NCAAF Betting: How to Bet on College Football

Date IconLast Updated: 2024 Jan 9

American football at the collegiate level may be considered “amateur” when compared to the National Football League, but in terms of passion, spectacle and marketing, it is on par with the professional iteration and for some surpasses it.

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NCAAF Betting Tips

NCAAF College Football Basics

American College football teams compete in the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) leagues, of which there are four levels:

You can bet on over 120 teams competing at colleges across the USA. Teams are grouped together in various geographical locations, such as the Pac-12 colleges on the Pacific Coast. The Atlantic City Coast Conference covers the east coast. There is actually a Canadian college football team playing in Division II, Simon Fraser University from British Columbia!

NCAAF games take place throughout the Fall and into the new year. Conference winners hit the playoffs, after which there is a chance of competing in end-of-season championships. Many big NFL stars have progressed through the college football system.


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How to Bet on the NCAAF

You can now find betting odds on college football point spreads and other markets at legal online sportsbooks. Canada legalized single-game betting in August 2021, and that has opened up a whole world of NCAAF betting lines for Canadian gamblers.

Find a football game that you like and log in to the top sportsbooks to bet on the moneyline, point spread or total points. You can even bet on futures to back the team most likely to win the end-of-season championships.

And if you love watching the games as you bet, in-play NCAAF odds make it possible to gamble as the game goes on. Watch the game and place bets as the odds change in real time.


Also Check Out: The best online betting apps and get in on the betting action.


 

How NCAAF Betting Odds Work

Every NCAAF game carries a set of game odds. This is the price given by the sportsbook to the gambler on each outcome. For example, for a game between UNLV and Nevada, the sportsbook will offer prices on the moneyline (game result), point spread and total points in the game.

Prices are usually displayed in the American Odds format. Odds of +200, for instance, mean a bet of C$100 would return C$200. A price of -150 represents the amount you must stake in order to win C$100. In this case, you’d have to be C$150 in order to win C$100. In both cases, your original stake would be returned in the event of a winning bet.

NCAAF Moneyline Betting

The moneyline bet is the easiest college football wager to understand. Essentially, it’s a straight bet on which team you think will win.

In every NCAAF college football game, there will be an underdog and a favourite. The sportsbook’s price setter will have already determined who is who before listing the game in their sportsbook.

Example: UNLV v Nevada

In this college game, hot favourites Nevada are playing away at UNLV. The moneyline odds are displayed as follows:

UNLV +800 Nevada -1250

You would win C$800 for a stake of C$100. To back Nevada, you’d have to bet C$1,250 in order to win just C$100. That’s how strongly the sportsbook favours Nevada to win.

NCAAF Point Spread Betting

College football point spreads are also hugely popular for Canadian gamblers. The point spread is like a handicap bet where the favourite is given a pre-game points deduction. The underdog is given the same points advantage. The odds reflect the new starting points totals.

In our example, a CA sportsbook has the point spread as follows:

UNLV-115(+20.5) Nevada-105(-20.5)

The sportsbook has assigned a massive 20.5-point starting advantage for rank underdogs, UNLV. Their odds to win the game are now -115 instead of the +800 for the straight moneyline.

On the flipside, Nevada are given a 20.5-point handicap, drastically reducing their odds to -105. If you think Nevada can still win despite that huge starting handicap, you may still like the betting odds of -105.

NCAAF Totals Betting

You can also bet on the total points in a single NCAAF college football game. The sportsbook will set the spread. Either bet over (higher) if you think the total points will be greater than the set spread, or go under (lower) if you think the opposite.

Over 47.0 (-110) Under 47.0 (-110)

For both markets (over and under), the odds are the same: slightly odds-on at -110. So, for either bet you would have to gamble C$110 to win C$100.

NCAAF Futures Betting

College football betting isn’t all about pre-game markets. You can also find betting odds on futures markets for upcoming championships.

Popular college football futures:

Futures markets can be a good place to find value at Canadian betting sites. Lots can happen in a few months – players can get injured or teams can go on runs of form. That’s why the odds on the next bowl winner or playoff champions can be pretty high months in advance.

NCAAF Prop Betting

Props are fun online sports betting markets that are centered on individual events taking place in the game. Most of the time, these events have little relation to the outcome of the game itself.

College football props are divided between player props and team props. However, it’s rare to find many player props for NCAAF games; this is a market better suited to professional NFL games odds.

Examples of Popular College Football Props:

Combo Prop Bets

NCAAF Live Betting

You’ll also find college football odds for live markets. With live betting, you can gamble on an NCAAF game as it happens. As the score changes and teams gain possession, the sportsbook will change the odds in real time. You can then choose to select the current odds before placing your wager.

