Online College Football Betting Sites | CFB Sportsbooks 2024
Another dramatic season of college football has concluded. Though there were new twists (no Alabama) and turns (hello, TCU), the University of Georgia ended up repeating as champion. Despite needing a missed last second field goal to beat Ohio State, the Bulldogs trounced TCU in the championship game. As you prepare for Spring Ball and then preseason camp, this guide will teach you how to bet on college football, the best betting sites, different bet types and latest NCAA football lines.
Best College Football Betting Sites for US Players
Our team of gambling experts have carefully curated a list of the industry’s best NCAA football betting sites for US players:
- Rollover: 5x
- Games: all betting markets
- $750 Welcome Bonus
- Min. Deposit $10
- Rollover: 3x
- Games: all betting markets
- 100% up to $1,000 on crypto
- Min. Deposit $10
- Cryto Bonuses
- Min. Deposit $10
How We Rate College Football Betting Sites
College Football Online Bet Types
College Football Moneyline Bets
Bet on who you think the winner will be
Moneyline bets are simple & straightforward—you simply bet on who will win the game, regardless of the point spread. Whether they win by 5 or 20, you just have to pick the winner. This is the most intuitive way (for new bettors especially) of betting real money on college football games.
The NCAA football lines for the underdog team will be marked with a plus sign, while the line for the favorite will always be listed with a minus sign.
For example:
- Alabama -230 odds (favorites)
- Auburn +210 odds (underdogs)
The odds for moneyline bets can be best explained using a $100 wager size.
In the above case, Alabama is the favorite. To win $100 betting on them, you would need to put up $230 (odds of -230). On the flip side, betting $100 on the underdog Tigers would yield a $210 (+210 odds) profit.
The underdog is called that for a reason. Your chances of winning are smaller, but the reward is much bigger.
NCAAF Point Spread Bets
Wager on the predicted winning margin
At its most simple, a college football point spread is the number of points by which one team is favored. Your online sportsbook will choose the favorite, and the number by which that team is expected to win (the “line”). As a bettor, you would then wager on whether the favorite will win by that amount (“cover the spread”) or won’t win by that amount. For a bet on the favored team to be considered a winner, they must win the game by at least the point spread amount.
Here’s an example of a college football point spread:
- Notre Dame +7.5 (the underdogs)
- Michigan -7.5 (the favorite)
To cash on a wager placed on Michigan, they would need to win by 8 points or more. This is commonly referred to as covering the spread. Conversely, if you bet on the Fighting Irish, your bet would win if Notre Dame won the game, or lost by 7 points or less.
NCAAF Point Totals (Over/Under) Bets
Wager on the total amount of points scored in a game
Totals, or over/under bets, are different from spreads or moneylines, as they require you to predict the combined score of both teams instead of the actual winner. Each over/under bet comes with a total set by the sports betting site. Whenever you place an over bet, you wager that the combined score of both teams will be higher than the total. Conversely, if you place an under bet, you win only if the combined score is lower than the total.
Here’s an over/under example—Alabama and Auburn have a total of 47.5 set for their game. You will often see this stylized like this:
- Over 47.5 (-110)
The numbers in brackets signal the odds of each wager. In this instance, both wagers are at -110, signaling an even bet. Alabama wins with a final score of 29-20. This is a total combined score of 49 points (29 + 20), which means the over would hit (49 > 47.5).
Live College Football Betting
Place bets on a game while it’s being played
Just because the game’s started, doesn’t mean it’s too late to place a bet. Live betting is straightforward—bettors can wager on the game while it’s being played, with odds that adjust in real-time to the game’s score. This is a great opportunity to take advantage of momentum, capitalize on an early score, or bet the favorite at increased odds if they’ve surrendered points early. Typically, all bet types (spreads, moneylines, totals, and more) will be available even in the middle of a game. This offering does vary from site-to-site, so be sure you understand what your favorite sportsbook offers.
For example, Alabama and Clemson are playing – the online sportsbook originally had Alabama favored to win, meaning a smaller payout for wagers on Alabama. However, halfway through the second quarter, Clemson is leading 20-10. Now that Clemson is up, they’re the new favorite. With live betting, bettors can wager on Alabama with their new odds, adjusted to reflect a higher payout.
NCAAF Parlay Bets
Connect multiple wagers to increase your potential payout size
A parlay bet in NCAA football is when you place two or more connected bets. In a parlay, all connected bets must win in order for your wager to pay out. This is a great way to increase your potential payout, but beware that the risk is much higher when combining bets. Depending on your sportsbooks, parlays can typically include multiple bet types, whether that’s moneyline, point spreads, over/unders, or more.
For example, you could combine the Over in Clemson/Alabama with the Ohio moneyline on a parlay. In this instance, you would need both the Clemson/Alabama over and the Ohio moneyline to pay out in order to win your parlay. If they both won, you would be in for a bigger payout – your payout would be your wager size, multiplied by the odds of Clemson/Alabama over, multiplied by Ohio’s odds. This is a great way for bettors to get additional value, but beware that parlays – particularly those with more than 2 games – are harder to win than you might expect.
Futures Betting
If you think you can read college football tea leaves, then futures betting the 2024 College Football Playoffs is for you. Futures odds are wagers made on events to happen weeks and months from the current date rather than moneyline or spread betting on a same-day event.
2023 College Football Matchups to Watch
With more than 120 teams playing FBS college football programs taking the field any given weekend, the matchups-to-watch calendar can get quite overwhelming. Here are some of Gamble Online’s top college football matchups to watch this season.
