College Football Sportsbooks

NCAA football is extremely competitive and has brought plenty of excitement to the sporting industry for years. Wagering on football has been around for quite some time, dating back to the traditional bookie system used to collect the juice. Nowadays, modern online sportsbooks take wagers on every single NCAA football game online or over the telephone. The odds are updated regularly and there are a number of betting options for NCAA football. If you’re new to wagering on college football, you should make sure you are familiar with all of the different betting types and how the odds work.

Point Spread

The point spread is used rather frequently in college football and also goes by a few other names. You may hear the point spread referred to as the line or simply the spread. The point spread is the margin that is used to even out the game for betting purposes. It handicaps the favorite team and gives the underdog a boost to make the wagers fair. The point spread is very simple to understand but new bettors should know a couple of things.

Placing a minus and a plus sign next to the teams with a point value associated to the sign indicates the point spread. The team that is minus is the favorite and the plus is the underdog. If Ohio State is playing USC and the point spread has Ohio State at -7 and USC at +7, Ohio State is favored by 7 points. Theoretically, Ohio State is giving up 7 points on the spread and USC is receiving 7 points. For Ohio State to win on a point spread bet, they need to win by more than 7 points. A wager on USC would only require a win, tie or a loss by less than 7 points.

Over/Under

The over/under option is referred to as a total bet. The wager is on the total score of the game. Total is referring to the sum of both teams’ score. The over/under in football can also be broken down into quarters. This is not an option at every online sportsbook but some may offer this side bet. The over/under is usually bet on using a moneyline.

Moneyline

The moneyline is a way to determine the payout odds on wagers without a point spread. The point spread is a form of fixed odds, whereas the moneyline is referred to as true odds. The moneyline tells a bettor what they must wager to receive a certain payout. The bettor is wagering on a specific team to win the game by any margin. The payout is displayed by using a plus or minus sign. If Michigan State were -150 in their game against Michigan, the bettor must bet $150 to win $100. If Michigan were +150, bettors would need to only bet $100 to win $150.

Parlay

Parlay bets are combo bets. The parlay is most commonly used in basketball, baseball, hockey and football. A parlay is betting on more than one team within one wager. The odds improve in a parlay because the bettor’s teams must all win for the parlay to win. The improved odds and the fact that there is normally no juice with parlays make this betting option unique. Juice is the portion that the sportsbook takes. Juice is also referred to as vig, short for vigorish. In a straight bet, which is a bet on one event or outcome, the standard vig is a $110 wager to win $100.

Teasers & Pleasers

Teasers are normally used in baseball, basketball, hockey and football. The teaser option represents when a bettor bets on more than one team (similar to a Parlay) and the total or the point spread is adjusted in their favor. The parlay improves the odds if all your teams win and a teaser improves the point spread. Pleasers are the exact opposite. They worsen the point spread for the bettor but the payout is normally better if you win a pleaser compared to if you win a teaser.

Teaser Examples:

Michigan State is -7 and is teased by 4 points: Michigan state is now -3.
Florida is +10 and is being teased by 3 points: Florida is now +7.
The Florida versus Florida State over/under is 55 points teased by 6 points. The over would now be 49 and the under would be 61

Teasers improve the point spread for the bettor by closing the margin. For the over/under the teaser lowers the over and raises the under. This improves the odds for the bettor not only for one side but for both sides depending on which bet is selected.

Pleaser Examples:

Miami is -7 and is pleased by 3 points: Miami is now -10.
Georgia is +3 and is pleased by 7 points: Georgia is now +10

Reverse Bets and Open Wagers

Reverse bets are quite simple. A bettor bets on team A to win as well as team B to win. If team A’s game is cancelled, won or tied, the same bet is wagered on team B. If team B’s game is cancelled, they win or they tie, the wager is placed on team A. This is referred to as a double action If bet. One part of the action is indicating that a wager will be placed if the bettor wins or pushes. The other part of the action is indicating the same thing but in reverse. The reverse wager option is to shuffle the action and have a chance at winning four bets essentially for the risk of two bets [Ex: Risking $200 ($100 a piece) to win $400].

Open wagers are parlays or teasers where one team is selected and the other remains open, allowing bettors to make the selections at a different time or day. Reverse wagers can also be done as an If wager without the reverse. This would be an If wager with single action. If team A wins, ties or the match is cancelled, the same wager is placed on team B.

Sportsbook Considerations

Be sure to evaluate a few things before you jump right in and select an online sportsbook. The selection of sports they offer, betting options, banking (deposit/withdrawal) methods and their bonuses should all be things considered when selecting an online sportsbook. This general information can be found normally by visiting the website of the sportsbook. Bettors should ensure that their country of residence is accepted and allowed to wager at the sportsbook they are interested in.