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How to Bet on College Football

College Football Betting Guide

The start of August means that the college football season is only a few weeks away. Whether you’re an avid college football fan or just learning the sport, there are plenty of great options for you to make smart bets on Saturdays this football season. 

College football betting is similar to the NFL, but the two are not the same. There’s a much wider variance in college football, and you’ll need to know what qualifies as a good bet to make money. Here’s a guide to betting on college football so that you can give yourself the best chance for success.

Table of contents

  1. 🏈The Most Popular CFB Bets
  2. 🌍Location, Location, Location
  3. 🔍Other Popular Bets
  4. 💡CFB Betting for Beginners

What Are the Most Popular College Football Bets?

Most college football fans will bet the spread, the moneyline or the total. These are common bets in the NFL, and you’ll find these available for almost every Division I college game. However, the strategy with making these bets is a little different than it is in the NFL. If you try to blindly use the same strategy as in the NFL, you’re likely to find yourself on a losing streak. Here’s what you should know about each bet.

Spread Betting

With only 32 teams and everyone playing on more or less the same level, NFL teams usually don’t have a huge difference between them. The worst team and the best team in the NFL usually won’t have a difference of more than 14 points at the most.

Not so in college, where there can be a vast difference between the teams. For example, Ohio State was favored by at least 17 points in five of its first six games last season. In the Buckeyes’ first three games in 2023, they were favored by at least 30 points.

Because the difference can be so stark, you need to know each team well and how the game is likely to unfold. You also need to be wary of the backdoor cover. Betting on the biggest names isn’t a great strategy in college football because the biggest names end up needing so many points just to cover the spread. In those cases, they often put in their second-string and walk-ons before they ever score that many points. In the NIL and transfer portal era, college teams have even more incentive to put younger players on the field in blowouts to both find out what they have and keep their young players happy. But while late-game substitutions make the backups happy, they don’t usually make spread bettors happy. Be sure you’re not putting yourself in a position to get backdoored.

Totals Betting

Knowing the teams’ play styles makes a big difference to the totals in college football. Once again, the totals are very different than betting the NFL for multiple reasons. NFL teams mostly play pretty similarly in terms of tempo, and most games will see around 40 to 50 points. In college, you can see anywhere from 30 to 80 points and beyond. The rules are far more forgiving for the offense in college, as the clock stops on first downs within the final two minutes of each half and receivers only need one fit in bounds for a catch.

As such, there are several teams who will push the tempo and get to 50 points or more by themselves. Oregon, for example, averaged 41 points per game in 2023. On the other end of the spectrum, you have Iowa, which averaged just 15 points a game last season, Before you take a look at a totals bet, make sure you know both teams’ overall strengths and weaknesses. Knowing the kind of game each team prefers to play makes it much easier to find a winner.

Moneyline Betting

Moneyline betting is best left to situations where the teams are about even. In the early part of the season, when teams play non-conference games, the value of taking the favorite is virtually zero. In Week 1, when SMU plays Nevada, none of the major books are offering the Mustangs at better odds than -2500. It’s almost impossible to make money like that.

Even in parlay situations, moneyline bets usually don’t add a lot. Including an Alabama or Michigan on the moneyline in your parlay might increase the value by a dollar or two. That’s not worth the possibility of another Appalachian State over Michigan surprise like in 2007.

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How Does Your Location Affect Other Bets?

Some extra bets, such as halves, quarters and team props, will be available in every state that offers a wager on that game. Individual prop bets, however, depend on the rules of the state. Some states also don’t allow any bets on their own teams.

  • Let’s say the Rutgers Scarlet Knights are facing the Michigan State Spartans. If you’re trying to bet that game in Michigan, you can bet spreads, totals, team totals and individual player props to your heart’s content. But head south into Indiana, and individual player props are no longer permitted. You’re still welcome to bet the spread or a team total, but Indiana is one of several states that doesn’t allow individual college prop bets. 
  • In New Jersey, where Rutgers is based, you couldn’t bet this game at all. This is because New Jersey doesn’t allow any wagers on in-state college teams. If the Spartans were facing Penn State, you’d be free to bet the game in New Jersey, but the Garden State is one of several that ban betting on college teams based in the state.

What Other Bets Are Available?

There are plenty of good betting options in college football beyond the standard wagers. Knowing how a team plays can provide several opportunities from team totals as well as quarter and half betting.

