Best College Football Betting Sites | NCAAF Betting Sites for 2024

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College football betting sites are among the most popular online sports betting sites in the U.S.

NCAA football betting sites are legal in many U.S. states, with some important restrictions we'll cover in this guide. You can even claim promos at the top online sportsbooks to give yourself an even better shot at winning your wagers.

Trusted College Football Betting Sites

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How to Bet on College Football: Understanding NCAA Betting Lines & Odds

You’ll find NCAAF odds at all legal college football betting sites. 

NCAA football odds are displayed in the American format. Deciphering American odds can be tricky for new bettors.  

A negative value with a minus side denotes the favorite, while a positive value with a plus sign indicates the underdog.

Common College Football Bet Types

College football betting lines follow the three main betting lines: moneyline, spread, and over/under. You’ll have a core number of bets to choose from in a single college football game. Bet on the outcome, the total points, or the point spread.

You can also bet on futures and back the winner of the conference months in advance. 

For an individual game, you may find half a dozen different markets. Some bookmakers may also offer player props—unique markets on specific football stars. You may also find odds on individual player performances or the winner of the Heisman Trophy.

Moneyline

Moneyline odds are the most common markets at NCAAF betting sites. Essentially, a moneyline bet is a wager on the outright winner of a game, matchup, or contest.

Odds are significantly shorter on the favorite and longer on the underdog than in any other form of betting.

Imagine South Florida is playing East Carolina. South Florida is the rank outsider and is priced at +295 to win the game. East Carolina is heavily favored and carries odds of -390.

That means if you bet $100 on South Florida and they win, you’d get $295 back including your original stake. If you backed East Carolina to win, you’d need to wager $390 in order to win $100, given their status as hot favorites.

Totals

Total points is a betting market on the number of points scored in a single collegial football game. Totals bets usually follow an Over/Under (O/U) format: You bet on whether the total points scored will be over or under the oddsmaker's line.

Knowing the tendencies of both teams is always key for over/under betting, as well as the tendencies of certain teams when they play against each other. Some games are destined to be high scoring.

For example, let’s imagine the Total Points O/U market for South Florida vs. East Carolina as follows:

  • Over 56.0 (-110)
  • Under 56.0 (-110)

You bet over 56.0 and the game ends 54-14 to East Carolina with a total points value of 68. You win your bet.

You can also find NCAA football lines on team Total Points. This is a good alternative if you think one side or the other will achieve a certain points tally.

  • South Florida: Over 23.0 (-115) / Under 23.0 (-105)
  • East Carolina: Over 32.5 (-115) / Under 32.5 (-105)

If you’re more unsure of a points total, you may want to bet on just East Carolina’s individual points tally. You just need to correctly predict the Pirates’ score, regardless of what South Florida rack up.

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Point Spread

Point spreads give a handicap to the underdog team. A favorite needs to win by X amount of points for bookmakers to consider to have “beaten the spread.” An underdog simply needs to lose by less points than the spread to be considered to have “covered the spread.”

The underdog is assigned a points advantage before the game starts. On the flip side, the favorite is assigned a points handicap. The odds of winning the game are then adjusted.

Let’s take our example again. On the moneyline, South Florida is +295 to win and East Carolina -390. However, the point spread is listed as follows:

  • South Florida +9.5 (-110)
  • East Carolina -9.5 (-110)

With a 9.5-point advantage, the odds for South Florida have dropped to -110, meaning you’d have to gamble $110 to win $100. However, the odds on East Carolina are more favorable given their -9.5 point handicap. They would, however, have to win the match by 10 points or more for your bet to come in.

Betting on the spread usually nets bettors odds around -110. Some oddsmakers will keep the odds at exactly -110 and shift the spread accordingly; some will move the odds around slightly before shifting the spread. Keep an eye out for the specific odds being offered on a spread.

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Futures

NCAAF betting sites offer odds on future outcomes. These are odds that may stretch months into the future and could cover conference winners or Heisman Trophy candidates.

Popular college football futures include:

  • Conference winners
  • College football playoff winner
  • Season points totals
  • Heisman Trophy winner
  • NCAAF Bowl Games winners

To find a list of college football betting futures, open the sportsbook lobby and find the NCAAF tab. Next, click on the "Futures" tab to bring up all available markets. Sometimes, they are listed under "Outrights."

You’ll see a list of college football odds, with the date the book closes alongside them. Odds are listed with the favorite at the top, running all the way down to the rank outsider.

CFB odds will change preseason as players come and go and stars get injured. However, once you take a price, you are locked in.

Live Betting

You can also find college football odds on games as they happen. Some states allow live betting on college football point spreads and other markets while the odds change in real time. You can follow the action live on TV and bet on your mobile or laptop while keeping your account open.

Imagine South Florida is playing East Carolina in our live NCAAF game. Hot favorites East Carolina race into a 10-point lead, and their odds change from a pre-game -295 to -310. Florida’s odds go out to +350.

