College Football Betting Guide
This is our official guide to gambling on the NCAA Football games!
College football continues to grow every year, and for many is the perfect start to the sporting weekend. The growth in the sport has led to an increased interest in gambling on this game. College football betting is now a multi-million dollar industry. Here you’ll see a guide to all of the different bets you’ll be able to place on each and every game, as well as some longer term bets.
College Football Point Spread
The point spread (also known as sides) is a bet where the odds makers will try and make each game a genuine 50/50 chance. They do this by either taking points from the favorite or adding points to the underdog. Here is an example:
Ohio State +4.5 -110
Alabama -4.5 -110
Here, the sports book consider that Alabama are the 4.5 points favorites, and your bet will be on whether you think they’ll beat that line or not. If you back Alabama here, to win your bet, they’ll have to win by five or more points. If you back Ohio State, you’ll win if either they win, or if they lose by four or less points. The odds of -110 here mean that on either side of the bet, you’ll have to wager $110 to make a profit of $100.
Betting Totals
This is similar to the point spread in that the odds makers will set a line based upon the total amount of points in the game (by both teams combined) and you’ll have to bet under or over that line. Here is an example:
Over 48.5 points -110
Under 48.5 points -110
Here, by backing either under or over the total, you’ll win $100 for your $110 stake. On occasions, the total line will be a whole number, and if the total is exactly that number, then the bet will be considered a “push” and your stake will be refunded.
Money Line Betting
The Money Line bet is the most straightforward bet in college football – simply which team will win the game. Unlike the point spread and totals, you’ll receive different odds on the two outcomes. The more a team is favored, the lower odds you’ll receive. Here is an example:
Baylor +350
Florida State -400
Here, Florida State is the strong favorite, and you’d need to stake $400 on them to win just $100. A bet on Baylor however sees a much bigger payout, with a bet of $100 seeing a profit of $350 if they do indeed win.
In all of the above markets, sports-books offer odds relative to $100 – however this doesn’t mean that you have to stake those amounts. You can place a bet for any amount, and you’ll be paid out on a pro rata basis. For example, a $10 wager on Baylor in the money line would see a profit of $35.
College Football Parlays
A Parlay is a bet where you will combine two or more games – the more selections you make, the more you’ll win. In a Parlay, all your selections have to win, so if just one game in seven lets you down, you’ll lose your bet. A sports-book will publish a table with the payouts for different numbers of teams – as examples, a 5 team parlay might pay 25/1, a 7 team parlay might pay 75/1.
Teaser Betting
Teasers are a special type of Parlay where you can move the line in your favor of each team by a certain number of points. For example, if the line on Auburn was -10.5, you’ll be able to move that line to -4.5. This means that instead of Auburn needing to win by 11, here they’ll only need to win by 5. However, because the chances of winning are much improved on each game, you’ll receive lower odds on the Parlay. A 5 team teaser parlay might pay 4/1 (as opposed to 25/1 for a non-teaser parlay), a 7 team parlay, 8/1 (as opposed to 75/1).
Betting the Futures
The main futures bet placed in college football is to predict the winner of the BCS National Championship Game. You’ll be able to place this bet both before and throughout the season. As an example, you might see Michigan State at 20/1 to win the national title. This means that a $10 wager will see you make a profit of $200 if they go on to win.