Matchup to Watch | Date |
---|---|
Colorado at TCU | September 2, 2023 |
Georgia at Oklahoma | September 9, 2023 |
Ohio State at Notre Dame | September 23, 2023 |
LSU at Alabama | November 4, 2023 |
Michigan at Penn State | November 11, 2023 |
Georgia at Tennessee | November 18, 2023 |
Ohio State at Michigan | November 25, 2023 |
College Football Playoff Semifinals | January 1, 2024 |
College Football Playoff National Championship (Houston, TX) | January 8, 2024 |
What is the College Football Playoff?
The College Football Playoff, also known as the CFP, is a four-team tournament created to determine that season’s NCAA national champion. Launched in 2014, the CFP replaced the 16-year-old Bowl Championship Series, or BCS. The playoff features two semifinal matchups of the country’s top four teams and the winners of those two matchups advance to participate in the championship game. The winner of that contest is crowned national champion.
Six major bowl games, known as the New Year’s Six, rotate hosting the semifinal matchups. So, you have the Rose and Sugar Bowls, the Orange and Cotton Bowls and Peach and Fiesta Bowls rotating in as host every three years. The site of the championship game is decided much like NFL betting Super Bowls and college basketball betting Final Four sites. Following the conclusion of the 2022 regular season and conference tournament, the Fiesta and Peach Bowls will host 2022 College Football Playoff semifinals this January.
Alabama has qualified a record seven times and Clemson six times with the Crimson Tide winning the CFP National Championship three times and the Tigers twice. Ohio State has appeared four times with one title and LSU is 1-for-1 with its lone CFP appearance resulting in a Joe Burrow-led National Championship.
Following the 2022 National Championship game, it was announced that despite an eagerness to expand the CFP field beyond four teams, the format would remain the same through the end of the contract following the 2024 season.
Winning College Football Betting Strategy
Manage Your Bankroll
We can’t say this enough: embrace bankroll management and stick to it. We recommend that each individual wager size should make up no more than 5-10% (at most) of your available bankroll.
Bet on Home Favorites After a Bye Week
This one isn’t complicated: good teams, that are favored to win, playing at home after a week off, win at a statistically relevant rate.
Coaches Matter
Obviously college footballs have home teams and favorite players, but knowing the coach’s history of wins, losses and gameplay style is a simple way to benefit when placing college football bets.
Top 10 Heisman Trophy Favorites
After Caleb Williams of USC walked away with the coveted Heisman Trophy for the the 2022 season, he enters the 2023 as the prohibitive betting favorite to be the first man since Archie Griffin to win two Heisman’s. All of the current betting favorites are quarterbacks.
Player | Heisman Odds |
---|---|
Caleb Williams, USC | +400 |
Drake Maye, UNC | +1000 |
Bo Nix, Oregon | +1200 |
Jordan Travis, FSU | +1200 |
Michael Penix Jr, Washington | +1200 |
Quinn Ewers, Texas | +1600 |
Brock Vandagriff, UGA | +1600 |
Sam Hartman, Notre Dame | +1800 |
Cade Klubnik, Clemson | +1800 |
Jayden Daniels, LSU | +2000 |
Joe Milton, Tennessee | +2000 |
Best College Football Betting Site Bonuses
If you’re planning on making an online college football bet, be sure to take advantage of FREE bonus money online sportsbooks offer new players. These are the sports betting sites with the best college football bonuses:
Online Sportsbook | Bonus | Accept Bitcoin? | Mobile? |
---|---|---|---|
Everygame | Up to $500 | Yes | Yes |
BetNow | Up to $500 | Yes | Yes |
Bovada | Up to $750 | Yes | Yes |
SportsBetting.ag | Up to $1,000 | Yes | Yes |
BetOnline | Up to $1,000 | Yes | Yes |
Pros and Cons of Using More than One Sportsbooks
The primary reason for any sports bettor to register with more than one online sportsbook is simple: to find the best odds. Each sports gambling site has a unique team of oddsmakers where – on occasion – a bettor will find better value at one sportsbook over another. Plus, with each operator looking to earn your business, spreading out your wagers at multiple books affords you the opportunity to earn free welcome bonus money.
Pros
- NCAA Football Line Shopping
- Bonus Money
- Hedging opportunities
- More betting options
Cons
- Time commitment
- Personal and financial information exposure
How To Bet On College Football FAQs
Is college football betting legal?
Yes, as long as the online sportsbook they use is fully licensed, located, and operated outside of the United States. Online sports betting itself is not prohibited by U.S. law, so you won’t go to jail for placing a bet on college football. You can check your state laws with regards to sportbetting through our guide to legal online gambling in the United States.
What is the best site to bet on college football?
Which team is favored to win the National Championship?
The top three favorites to win the 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship are the Georgia Bulldogs, Ohio State Buckeyes and Alabama Crimson Tide.
What is a college football moneyline bet?
A college football moneyline bet is the easiest wager to understand because you’re simply picking who you think will win the game. For example, if you select Ohio State (-150) over Michigan (+200), you’d have to risk $150 for every $100 you’d like to win should the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines again.
What are 1st quarter/half lines?
First quarters and half line bets are pretty straightforward. In college football, the game is divided in quarters and halftimes. The first quarter line is a quarter of the entire game’s line, while the initial half line is typically half of the whole spread.
Where can I bet on college football?
Scroll up to the top of this page and you’ll find our best college football sports betting sites. You’ll find each online sportsbooks’ review and “PLAY NOW” links to place a NCAA football bet at their site.