However, the East Carolina quarterback gets injured. You decide to make an in-play bet on Florida and try to secure a little value.

Florida races back into the game and soon the scores are leveled. The live NCAA football odds on the game now change again, with East Carolina now outsiders. You could now place another bet on them to win in order to secure a profit, whatever happens.

Live odds are altered automatically on the site. You’ll find them in the lobby and new odds will flash green on the screen. The price may also change in real time on the bet slip.

You can also find college football lines on events taking place in the game. You may be able to bet on the team to score the next touchdown or the team to be ahead at the end of the next quarter. 

The beauty of live college football odds betting is that you can secure a profit before the game has even finished.

Prop Betting Restrictions in College Football

College football prop betting is allowed in some states. However, some restrictions still apply, and NCAA football betting rules change a little from state to state.

In some cases, you can bet on any college team playing anywhere in the country, even in its own home state. Some states, however, have banned betting on in-sate college football teams. Some states prohibit certain bets, such as in-play markets or player props (bets centered around specific stars).

Props are special bets on specific outcomes during the game. Oftentimes, a prop will have little impact on the end score.

Prop bets can relate to a team’s score during the first quarter, the first team to score, or even the highest-scoring player. Some props can also include the winner of the coin toss. You can usually combine props to increase your odds.

Popular college football props include:

Check the legal betting age for college football wagering. Click EXPAND to see legal sports betting states' current rules on college football prop bets:

NCAAF Betting Strategies

By assessing college football betting odds and trends, you can come out the other side a bigger winner. Here are a few top tips for making more from NCAAF markets:

Follow Public Betting Percentages

Oddsmakers usually have their finger on the pulse when it comes to predicting futures winners. They may follow the weight of money or the movement of players among college teams.

Keep track of public betting percentages with dedicated sites and see where the fans are putting their money.

1

Home Teams Aren’t Always Safe Bets

There’s a belief in college football that home teams have a huge advantage over their opponents. In fact, home advantage is exaggerated. Away teams are actually much closer in terms of parity.

College football betting apps often offer worse prices for home teams. So, in the long term, it can actually be less profitable to consistently back the home side.

2

Back Away Teams on the Point Spread

While the college football betting odds on away teams can offer value, there’s also value to be had in betting away underdogs' points totals.

Underdogs will always have a low point spread, particularly if they’re playing on the road. If the NCAAF betting site is offering a large point advantage for the underdog, you can find some value even if the price is odds-on.

3

Study Public Betting Trends

Public betting shows where other gamblers are placing their wagers. With betting percentages, you can see how the public is gambling. They represent actual bets being placed. 

And the truth is: Most casual bettors are terrible handicappers. They back their own alma mater or any home team without too much research.

By studying the public money, you can decide to back the consensus or “fade” the public and go for the opposite view. Remember, many college football betting sites will automatically adjust their odds if a lot of money goes on one team or the other. If you take the contrarian view, you can find value in the odds.

The public will lose more than it wins, and this is where you can pick up decent value. On NCAAF college football games with a lot of public betting action, it can pay to be contrarian and fade the public.

For example, by reading betting percentages for our South Florida vs. East Carolina game, you see that 56% of bets are for East Carolina and 44% are on South Florida. That’s a lot closer than the odds suggest the game will be. 

4

Use Promos

Most legal NCAAF betting sites offer bet deals to new account holders. The welcome bonus promises bet credits to use on games of your choice. Alternatively, you may receive money back on your losing wagers.

You may also get odds boosts on the big end-of-season bowl games. 

Online sports betting is about making the most of your bonus bets. Take advantage of opening multiple accounts across several different CFB betting sites.

5

How does NCAA Football Work?

College football may not have the money or superstars of the NFL, but it’s still competed by some of the strongest sporting teams anywhere in the world. Many NCAA football stars go on to shine in the professional NFL.

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

There are 130 teams in the FBS, divided into conferences. The Big Ten, for example, covers schools in the upper Midwest, while the Pac-12 consists of colleges on the Pacific coast and the Atlantic Coast Conference covering the east coast states. College football teams there compete as far south as Miami.

NCAAF teams compete throughout the fall and winter months for the chance to win the Bowl Championship Series. At the end of the season, conference winners compete in Bowl games for a shot at playing in the BCS Championship.

Where to Find NCAAF Betting Lines

You’ll find the best college football odds and markets at all of our top-rated US sportsbooks. Every sportsbook in our experts’ pick of the best is legal in multiple states and offers betting odds for all college football games in every conference.

Remember to check the legalities of what college football you can and can’t bet on in your state. Some US states allow all NCAAF betting while others will prohibit betting on teams playing in your state. Other states, meanwhile will ban betting on in-play markets and props.

You can also claim a fantastic online sports betting welcome bonus too when you open your account. Sign up with a sportsbook to claim free bets to use on a football game of your choice. You may also get odds boosts on the big end-of-season bowl games. Whether you’re rooting for the underdog or going for a sure thing, discover the best college football betting odds right here.

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