Team Totals Betting

When you have a mismatch where one team has a huge edge on one side of the ball, a team total bet might be the way to go. With this bet, you’re betting on one team to either go over or under its projected point total. The other team’s score doesn’t matter; your only concern is how many points your team scores.

This can be a great choice when you see an early-season mismatch. For example, if Ohio State is favored to beat Akron by 35 points with a total of 69, you could instead take Akron to go under its team total of 17 points. That way, if Ohio State puts in the reserves and stops scoring, you don’t have to worry about the Buckeyes not meeting the spread.

The same holds when betting a team that’s great on one side of the football. For years, betting on Iowa under its team total has been a great choice because the Hawkeyes seldom did anything on offense. Most times, unless the defense or special teams took a return for a touchdown, Iowa wasn’t getting anywhere near its team total.

Quarter and Half Betting

Betting on the first quarter or first half can use a team’s tendencies and the game conditions to your advantage. If a team consistently performs well in the first half but fades in the second, you could take them to cover the spread in the first half and not worry about the late backdoor cover. 

Similarly, if the forecast shows storms during the first half but things clearing up in an hour, you could bet the under in the first quarter and expect the points to come later.

Individual Prop Betting

These bets are becoming less common, as states are moving to ban these bets for college games. But if your state allows them, you can bet on star players to score a touchdown, throw for a certain number of yards, catch a certain number of passes or record a sack. Any possible outcome for an individual athlete can become a bet.

Multi-Play Wagers

Parlays and teasers are a big part of NFL betting, and the same is true in college football. A parlay pairs two or more outcomes into one bet, with the chance at a higher payout. The tradeoff is that if one outcome fails, the entire bet becomes a loss.

A teaser allows you to take a few extra points to give yourself more of a cushion. For example, if the sportsbook has Washington -8 and Nebraska +3, you could play a six-point teaser of Washington -2 and Nebraska +9 to increase your chance of winning. Because the odds are more in your favor, the payout is lower.

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College Football Betting Tips for Beginners

There are plenty of good betting options in college football, but it’s easy to get overwhelmed. There are 134 FBS teams in 2024, and another 129 teams in FCS. That’s up to 131 games available to bet each week.

To simplify things, here are a few tips to get you started.

Tip #1: Stick to Teams You Know

It’s virtually impossible to learn about 263 teams unless your job involves college football. So when you’re getting started, you should stick with teams that you watch regularly. If you’re a fan of Penn State, you probably know at least something about most of the teams in the Big Ten. These should be the teams you bet on early in the season. As the season progresses, you’ll get a better idea of which teams you know and like and can adjust your strategy accordingly

Tip #2: Prioritize Singles Over Parlays

Parlays are tempting for a reason: it’s hard to hit a winning bet. If you’re playing the spread, you have about a 50-50 shot to win your bet. If you need to win two bets, that drops to around 25%. The odds only get worse for each game you add. Occasional parlays can be fun and lucrative, but your strategy should revolve around single bets.

Tip #3: Remember the Key Numbers

There is some math in sports betting. Multiples of three, seven and 10 are always going to be key numbers in football because there are so many ways to make those combinations. Sportsbooks will often set lines at -3.5 instead of -3 because if the game is tied and the favorite has the ball, a field goal wins them the game but does bettors no good. The same is true with 7, because a touchdown can win the game and leave the bettor a half-point short. Any time you can get on the right side of a key number, do it.

Tip #4: Move the Lines

You don’t have to always play the lines exactly where they are. This is another spot where the key numbers come into play. If you can get a line from -3.5 to -2.5, that’s often worth the higher price to get on the right side of the hook. It’s always better to win a -2.5 bet at -140 than lose a -3.5 bet at -110.

Tip #5: Look At the Schedule

Letdown games happen, especially with college students. If Georgia has a big game with Alabama next week, it might not be completely sharp for a road game at Vanderbilt this week. You can use that to your advantage and fade teams that are either coming off a tough game or looking ahead to a big opponent.

With geography getting thrown out the window this year in the ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten, travel also matters. In October, for example, California has a three-week stretch where it plays Miami and NC State at home, with a trip to Pittsburgh in between. The Golden Bears will have to cross three time zones and cover 3,000 miles three weeks in a row. That’s going to be difficult on their bodies and brains.

Tip #6: Home Field Matters

Home field can be a great equalizer in college football. A lesser team playing at home can turn in a big performance in front of an inspired home crowd, especially if the game is on national television. Keep that in mind before blindly backing the favorite.

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