NCAA College Football Betting Sites
When it comes to the popularity of football, there is no question that the NFL takes the cake for being everyone’s favorite. The NFL is equally loved by sports fans and bettors, who bet huge amounts of money on events from the elite football championship. That being said, college football betting is not far behind and is increasingly gaining popularity each year.
Top College Football Betting Sites in 2024
Part of the reason that college football is less popular and doesn’t have as much money wagered is due to the fact that the college football gambling season only lasts either 12 or 13 weeks, depending on the conference. The college football postseason lasts for one, possibly 2 extra games so at most, a gambler can only wager on 14 weeks of college football games per team.
When you compare that to the NFL’s 16 game regular season, four-game preseason, and four-game postseason, it’s easy to figure out why more money is bet in the NFL then it is during the college football season. That means the season is stretched out much longer but overall, there are more teams in NCAA College Football so we believe in time, NCAA football betting will be equivalent on the same level as NFL football betting.
In this article, we will go over the basics of how to bet on college football, what makes up the best NCAA football betting sites and explain what to look for when considering college football gambling.
Finding the Best Online Sportsbooks
What is the best site to bet on college football? Just take a look at the list above and you will find several such offshore sportsbooks! We’ve picked out the bookmakers that we believe are ideal for sports bettors who are passionate about the NCAAF.
Each of these sportsbooks deserves to be called the best online bookmaker for college football betting. Which one should you choose is totally up to you. Even if you make your choice randomly, you won’t make a mistake.
In order to get on our list, every offshore sportsbook needs to fulfill a set of criteria. This includes everything from a betting offer that would be interesting for NCAAF bettors to lucrative bonuses & promos. We’re now going to discuss some of the factors we took into consideration when picking out the best college football bookies.
NCAAF Betting Offer
It’s no secret that there are significantly more football games each week to bet on in NCAA college football due to the number of teams split up between the conferences. There are currently 129 Division I football schools in the NCAA.
On any given night from late August until January, college football betting fans can find a game to wager on. Whether it be a conference game on a Tuesday night or a heated rivalry under the Friday night lights, NCAAF gambling is available pretty much every day.
There is also the factor that the College Football Bowl season now lasts over 1 month long with games being played spread out throughout the month of December and early January. The best offshore sportsbooks will cover all the interesting NCAA football events.
Betting Markets
You want your ideal sportsbook to have a large selection of betting markets, particularly those regarding college football events. If a book does deal with NCAAF events, the chances are that all the most popular types of bets are going to be in the offer. We’re talking wagers like moneyline, point spread, points Over/Under, and so on.
But, that’s not enough for every discerning NCAAF aficionado. You want to cash in on your college football knowledge and that’s only possible if you’re allowed to bet on all kinds of different things. Maybe you wish to back a player to score a touchdown? Maybe you wish to bet on who’s gonna achieve the most rushing yards? Maybe you want to bet your money on the type of the first touchdown in the game?
You can do all these things only if your bookmaker is willing to accept such bets. Although many aren’t offering such bets, you can surely find a number of sportsbooks with such wagers in their betting offer. The ones we listed as the best belong to this category.
The Importance of a Legit License
If a bookmaker doesn’t carry an operating license, it practically means that they can do whether they want. Without any governmental body to control it, the sportsbook might decide to keep your winnings for themselves. You must agree this is a good enough reason to stay away from unlicensed bookmakers.
Another reason why you should keep away from them is that you could get into legal trouble. The thing is that sports betting in some parts of the United States is kind of stuck into a gray area. Sports betting is perfectly legal on the federal level, but each state has to bring its own legislations that make it either legal or illegal. The trouble is that many states have done neither.
If you’re from one of those states, no one is stopping you from betting at offshore sportsbooks, but they need to carry a legit license. It doesn’t matter where that license might be issued, the only thing that matters is that it actually exists. Otherwise, betting at an unlicensed online bookmaker could be seen as illegal gambling.
Speaking of gambling laws, there’s one more thing we need to point out – some states don’t allow betting on college teams based within their borders. For example, Iowa does not permit making prop pets on events involving college teams based in this state. So, if you wanted to bet on which Iowa Hawkeyes player is going to make the last touchdown of the season, you wouldn’t be able to do it if you’re located within the limits of the Hawkeye State.
Bonuses & Promos
In order to make new players swarming to sign-up, many offshore sportsbooks have decided to offer them some kind of incentive. In most cases, the incentive comes in the form of a Welcome Bonus. Usually, you get a bonus that’s equal to your first deposit. But the bookmaker isn’t just doubling your deposit by giving you the bonus. There are probably some conditions you need to fulfill first. In most cases, the condition for turning the bonus funds into withdrawable cash is to wager it.
You can take this opportunity to polish your college football skills. Speaking of football, there are some sportsbooks that give away bonuses especially for NCAAF betting. They do it to promote themselves to college football fans. This is why you can expect to find such bonus deals during the play-off period when the eyes of football fans are looking at what’s going on in NCAA.
Now that you know how to find a good offshore sportsbook, all that’s left is to start making betting NCAAF. If you don’t know how, just keep on reading. In the next part, we’re going to explain to you everything about college football betting. Not only will you learn how to do it, but you’ll also learn how to do it successfully!
Get to Grips With the Basics
When considering how to bet on college football it is important to remember you have plenty of options. Division I football has hundreds of teams and dozens of conferences. There are games happening three or four times a week.
