College sports is unlike anything else in America. Fans will do anything to cheer on their college or alma mater with the passion often eclipsing that of the professional sports leagues.
If you're looking to turn your knowledge of college football into some serious cash, it pays to have a sound strategy to refer to before making your bets.
Here are some things to consider.
Bet Early
This is when to strike.
Sportsbooks don’t always have the best read on teams in the first weeks of the season. This is your golden chance to win early and often.
As the season progresses, books get a greater handle and it is harder to find CFB diamonds in the rough.
How to identify value early in the season:
- How many starters are returning?
- What side of the ball are they on?
- Where are their weaknesses?
- Who are their recruits/what position do they play?
These questions will help you develop a greater understanding and opportunity to exploit the sportsbooks and gain easy profits.
Alternatively, you could just head to our CFB Bet Hub and we’ll help you find the best odds and show you the best bets for every College Football game.
Use Stats To Your Advantage
As much as there can be too much analytics in football, you need to know what statistics can help increase your CFB betting fund.
The Heisman Trophy revolves around offensive studs but an elite defense can make you the real winner this College Football season.
In 2019, teams with a top-10 total defense had an 85-51-1 record against the spread, a considerable ration of 62.4%. Those 10 teams all had a winning record against the spread too.
Top 10 offenses weren’t as good against the spread. They went a combined 76-62 (55%) against the spread during 2019. There is good value in taking a top offense when betting the spread but be mindful.
A flashy offense may account for most CFB wins, but a stout defense could be your ticket to healthy payouts this College Football season.
Bet the home favorite
Through 2008 to 2019 — according to ESPN — FBS home favorites won 78.3%. Yes seventy-eight, you read that correctly.
Discounting favoritism, in a challenging 2020 where home-field advantage suffered, home teams won 58.9% of the time compared to the 41.1% win record of away teams.
Against the spread, home favorites struggled in 2020, covering just 49.2% of the time. Although with fans likely to return in a greater or full capacity this year, you can expect this number to rise.
Remove Biases
This seems the most obvious of all strategies but we are human at the end of the day. We dream of our alma mater pulling off a big road win or Alabama losing by double digits but it rarely happens this way.
The best bettors remove biases to see the odds for what they are. They consider the factors below, giving them the best chance of winning.
Money Management
Before you do anything we’d strongly recommend setting yourself a limit for CFB betting — whether it be a weekly, monthly or season-long total.
This will help you stay on top of your finances and keep you accountable.
Betting on the NCAA Football can be fun but not when it causes you financial harm. Here at Dimers we want you to enjoy the game and the excitement of wagering, but to always gamble responsibly.
Shop The Spread
Sportsbooks don’t exist for you to make money. Your loss is their win. So why have blind loyalty to just one book?
If you’re confident a team will cover a certain number against the spread, go looking for it. Just because one book offers Clemson -20.5 doesn’t mean there isn’t another with the Tigers at -21.5.
Can’t be bothered scrolling through online betting sites? We’ve got you. In Dimers’ CFB Bet Hub you’ll find the best spread odds available for College Football in the United States.
There’s no one sportsbook we’re aligned to. Often you’ll see we have a different sportsbook for the spread, moneyline and total. Sometimes the spread for a game has two different books, so it's always best to shop around to check out the best sportsbook offers.
We have no loyalty to one company, we’re simply here to help you find the best odds and bets for every CFB regular season and bowl game, and of course the National Championship.
Don’t Get Greedy
Everyone wants to make a lot of money, the more the better, right?
Unfortunately this isn’t Monopoly and making big money on College Football betting isn’t as easy as it looks — particularly on lengthy parlays.
Going for a 12-leg parlay seems awesome given the potential winnings but they come off once every blue moon. You’re better served to find value using Dimers’ best bets in our CFB Bet Hub to find the best bets for each matchup and in turn, exploit the sportsbook in smaller legged parlays.
Yes, the odds are lesser but your chance of winning is heightened. Striking the balance will be key to you making a profit this College Football season.
Do NOT Chase Losses
This is perhaps the hardest strategy to follow. When we suffer a crushing loss, our tendency is to try and claw back the money we’ve just seen walk right out of your account. Avoid this as much as possible.
The name of the game is to find an edge, find where the sportsbook has fallen asleep, and capitalize. Sometimes you’ll lose and hopefully more often than not, you’ll win. However, there is risk involved in every bet — there’s no mystery why it’s called gambling.
Accept losing is part of the journey and like your team after an L, put it behind you and look forward to the next opportunity. Just make sure you're like Nick Saban and dominate the week after -- even if it means you too, take an easy schedule.
