How to bet on College Football online: The ultimate CFB betting guide 2024

Our football betting expert is here to teach you exactly how to bet on college football online with his guide to internet NCAAF betting in 2024. North Carolina sports betting is live now for bettors to wager in the Tar Heel State.

The 2023 college football season has come and gone, with the Michigan Wolverines defeating the Washington Huskies 34-13 to win their first national championship since the 1997 season.

August 24, 2024 is the anticipated opening day of the college football season meaning there’s quite a wait yet for college football fans to return to betting on their favorite teams.

College football odds are displayed in the form of a number, with the lowest number used by all sportsbooks being 100.

This number is accompanied by a positive (+) or negative (-) sign, with these being used to show to bettors which team/player is the favorite or underdog.

If the odds are paired with a positive sign, this shows that they are the underdog, with the higher the number is from 100, the more of an underdog they are.

If the odds are accompanied by a negative sign, this shows they’re the favorites, and the higher the number, the stronger the favorite they are.

The odds themselves are used to show how much you can make from wagering on each individual market.

Should the odds be accompanied by a negative sign, this informs you how much you need to wager in order to make a profit of $100.

For example, if the Florida Gators are -180 to beat the Oregon Ducks, this tells you that you need to bet $18-0 on the Gators in order to make $100 profit on this wager.

Similarly, If the odds are accompanied by a positive sign, this shows you how much you’re set to make for every $100 wagered on this bet.

For example, if the Georgia Bulldogs are +300 to beat the Alabama Crimson Tide, this means that you will make $300 profit for every $100 you wager.

If you were to wager $200, you will make $600 profit, with your bet returning more in winnings the higher your original stake goes.

The moneyline market is easier to understand than it may sound if you’re new to betting. You are simply just betting on the team you think will win the match, with the final result the only factor you need to care about when betting on the moneyline.

If you’re wagering on the moneyline of a college football game, you just need to correctly predict the winner of the game for your bet to win. It doesn’t matter if the game goes to overtime or not.

This market is arguably the most well-known and popular market amongst bettors. An example of a moneyline market you may come across on a sportsbook can be seen below.

In this example, if you’re betting on Michigan, you will need them to simply win their game against Ohio State, with your bet being paid out in full if the Wolverines pull off the victory.

The spread is a market offered by sportsbooks as a way to close the gap in quality between the favorite and underdog by starting the game by giving the underdog the lead.

The favorite will start the game with a points disadvantage, with the underdog starting with the game with the same amount of points advantage.

For a bet on the favorite to win, they must beat the underdog by more points than the total of their spread, whilst a bet on the underdogs wins if they lose by a difference that’s less than their spread or win the game overall.

An example of this type of market looks like this.

If you’re betting on the Sooners here, your bet will win should they win the game overall or lose by four points or less.

Should you have wagered on Notre Dame, you just need them to beat the Sooners by five points or more to win your win.

Sometimes, the spread won’t be in decimal form, and will instead come as a whole number:

When this is the case, a bet on Fighting Irish will mean you need them to win by six or more points to win your bet.

Similarly, betting on Oklahoma means you need them to either win the game outright, or lose by four points or less.

If the game ends up being separated by exactly five points come the end of the match, your bet will be pushed, otherwise known as voided, as your original stake will be returned to you as real cash.

The totals market is simple, with you just betting on the total amount of points that’ll be scored in your chosen game.

You’ll be given a line that’s been predetermined by your college football betting sites, with you just needing to predict whether the points scored in a game are more or less than this line.

The betting for a college football totals markets will look like:

Betting on the ‘over’ market here means you need there to beat 41 or more points scored, whilst going with the ‘under’ market means you need to see 40 points or less scored in total.

Some CFB betting sites will allow you to bet on how many points each individual team scores, with the market for this being displayed like this:

Prop bets are a great, unique way to bet on college football games, with these markets offering up an alternative to wagering on the likes of the spread, moneyline or totals markets.

