Next to the NFL, college football has proven to be one of the most popular ways to bet on sports. From late August all the way through the beginning of the New Year, football at the college ranks provides a ton of opportunity to build your betting bankroll. To capitalize on this opportunity, just go to SportsBettingStats.com to find out how to open a betting account at any of the featured online sportsbooks on the site.
The most basic bet in college football is the “point spread”. Unlike the NFL where the spread is usually in the single digits, betting lines at the college level can run the gambit from one point all the way up to several touchdowns. Given that there are five major conferences along with five more considered Mid-Majors, there is always a wealth of games to bet on at the college level. The end result is that oddsmakers have a real challenge on their hands when it comes to setting sharp point spreads for all of these games, which sometimes works in a bettor’s favor.
One of the best ways to bet on college games is to track the movement of a point spread from the time it is released right up to kickoff. Early money coming in can often times cause some huge point swings that can make one team much more attractive than the other in a particular matchup.
The other popular way to bet on college football is on the “total line”. Once again, given the large number of weekly games, betting lines for the total combined score can be all over the board. The total line for two defensive-minded teams might be in the high 30’s or low 40’s, but when two offensive powers matchup against one another you could see a total line in the high 60’s. The trick to cashing-in on the total line in college football is to do your homework handicapping any game you are looking to bet on. Mismatches are very common at this level and a really good offense can put up quite a few points against a poor defense.
Sportsbooks also release “money lines” for a select number of college football games each week. This is a bet on a straight-up matchup where you have to risk more than you win to play the favorite, while making more than your bet with a play on the underdog. Football games at the college level are far more unpredictable than in the pros so money lines will also be all over the board. The best betting strategy for college money lines is to try and find an underdog that you have a high level of confidence in to win the game straight-up. Playing favorites on the money line is always a risky proposition given the high number of upsets that happen each and every week.
A “parlay” is a grouping of individual games into one single bet. The return on a parlay can be very tempting when you can get 13/5 odds for grouping two games together all the way up to 150/1 odds for an eight-team parlay, but this type of bet is hard to hit since you have to pick the right winner in every game. Some books will also offer a “teaser” option when betting parlays. With this type of bet you can lower you return for the right to move a point spread one way or the other to improve your chance to win.
Just like the NFL, sportsbooks will also release betting odds for “futures” and “props” for college football. A good example of a futures bet would be winning a national title or a conference title, while a prop bet covers an aspect of a game such as which team scores first.
A great starting point to put together a winning formula for betting on college football is to check-out SportsBettingStats.com for insider tips and betting strategies in the NCAA Football section of the website.