Opening Lines in college football are typically set on Sunday afternoons in the current week and you usually see immediate action cause line movement. The Spread is based on a rough projection of a score for every matchup, although oddsmakers have a good idea of what side the betting public will want to bet and usually saddles that team with an. A betting line is another terminology for point spread, which is tied to the outcome of the event. It is a forecasted prediction of how many points an anticipated stronger team will win by against a weaker team.
ATS College Football Odds Explanation: NCAA Football Betting Lines
College football betting has gotten much more popular over the last several years and those that bet on CFB make up a very rabid fan base. College football, often abbreviated CFB, NCAAF, or NCAAFB, features a lot of different bet types and a really high variance in talent level between the teams and the betting odds.
College football spreads can be some of the highest among the six major US betting markets and the totals can also have extreme variations as well.
The first step in betting CFB is knowing how to read the odds, what the different bet types are, and how to understand what the numbers mean.
Top Sportsbooks for College Football Betting
College football is a very popular betting market and all of the sportsbooks bend over backwards to accommodate their customers. Not all sportsbooks will post FCS (Division I-AA) odds, so you’ll have to do some research into those if that is your thing, but you will find all of the FBS (Division I-A) matchups at pretty much any sportsbook in the market.
Some places to consider for college football betting are top-rated sportsbooks like BetMGM, PointsBet, DraftKings, William Hill, and BetRivers.
Not all sportsbooks are available in all states, so you’ll have to check your jurisdiction to find out which places are available for you.
College Football Spreads
College Football Spreads
Spread betting is the default when it comes to college football. In college football, there can be enormous gaps between teams from coaching, talent, conference strength, and so many other factors. As a result, we often see big spreads in college football, especially in non-conference games, but we also see a lot of games that are lined closely as well.
The spread is a points handicap designed to bring the teams closer to even in hopes of balanced action as much as possible on both sides. The favorite, as denoted by a minus (-) sign, is the better of the two teams or the team that is the favorite because of home field advantage. The underdog, as denoted by a plus (+) sign, is the lesser of the two teams or simply the team on the road.
The size of the spread is indicative of the gap between the two teams. Spreads in college football can range from -1 to -60 or higher. It all depends on which two teams are playing. If you bet on the favorite at say -10, they need to win the game by 11 or more points to “cover the spread”. If you bet on the underdog at +10, they need to lose by 9 or fewer points or win the game outright to cover the spread.
Notre-dame Vs Boston College Betting Line
Spreads also have vigorish or “vig” or “juice” attached to them. Midnight madness slot. This is another measure used by risk managers and bookmakers to balance action. The standard is -110, but you can and will see fluctuations in that. It is a house edge that creates a theoretical hold for the sportsbooks.
For our purposes as bettors, think of it on a $100 scale. At -110, you would have to bet $110 to win $100 or something like $100 to win about $91. At -115, you would have to bet $115 to win $100 or $100 to win about $87. This is called betting “To Win” or “To Risk”.
College Football Money Lines
College Football Money Lines
Money line betting is not as popular in college football circles because the teams can have massive gaps in talent, but those that are able to pick off big underdogs certainly don’t mind. Spread betting evens the gap between the two teams to allow -110 or -115 vig. Money line betting is different.
With a money line, you are just betting on a team to win the game. You pay a bigger price with favorites though, as a -7 favorite might be more like -280 or -300. Similarly, a +7 underdog would be more like +240 or +250. With the favorites, it is lower-risk, lower-reward. With underdogs, it is higher-risk, higher-reward.
Money lines vary in size based on the spread and the likelihood of the favorite winning the game.
College Football Totals
College Football Totals
Totals betting is extremely popular in college football. Teams play with wildly different paces and different offensive schemes. Sometimes you’ll have one team that plays extremely fast and one that plays extremely slow. Totals lines in college can vary from the high 30s to as high as the mid-80s, depending on the game.