Both player props and game props will be available for you to bet on with all top college football betting sites.

Game props allow you to bet on the more obscure side of college football games, with you able to wager on a range of markets that don’t relate to the amount of points a team scores or the final result.

A selection of game props will be available, with these some of the market you’re likely to come across when betting:

Similarly to game props, player props give you the chance to bet on more obscure markets, however the difference here is you’re betting on individual players as opposed to the game itself.

In terms of player prop markets, these are some of the ones you’ll be able to wager on:

Parlay bets give you the chance to get creative with your wagering, as you’ll be able to combine picks from multiple different games to create a bigger bet with better odds.

Some sportsbooks will offer pre-selected parlay bets on college football, however most will give you the chance to create your own as long as your picks don’t contradict themselves.

An example of a parlay bet will look like this:

The best CFB sportsbooks will give you the opportunity to make ‘same-game parlays’, with these allowing you to combine multiple picks from the same game to create one larger bet.

This allows you to concentrate on just one game, with all of your picks needing to come in for your bet to win.

Live betting, which is sometimes referred to as in-play betting, sees you place wagers on games that are already underway.

You’ll be able to wager throughout the game whilst your sportsbook updates their odds, with the changes in these odds reflecting how the game is faring out.

Some sportsbooks will offer a range of stats relating to the game that are updated as the match progresses, with you being able to use these stats to aid you in your betting.

Futures markets revolve around betting on events that are taking place in the mid-to-long-term.

There will be a variety of markets for you to wager on, with a number of these markets being available during the offseason before the regular season has gotten underway.

These are some of the futures markets that’ll be offered with the best CFB betting sites:

For those that haven’t placed a bet before, wagering on college football is incredibly easy, with you just needing to follow a few simple steps in order to get betting:

Unlike NFL betting, college football betting is slightly less common amongst legal sports betting states, as some states have some specific rules and regulations regarding which teams you can bet on.

That link will show you what states have restrictions on college football betting. Some states won’t allow prop bets, while others have different restrictions like no in-state betting allowed.

The states you can bet on CFB in are AZ, CO, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MD, ME, MI, NV, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, VA, VT, TN, VA, WV, and Washington D.C.

The College Football Championship was rebranded in 2014, however the competition itself has been going strong since 1869, with these the teams that have been the most successful in the competition over the years:

Whether or not you’re allowed to legally bet on college football will depend entirely on what state you live in and where they’re at with the process of legalizing online betting.

Most legal online betting states will allow you to do so, however some won’t allow you to place certain wagers, such as futures or player props, whilst some won’t allow you to bet on games involving teams from your own state.

With this information in mind, always important to do your own research and see whether you can bet on college football in your state. It’s also worth researching the types of bets you’re legally allowed to place given any restrictions your state may have in place.

Yes. Most states that have legalized online sports betting will allow you to wager on college football games, with the types of bets you’re able to place depending on the state you’re in.

You will be able to place a variety of bets on college football, with all the regular markets, such as moneyline, spread and totals all offered by the top sportsbooks.

Game props and player props, as well as live bets and futures, will also be available, however whether you’re able to wager on these markets will depend on the state you’re in, as some states don’t allow futures/live bets on CFB games.

There are a number of sportsbooks to choose from when deciding which to opt for to place your college football bets with.

The likes of BetMGM, FanDuel and bet365 are the best of the bunch when betting on CFB, with their range of markets, including futures, in-play and player/game props, being standout amongst their competitors.

Yes. There will be a range of live markets to bet on when it comes to wagering on college football games, with these markets constantly being updated in relation to what’s happening in the game itself.

However, it must be said that some states don’t allow bettors to bet on CFB games in-play, thus you will need to check beforehand to ensure you’re legally allowed to do so before betting.

The Inquirer is not an online gambling operator, or a gambling site. We provide this information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only.