NCAAF Odds – Moneyline

College football bettors often place wagers on the moneyline. This is the easiest of all CFB bets to understand. Bettors wager on a team to win the game regardless of the score. The odds associated with the game reveal how much a bettor can win. An example will help to better explain this.

Let’s say LSU is playing Alabama. Moneyline NCAAF odds are presented as follows.

LSU +175

Alabama -150

The moneyline favorite typically is indicated by a negative number. In this case, Alabama is favored and the odds associated with a bet on the Crimson Tide are -150.

This means that a bettor must wager $150 to win $100 (or $1.50 for every $1.00). If Alabama wins the game, no matter what the score is, Crimson Tide bettors are winners.

On the other side of the bet, LSU is a +175 underdog. Underdogs are usually indicated by positive moneyline NCAAF odds. Here, the Tigers are +175 underdogs. Bettors that wager $100 on LSU will receive $175 if the Tigers pull the upset and win. 

Keep in mind that sportsbooks want to bring in an equal amount of action on both sides of a bet. Moneyline odds don’t necessarily reflect how oddsmakers see the outcome of a game. They are designed to entice bettors to make a wager.

NCAAF Odds – Spread

The most common NCAAF bet is on a game’s point spread. The point spread is the great equalizer in sports betting. One team may be far superior to another, but the point spread evens the two teams out.

For example, Alabama takes on Vanderbilt. The Crimson Tide are much better than the Commodores. Oddsmakers set the point spread at 40.5. The bet might appear as follows.

Vanderbilt +40.5 (-110)

Alabama -40.5 (-110)

The -40.5 indicates that Alabama is the favorite. Vanderbilt is the +40.5 underdog. The odds associated with each side of the bet are given in parentheses. It is typical for the NCAAF odds on all point spread bets to be -110. That is the industry standard.

What that means is that betters must wager $1.10 to win $1.00. Let’s say you like Vanderbilt to cover the spread. That means that the Commodores must either lose by 40 or fewer points or win outright. You place a $110 bet on Vanderbilt +40.5. 

The final score of the game is Alabama 48, Vanderbilt 14. Since the Commodores lost by fewer than 40 points – 34 in this case – they have covered the spread. The bet is a winner and pays out a total of $210. You get the $110 that was wagered plus a payout of $100.

Totals or Over/Unders

When CFB bettors don’t like a side, they can still bet on a game by betting on the game total. Betting on totals has nothing to do with the outcome of a game. Bettors wager on whether the final combined score will go Over or Under a set total.

Let’s use LSU and Alabama again. When you go to a sportsbook to look at NCAAF odds and lines or to place a bet, you might see this game listed as follows.

LSU +175 +8.5 (-110) O 67.5 (-110)

Alabama -150 -8.5 (-110) U 67.5 (-110)

The moneyline, point spread, and game totals bets are all displayed together. These are the most common college football bets. In the case of this game total, oddsmakers set the total at 67.5.

It is typical for oddsmakers to set totals using half-points. Obviously, NCAAF games cannot end in half-points. That means the result will never be a push, or a tie. If the total was set at 67 and the final score was 37-30, the result would be a push and all bets are refunded. With the total at 67.5, there will always be winners and losers.

There are always NCAAF odds associated with totals bets. They are usually the industry standard of -110. If you like this to be a high-scoring game, you can bet $110 on the Over. When the final score is 35-31, your bet is a winner and you would profit $100.

Other NCAAF Odds – First Half Bets

Pretty much any bet you can place on a full college football game you can place on just the first half of a game. A first half bet is exactly what it sounds like. You are betting only on the results of the first half.

Using the LSU-Alabama example from above, we might see a first half bet that looks like this.

LSU +160 +5.5(-110) O 33.5 (-110)

Alabama -155 -5.5 (-110) U 33.5 (-110)

These are the same bets – point spread, moneyline, and game total – that are available for the full game. First half odds and lines are established in the same fashion as those for a full game. Oddsmakers are trying to achieve a goal of equal action on both sides of the bet. That said, the point spread, for example, isn’t just half of the full game spread. 

Here, we see that Alabama is favored to win the first half. The Tide is given odds of -155, which tells us that we must wager $155 to win $100. 

Alabama is favored by 5.5 points in the first half. A bettor backing the Tide in the first half would have to wager $110 to win $100 and would need Alabama to be ahead at halftime by six or more points. 

It’s the same for the first half total. If you like the Under, you will win $1.00 for every $1.10 wagered if the first half combined score is 33 points or less. It’s the same as betting on a full game total, but only the first half counts. 

Like any bet, the key is finding value before placing the wager. Use the resources here at Sports Hub to learn how to find that value and take advantage of NCAAF first half bets.

Second Half Bets

If you can bet on it in the first half of a college football game, you can bet on it in the second half too. Just like first half bets, second half wagers are only concerned with the results of the second half.