This means you will have to do a little more studying, but it will be worth it once you find the bets with value. They are out there every week. It’s up to you to find them. But, keep these things in mind before placing any bets:
10 Betting Commandments to Follow
- Never Stop Learning – Looking at odds and point spreads is one way to judge a bet. Just not the best one. You really have to become a fan of the game and get to know it inside and out. And not just one team or one conference. Finding a diamond in the rough is easier when you know what you are looking for. Luckily, there is so much media coverage these days, so it’s not that hard to acquire valuable NCAAF knowledge.
- Home Teams – Home field advantage means everything in NCAA football betting. The Big House, The Swamp, Death Valley, The Bounce House. It’s hard to argue with nicknames like those. It’s the energy of these places that make the difference and it must be accounted for when placing a bet. The home team covers whether they are favorites or underdogs.
- No Undefeated – Every good team is going to lose one game. At the end of the year, the top 10 ranked teams usually have one or two defeats. Look for the toughest games on every team’s schedule to figure out when one may fall.
- No Back-to-Back Losses – The thing that separates good NCAA teams from bad ones is that they rebound quickly after a loss. The good teams won’t have two losses, especially not back-to-back. No matter the line, the next game they play, they cover and they cover it big!
- QB’s Change Games – The talent level in college football is much more spread out than in the NFL. There are only a few good players on a team that can really change a game. Keep in mind that the quarterback is the most important player in every roster. With that in mind, our NCAAF betting advice is to focus on teams with good QBs. They can make all the difference.
- Big Schools Rule – There are some NCAA teams that are always among favorites. We’re talking about schools like Ohio State, Alabama, USC, Notre Dame, Michigan, as well as every team in Florida. It is important to lock in on these teams as early as you can. First of all, they get the most media coverage which is important for research. And secondly, they get the best point spreads and odds because more bets are laid on a game with a big school. Get to know the big schools. They are the ones going to playing at the end of the year in the championship games, the bowls, and the national playoffs.
- Be Picky – Every Saturday, there is a huge slate of NCAA football games. There are well over 100 Division I football programs, so each week, you are looking at over 50 games being played. As opposed to 12-16 played each week in the NFL. This gives you plenty of options to choose from. It’s worth your while to pour over every game and find the best matchups, point spreads, and odds for yourself.
- Hard to Beat Twice – In the day and age of conference championships and national playoffs, some teams will face each other twice in the same season. It’s tough to beat the same team two times in the same year. Especially a good team. Keep in mind, those second games are usually played on neutral ground, negating any home-turf advantage. Also keep in mind that in those games, heavyweights are pitted against each other. Bad teams just don’t compete for championships.
- Watch the Lines – The point spreads will move as the week goes by and this will tell you what kind of bets people are placing. Betting against the majority is going to bring more value your way. If more people are taking the favorite, the points they are giving will go up. You take the underdog. If more people are taking the underdog, the points they are receiving will go down. You take the favorite. NCAA football gives you a week between games to watch where the lines are moving. Watch them closely and make a smart bet.
- Focus on Players – After all, it’s the players who win games. Make sure that the best players of the team you wish to back are fit and ready for the game. Playing without their superstars can have a major impact on a team. The absence of the best player will diminish a team’s overall quality, as well as make available players less confident.
Your college football betting strategy should begin with these tips in mind. Know the teams, know the schedules, watch the lines. This will help you all season long. Make smart bets and make yourself some money.
All college football guides will tell you that research is the key to betting college football successfully. There’s a lot to learn but a smart gambler will put in the time, take note of trends, and get plenty of value for their money.
Types of NCAAF Betting Wagers
College football generates plenty of interest nationwide and this is great for sports bettors. While there are plenty of bets to choose from, the key is in finding the ones with the best value.
Here is a quick run-down of what types of bets or available for NCAA college football betting:
- Point Spread – This is one of the most common types of wagers in football betting, no matter if it’s the NFL or NCAAF. How it goes is that you’re betting on a team to win the game plus or minus a predetermined number, which is referred to as the point spread. If you want to bet on straight wins, without any point spreads, your choice should be the moneyline.
- Over/Under Total Plays – These are increasingly becoming popular due to the fact that NCAA football fans don’t have to pick sides with these bets. If their betting choice was Over, they can root for both teams to score as many points as possible. If the opposite was their pick, the bettors get to hope that both teams will perform great defensively.
- Parlays – Parlays bring great value to college football bettors. There are so many games every week to choose from, so finding several ‘bankers’ is easy. Odds on favorites might be short, but when you put them together in a parley, you can get amazing value.
- Futures – Rightfully so, futures bets have a bad reputation like so many prop bets. They take months to resolve. They’re long shots. This is all true. However, with college football, there are a few plays with value. The National Champion future and the Heisman Trophy winner future. What gives them value is the fact that only a handful of teams actually have a chance to win a national championship. There are only a few players in the entire championship who have enough talent to win the Heisman. Find a future bet with good odds and you can be rewarded for your patience!
One Final Piece of Advice Before You Bet
Now that you know how and where to bet on college football, it’s time to actually try it out. You cannot know whether you’re good at NCAAF betting or not until you try it. But, remember, practice makes perfect. Even if you lose your first few bets, it doesn’t mean you’re not going to become an expert in it eventually. As long as you’re having fun with college football betting, you can keep it going!