much closer, and blowouts are rare on any given Sunday. A big underdog in the NFL is 7.5 points, while this is a standard spread in college football.

College football is played by amateurs and is a sloppier product, making it more unpredictable and challenging to bet. However, you can find an edge with all the mismatches in college football, as long as the teams you’re taking limit their mistakes.

Keep in mind that several rules are different, including the kickoff rule. College football has a standard kickoff rule, but the NFL changed the format this season, shortening the field and making points easier.

College football has many more teams and players than the NFL, so you’ll need to do your homework. The NFL is a more consistent and polished product played by professionals who are less prone to mistakes.

The bottom line is that if you don’t love college football’s volatile nature, we recommend sticking with the NFL.

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