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How to bet on College Football Games
Whether you want to wager against a rival, put some capital behind your alma mater or pick a National Championship winner, Dimers.com is here to help you bet on any College Football game.
With so many betting sites and online sportsbooks available, knowing what to do can be overwhelming. Don't let the array of options deter you! We’ll help you break down the best betting options when it comes to NCAA Football.
College Football Spread
Often you’ll hear the term 'against the spread' — the most popular way to bet on CFB. The spread bet is essentially a sportsbook’s way of levelling out two unequal opponents.
The underdog team is given a ‘head start’ in the form of points. To cover a spread a favored team needs to win the game by the specified amount of points. Meanwhile, an underdog can either win, or lose by the number to cover.
Example:
Michigan -3.5
Penn State +3.5
Using the example above, if you bet Michigan at +3.5, they would need to lose by under 3.5 points — or win outright — to cover the spread.
Conversely, if you bet Penn State (-3.5) against the spread, the Nittany Lions would need to win by 4+ points for you to profit.
In the event of a push (see below) — where the bettor and sportsbook tie — your stake will be refunded.
Example:
Bet: Michigan Wolverines -3 vs. Penn State Nittany Lions
Final: Michigan 24 - Penn State 21
Given the Wolverines only won by 3 points, and not MORE THAN 3, this is considered a push. You would be refunded your bet amount into your sportsbook.
Here are some seven things to consider before betting on college football.
College Football Alternate Spread
You will also see alternate spreads available for CFB games. Often the spread number is shifted slightly, enabling you to choose between multiple options -- all of which give you either a better chance of covering or larger odds.
MORE: Things to consider before betting on College Football
College Football Over/Under (Total)
Betting the total simply means you are wagering on how many points will be scored overall, NOT who will win.
Example:
Using the Michigan and Penn State example once more, if the sportsbook set the total at 53.5 points, you have two options:
- Bet the Over (54+ points to be scored by both teams).
- Bet the Under (53 points or under to be scored total).
There are other options to choose from, including scoring totals for particular quarters, home team totals, total TDs scored and more.
MORE: How do college football odds work?
College Football Moneyline (H2H)
The moneyline is the simplest College Football parlay picks to make! Betting the moneyline simply means you are picking a team to win the game outright.
If a team is favored on the moneyline they will have a “-" next to their name. Conversely, the underdog will have a “+.”
Example:
- If a team has a -200 moneyline it means you need to wager $200 in order to win $100.
- If a team has a “+” moneyline, the goalposts shift. The + tells us how much you would win betting $100, if you win of course.
- For example, a +150 moneyline would mean — if successful — a profit of $150.
- Similarly if a team had a +185 moneyline, you would make $185 profit — $285 total — when betting $100.
MORE: How to make live bets on college football.
College Football Futures
Futures bets are exactly what they sound like. You are wagering on an often far away event. If you’re looking to lay down some capital in the hopes of large winnings down the line, this is the bet for you.
Example:
Popular future bets include:
- National Champion
- Heisman Trophy winner
- Conference Winners
- Division Winners
Other common futures bets involve team total wins, often referred to as season props.
The only downside to futures bets is they can take weeks or even months to occur. Plus you have to understand that nobody has a crystal ball that tells them the future. So check out this responsible gambling page to learn how to safely bet on college football and all other sports.
Here are some best CFB betting strategies you can lay your hands on.
College Football Prop Bets
Prop bets are popular throughout the College Football regular season and indeed championship games. Props enable you to bet on almost anything which could unfold in a football game.
You can choose particular players to attain over/under a certain amount of yards and so much more.
Common prop bets include:
- First team to score
- Anytime TD scorer
- Total passing yards by a QB
- Total rushing yards by a RB
- Total receiving yards by a WR
In Dimers’ CFB Bet Hub, you have the perfect opportunity to locate some of the best prop bets across the United States - or explore our full range of College Football Picks for each matchup. Our predictive analytics model simulates each College Football game 10,000 times to give you the best probabilities on first and anytime TD scorers.
MORE: Dimers Quick Picks
College Football Parlay
A parlay simply involves more than one wager combined together for greater odds. You can place a same game parlay — multiple events from one matchup — or alternatively, events across multiple games.
Example:
You could take the Michigan Wolverines (-3.5) to cover and take the over 53.5 points total in a same-game parlay. You could add bets from other games as well, say the Ohio State Buckeyes to beat the Iowa Hawkeyes (moneyline).
More legs = higher odds and a greater chance at a larger return. But also, the more legs you add, the less likely you are to win, so make sure you're confident in each one!
In any parlay you will need to get each event correct for there to be a payout. Unless your book has a special offer running (they often do), there is no refund for getting 7 out of 8 right.
MORE: Dimers free-to-play fantasy contests
College Football Teaser
Another version of a parlay is the teaser. This type of bet allows you to shift the point spreads or totals to suit you. Often this will see a dramatic decrease in odds, in exchange for friendlier spreads. Sportsbooks will generally give you the opportunity to adjust the spread by 6.0, 6.5 and 7.0 points.
To bet a two-team parlay you must adjust the spread across two games. No different to a parlay, all legs need to be correct in order to win.
Example:
Alabama Crimson Tide (-3) v Tennessee Volunteers
Florida Gators (+10) v Clemson Tigers
If you felt Alabama may win handily in their matchup you could move them to -9.
Additionally, you may feel the Gators are going to keep it close, so you may tease/adjust the spread to +3.
If the Crimson Tide were to win by 10+ points and Florida lost by 2 or less — or won outright — you would win this teaser parlay.
Be mindful when placing parlays and teasers, some sportsbooks may remove a leg if it is a push, or rule the parlay a loss.
MORE: Live probabilities for pro and college sports
College Football Live Betting
Live or in-play betting is where you wager on a football game currently in progress. As odds shift throughout the game, you can find the bet to suit your College Football predictions whilst the action continues on.
Example:
- Moneyline
- Spread
- Props bets
- Next play outcome
- Next drive outcome
- When next TD will occur
Utilize the Dimers live in-play probabilities section to increase your knowledge and chances of winning on your live bets.
The live probabilities of any College Football match can be accessed through the scoreboards at the top of the Dimers website, the Live Now section and even the CFB section in Bet Hub.
Move fast in the live betting space, otherwise it’ll blow by quicker than Devonta Smith in man-to-man.
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