For example, let’s imagine the moneyline odds on UNLV are +800 before the game and -1250 for Nevada. UNLV score two shock touchdowns and the in-play odds immediately change to +260 to UNLV and -200 for Nevada. This might be a good time to bet on Nevada to win the game. You’ll get better odds than the -1250 pre-game price on the hot favourite.

You can also bet in-play on team props such as the next team to score a touchdown or the first team to score 20 points.

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NCAAF Public Betting and Betting Percentages

There is a wealth of college football information at your fingertips in 2021. Public betting is information on where gamblers are putting their money. By tracking the public bets you can see whether the favourite is being backed heavily, or whether the fans favour the underdog.

Remember that most online sportsbooks for college football will alter their odds if a lot of money is placed on one team or the other. And sometimes, it can pay to ‘fade the public’ and bet the other way for value. In fact, many savvy Canuck gamblers will only fade the public when choosing what bets to make.

For example, public betting data may reveal that 85% of total bets have been placed on the hot home team. On the flipside, only 15% of total bets have been wagered on the underdog.

Delve a little deeper, however, and you see that the 15% of bets on the underdog represent a huge 80% of all money involved. That shows you that several big bettors know something the casual gamblers don’t.

NCAAF Betting Strategies

Looking for a football game to bet on? Don’t bet a dollar before checking out our beginners’ tips.

Bet Against the Public Money

We’ve already touched upon how going against the grain can pay dividends in NCAAF college football betting. Most gamblers only favour the home team and the sportsbook will adjust their sports odds to reflect that. But that could open up some value for the away team.

Find Value in Away Underdog Bets

Too much emphasis is put on the home team in college football games. In fact, the away team in NCAAF battles has, over the years, racked up an impressive percentage of wins. Look for some good value in away teams, particularly if you can track a bit of head-to-head form.

Learn to Bet In-Play

In-play betting is totally legal at Canadian sportsbooks. It allows you to bet as the game takes place and the score changes. The beauty of in-play wagering is that you can better assess how a game is going. Perhaps the hot favourite at home is having a terrible game. You can put that knowledge to good use and back the other side. That’s the luxury of betting on a game that is in full flow.

Good sportsbooks offering markets on NCAAF games will also offer fast markets on events about to happen. You can make a profit betting on the next team to score a touchdown or the points scored in the next quarter. There’s no need to wait till the end of the game to scoop a payout.

Avoid Betting the Favourites in the Futures Markets

Futures betting markets on college football are great if you want to find value on the winner of the season-end championships. However, anything can happen in a few months and oftentimes the prices on the big favourites don’t justify the outlay. It’s far better to bet small for value on an outsider, then save your bankroll for pre-game and in-play betting.

Open Several Betting Accounts for the Best Odds

We always recommend opening multiple online sports betting accounts if you want to bet on NCAA football. By doing that, you can compare and claim the best college football odds for every game. Plus, you’ll be able to claim as many deposit bonuses and free bets offers as you can. Once Ontario launches their online operators you can do some line shopping and sign up for multiple sportsbooks at a time.

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Legal NCAAF Betting in Canada

Sports betting is booming in the USA, and that trend is set to continue due north. Bets on single NCAAF games became legal in August 2021 after Bill C-218 was made law by the Parliament. That marked a season shift in attitude from the Canadian government.

For the first time, it’s legal for Canadians to bet on single sports fixtures legally. That includes NCAAF college football or any number of pro sports.

For now, individual provinces are allowed to pass their own legislation on online sports betting. And Ontario is making headway in offering licenses to legit online sports betting providers. Legalized betting on football lines will arrive by the end of 2021.

Where to Find NCAAF Betting Lines

Legalized college football gambling is finally here in Canada. While it’s been possible to bet on parlays through certain provincial lotteries, this is the first time that single event betting has been possible.

With online sports betting proving hugely popular across the border in the US, it was only a matter of time before Canadians could join the fun. Soon, CA sports gamblers will be able to back NCAA football odds of their choice, as much as they can bet on NFL games.

The sites that you can sign up to will depend on your location as each province has its own set of laws surrounding sports betting. In some cases your only option may be to sign up with an offshore operator. Some provinces are beginning to change their laws. For example, Ontario Sports betting has now been legalised and there are a whole host of new operators available to sign up with. So, be sure to check what your options are in advance of signing up with any betting site.

Join the online sportsbook revolution and back the point spread, moneyline bet or cup winners. There’s also a welcome bonus awaiting the savviest Canuck gamblers.

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