Tips & strategies to become a more successful NCAA Football bettor
Ok, so you want to bet on some college football, what are your options?
Point Spread
The most popular wager placed on college football is via the point spread. A point spread is a type of bet which is used to create a balanced or fair wager between both sides. To win your bet, the stronger team (known as the “favorite”) must win by a certain number of points, and conversely, the weaker team (known as the “underdog”) can lose by the same number of points or win the game outright.
Example: Alabama is -7 Vs Texas A&M. This means for Alabama to cover the spread; they must win by 8 or more points. For Texas A&M to cover the spread, they can lose by 6 points or less, or win the game outright. If Alabama were to win by exactly 7 points, the bet would push and there would be no action.
- Result: Alabama wins by 17 - Alabama covers the spread
- Result: Alabama wins by 3 - Texas A&M covers the spread
- Result: Texas A&M wins by 4 - Texas A&M covers the spread
Moneyline
Another way to bet on NCAA Football games is via the moneyline. The moneyline bet might just be the easiest betting term to understand. Simply put, if you are betting on the moneyline, you are betting on a team to win the game. There are two possible results for a moneyline bet; your team wins and you win the bet, or your team loses and you lose the bet. Remember, in NCAA Football there are no ties, so one team must win.
Unlike a point spread, the margin of victory in a moneyline wager is irrelevant. Let’s assume you want to bet on Alabama to win this game. You have the option of betting them to win outright (the margin of victory does not matter) at -300 or betting them to win via the point spread at -7 (must win by 8 or more points to win the bet). Obviously, it is more likely that Alabama were to win on the moneyline rather than forcing them to win by 8 points to cover the spread. Therefore the odds for the moneyline (-300) is more expensive than the odds for the point spread (-110).
To win $100 on Alabama moneyline (-300) you must risk $300
To win $100 on Texas A&M moneyline (+250) you would only need to risk $40
Totals (Over/Under)
A totals bet (also known as an over/under bet) refers to a wager where you are betting on the combined amount of points that are scored in a match. In this type of wager, the winning team and the point spread have no bearing.
Let’s use the following example:
The total for the Alabama vs Texas A&M game is listed at 48 – This means you can bet on whether you think the total combined score of the two teams will be over 48 points or under 48 points.
- If Alabama win 30 to 10 (a total of 40 points) the game went under
- If Alabama win 30 to 21 (a total of 51 points) the game went over
- A push would occur if the final score totaled exactly 48 points.
Futures Bets
NCAA Football futures bets allow you to bet on an outcome that will take place in the future. For example, you can bet on which team will win the National Championship. Here are the odds for the upcoming 2022 season:
The better the team, the smaller the payout. We can see that Alabama is +200 to win the National Championship. That means for every $100 bet on them, you would win $200.
A team like Purdue on the other hand are not likely to win. That's why they were offering odds of +8000. This means if Purdue were to happen to win it all, for every $100 wagered, you would win $8,000.
Futures include more than just the eventual champion. You can bet on awards such as the Heisman, and you can bet on other props such as how many games a team will win throughout the season, or which team will win their conference. Futures are a fun way to keep engaged throughout the season.
Daily Prop Bets
What is an NCAA Football Prop Bet?
Prop bets are bets on the statistical performance of a player or a team. Prop bets are completely independent of traditional bets such as point spread, moneyline or totals.
The most common football prop bets include:
- Player to score a TD
- Total passing yards
- Total receiving yards
- Total catches
- Team to score first
Football tends to have more prop bets compared to the other major sports. The popularity of prop betting has exploded among sports bettors, creating a market all on its own for sportsbooks. Without a doubt, the most amount of prop bets are placed on the Super Bowl. Every year this event will offer hundreds of different prop bets that can be wagered on. From the National Anthem to the coin toss to the halftime show, nearly every occurrence in the Super Bowl will have a prop bet tied to it.
Parlays
Parlays are extremely popular for wagering on football games. A parlay is a sports bet that combines two or more plays into one ticket. The more plays you add to the parlay, the bigger the payout. In order to win the parlay, all of your wagers must be successful. If just one of the wagers loses, the entire parlay loses. Here is an example of a two-team parlay:
Teasers
Teasers also rank as a popular way to bet on football games. A teaser is a wager where you must select multiple teams or totals, and all selections must cover the spread to win. A teaser bet can best be explained as a variation of the parlay bet. The major difference being the spreads and totals are moved into the bettor's favor, which gives the bettor a greater chance of winning. Teasers generally must include two or more bets (although some teasers may require three or more) and the more bets added to the teaser, the greater the payout. All selections in a teaser must be successful for the teaser to win.
NCAA Football Tips & Strategies
If you want to increase your chances of being a successful bettor, here are a few tips to help you on your way:
- Price Shopping: When placing a bet, you always want to make sure you are getting the best price/line possible. Don’t be afraid to shop around. Different sportsbooks offer different prices; and they fluctuate throughout the day. If you want to save a ton of time, check out betstamp.app. It's free to join, and all the line shopping is quickly and efficiently done for you. You get updates in real time of which sportsbooks are offering the best line.
- Track Your Bets: Keep records of your wagers and stay on top of what is working and not working for you. Without documenting your bets, it is difficult to see where you are winning or losing as a bettor.
- Bankroll Management: Set your bankroll and learn to manage it properly. Don't deviate too far from your average bet size and ensure that you are always betting within your limits.
- Injuries: Keep in mind that injuries play a huge factor in football games. Don’t rush to bet on a line that you think is too good to be true. Take your time and do some homework. Make sure that your team doesn't have any injuries that you are not aware of. Bettors should be aware of all injuries and updates before placing wagers.
- Bowl Games: After the conclusion of the regular season, the NCAA schedules over 40 bowl games. These can be prestigious games such as the Rose Bowl or a game that really garners very little interest such as the Cricket Celebration Bowl. The more irrelevant the bowl game, the greater chance that potential NFL draft picks will sit out the game. Some players will not risk injury and their draft value to play in a “meaningless” game. Be wary of this factor. Normally these are the best players, and they can have a big impact on the line of the game.
- Specialize in a Specific Conference: There are currently 11 Division 1 Conferences in NCAA Football. No one person can be considered an “expert” for every team or conference. A great strategy to combat this is to focus on one specific conference or division. By watching the majority of games in one division, it can give you a leg up when making wagers. This is especially true for small market and small conference teams. The lesser-known teams tend to be bet on less frequently, and in turn can offer a great advantage for knowledgeable bettors. The major conference and more popular teams field the opposite results. Larger conferences tend to have larger amounts of money regularly bet on them, making good lines less frequent.