Totals betting means wagering on whether there will be more points scored in the game than the betting line or fewer points scored. If a 33-30 game has a total of 60, then that game has gone over the total. If a 28-21 game has a total of 60, then that game has gone under the total. You add up the total points and then grade over or under the posted total.
Like spreads, totals have vig attached to them. Also like spreads, the vig is more like -110 or -115 or -120, not like the big money line odds.
College Football Props & Futures Betting
College Football Props & Futures Betting
There are an increasing number of prop betting and futures betting markets for college football. These can include things like over/under season win totals, odds to win the National Championship or a conference title, the Heisman Trophy, other individual player/coach awards, or division futures.
The favorite(s) to win the National Championship will generally be somewhere around +350 or +400 and the longest of the long shots, if they are even listed, will have big numbers like +100000 or +500000.
College Football Derivative Betting (Quarter/Half)
College Football Derivative Betting (Quarter/Half)
Another option for football is to bet on the derivatives, like the quarters or the halves. Some people feel more comfortable betting quarters or halves because games could become blowouts and freshmen could play the second half. Other teams may just be fast starters or make good second half adjustments.
The favorite for the game will be the favorite for the quarters and the 1st half. The 2nd half often depends on what happened in the 1st half.
When it comes to sports betting lines, you probably are wondering what the lingo of lines, odds, and spreads really mean. Understanding what these terms mean is essential to making proper picks on your favorite teams. For the most part these rules apply to all the main sports such as football, basketball, soccer, and hockey. But there are some key differences when betting against the big leagues like the NFL, NBA, and MLB.
Super Bowl and Stanley Cup Betting Odds
A betting line is another terminology for point spread, which is tied to the outcome of the event. It is a forecasted prediction of how many points an anticipated stronger team will win by against a weaker team. In the betting world the stronger team is referred to as the favorite, and the weaker team is referred to as the underdog. These collectively are referred to as spreads.
NHL, Baseball, WNBA Playoffs Betting Picks
In a point spread, you have to bet against the forecasted outcome one way or the other, you cannot just pick a team to win lose or it without laying down a lot of money or it would be too easy to beat a highly likely winner. Instead if a team is predicted to win by 7 points, the spread would be -7 towards that team. You then must place on a bet on whether you think the favorite would beat the underdog by at least 7 points, or if you think the underdog could cover and lose by less than 7 or win. Sometimes a game is considered highly contested and balanced that you might have what is called a pick-em where you simple pick which team will win. Point spreads are common in the NFL.
Football Betting Odds Today
NBA Point Spreads and NCAA Lines Reviewed
After point spreads are established, you can then look at the moneyline bet. This is generally correlated to the point spread except it shows how money you can win based on your wager. Some sports do not use a point spread but rather just stick to a moneyline bet. For example, a team that was a -7 favorite would likely have a moneyline negative as well, say -200. That means, you would have to bet $100 to win $200. Alternatively there is a plus bet that goes with the underdog, say at 250. That means if you bet 100 and the underdog wins, you can win $250. Moneyline bets generally involve a higher wager to make money as opposed to point spreads. Moneyline picks are the most common wager instrument in the major sports of NBA, MLB, hockey, and soccer.
Nascar, PGA Golf and MMA UFC Betting Lines
In unique situations, where a game has a lot of prestige such as the NFL super bowl , NBA playoffs, or the Stanley Cup, you can bet on prop bets which are bets on specific things that could happen during a game. This is a play strictly based on odds of something happen against it not happening. An example might be whether a field goal would be the first type of score in the football game. At any time as people are betting one way or the other, the odds will adjust as people make picks one way or the other.
Premier League, British Open Championship and College Football Odds Every Week
Opening lines generally come out a week before an event but for major events like the Superbowl, it might be out for two weeks once the matchup is established. Football events opening lines generally come out on a Tuesday after all the previous weeks games have been played and is usually the sport most heavily used to gamble on. Basketball and MLB have games more frequently and usually the opening line might only exist for the day of an event.