Let’s say Alabama jumps out to a big lead in the first half. The score at halftime is 28-10 in favor of the Tide. LSU wins the second half 17-7. They lose the game 35-27, but that doesn’t matter when talking about second half bets.

The second half moneyline, spread, and totals bets might look like this for the second half of the game.

LSU +185 +3.5 (-110) O 34.5 (-110)

Alabama -225 -3.5 (-110) U 34.5 (-110)

The second half NCAAF odds and lines are set at halftime. This is why betting on the second half in college football presents some opportunities for bettors. Given a short amount of time to get all of their lines and NCAAF odds right is a tough task. There will most certainly be something a bettor can exploit.

In our example, based on the first half, oddsmakers established Alabama as a strong favorite to win the game. Alabama is still expected to win the second half. Here’s where some strategy comes into play. 

Remember, we’re only talking about the second half here. LSU might be a strong second half team and surely wants to make up for its poor first half performance. You wager on LSU to win the second half. Your $100 bet pays out $185 because the Tigers won the second half, 17-7. A bet on the point spread is a winner as well because LSU won the half outright. They lost the game, but LSU still provides bettors with wins in the second half. 

Quarters Bets

By now, you should understand that just about any bet that can be made on a full game can be made on a half. Those bets can also be made on a quarter. Only the results of the quarter count for the bet.

In our example, Alabama might be a 4.5-point first quarter favorite. If they lead 14-7 at the end of the quarter, they have covered. If the college football odds for the bet were -110, you would win $100 on a 110 bet. What happens in the other quarters does not matter. 

Bettors must understand the bet as well as its associated odds when betting quarters (or any bet). The resources provided here at Sports Hub can help any bettor become well-versed on reading odds in no time. Understanding NCAA football odds will help bettors as they search for value in college football quarters bets.

Alternate Lines – Expanding NCAAF Odds

Oddsmakers established the line for our LSU-Alabama at 8.5. Standard industry odds on a point spread wager are -110, which we should know by now means we must wager $110 to win $100 (or $1.10 to win $1.00).

There are, however, alternate lines that can be found at any online sportsbook. Go to your sportsbook app or website and look for alternate lines. In this case, you would be able to find Alabama -7.5 as well as Alabama -5.5 and even -1.5. Sportsbooks, of course, aren’t simply going to give you the option of lowering the spread in your favor for free. 

At -5.5, the NCAAF odds might be – 135 meaning you have to wager $135 to win $100. At -1.5, the odds might be -300. You would have to wager $300 to win $100. 

Now, you might like Alabama so much that you think they will win by double digits. You can find the Tide listed at -9.5, -10.5, and so on in the alternate lines market. Since you would be taking on a higher risk, a sportsbook is willing to pay you more for taking the risk. 

For example, Alabama -10.5 might be given +110 odds meaning you can wager $100 and make $110 if the Tide wins by 11 or more points. 

NCAAF Odds – Futures

Just like other sports, college football offers bettors a number of futures bets. These are bets for events that will take place in the future. The most popular college football futures bet is on the next College Football Playoff national champion. NCAAF odds are usually released right after the previous year’s national champ has been decided.

The futures markets stay open until just before the event is about to be completed. Bettors can place their bets at any time. The great thing about betting in the CFB futures markets is that you can find great odds on big favorites.

For example, bettors can find favorites like Alabama, Ohio State, and others at odds like +500 early in the betting cycle. It’s not unheard of for a strong favorite to be given futures odds of +500 to +1000.

In the market for the national champion, these NCAAF odds will usually shorten on the favorites as the season starts and goes on. An Alabama team that was +500 back in March could be a +175 favorite halfway through a season in which they are unbeaten.

There are other NCAAF futures markets. Bettors can wager on individual teams season win totals. There are also futures on individual awards like the Heisman Trophy. 

How to Bet NCAAF

With 131 FBS college football teams (and two new ones in 2023), bettors can get lost or confused in trying to bet on college football. Too often, bettors will flock to well-known teams and games and fall into the public betting trap. 

Casual bettors – also known as the betting public – typically bet on favorites, popular teams, teams with star players, and they believe the hype that the media feeds them. If you want to have more success betting college football, stay away from these tendencies. 

The key is to place bets when there is value. Finding value takes some work. If you know the various metrics to look at, you can do the work yourself. It’s recommended that you focus on a small number of teams though. Maybe you limit yourself to one conference. 

With Sports Hub, you can do a little more. You’ll have access to all sorts of information but, more importantly, you’ll have access to hundreds of the best sports handicappers from around the world. Handicappers are those who make money betting on sports. They offer their information and picks to those willing to pay for their services.

Using the Sports Hub can help any level of bettor increase his winning percentage and, ultimately, his bankroll.

NCAAF Odds and Scores FAQ