• Is Betting On College Football Legally
• Online Betting For College Football
• Is Betting On College Football Legal Expert

How does betting on college football work?

Much like wagering on all of the other major team sports, betting on college football is similar. However, there are some nuances, but we’ll get to that in a bit.

First off, let’s take a look at where you can place your best bets.

Betting on college football using an app

Legal US Online Football Betting Guide Betting on football has never been more popular, and according to the American Gaming Association (AGA), close to $100 billion is wagered on National Football League and college football games each year with an estimated 98% of football wagers being placed through online offshore betting websites.

1. Yes, and betting on bowl games and the CFP postseason matchups is easier than ever. There are two ways to bet on the CFP semifinals legally. Some states inside of the USA feature domestic brick-and-mortar sportsbooks or mobile apps that allow for CFP wagers to be placed, with most requiring a minimum age of 21 years old to participate.
2. While NCAA College Football odds and legal NFL betting options include prop bets for broadcast-inclusive events, Fan Controlled Football has only offered game lines and futures so far, and that will likely remain the case until the sport becomes more popular on a national and global scale.
3. There are no local school or local game betting restrictions. That means Michigan sportsbooks allow NCAA football betting throughout the offseason, regular season, bowl season, and the College Football Playoff national championship. Five Michigan schools compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, US college football’s top level.
4. Yes, it is legal for US citizens to bet on college football. The trick is to find a good online sportsbook that properly follows the law, which not all of them do. Legal sports wagering sites.

If you prefer to have more flexibility on when and where to place a bet, then you should seek out a sportsbook with a robust mobile offering. Nearly all of the major football betting sites will have a mobileapp available for download for both Android and iOS platforms.

Once you have chosen your preferred site or sites from our list above, look for the corresponding mobile offering on the sportsbook’s website. After downloading, log in and take a look around.

For the most part, operators will do their best to mirror the mobile experience to what you will find online, albeit a little smaller scale. Placing a bet on mobile is generally easy, and you shouldn’t miss a beat once you get the hang of the app itself.

Is betting on college football legal?

The answer will vary depending on the state in which you live.

On May 14, 2018, the US Supreme Court weighed in on the topic. In a nutshell, the high court placed the decision in the hands of the states themselves.

Since then, several states have gone all-in and fully legalized sports betting. Others have legalized it in some form, while legislation is pending in other states.

Sports betting is in legal in a number of states. These, plus the latest information on more US states, are listed in-depth in our guide to US sports betting. These three states, however, have the most extensive places and methods for legal sports betting.

• Pennsylvania: Sports betting is legal for online and retail sportsbooks.
• New Jersey: The first state to act after the SCOTUS ruling, online and retail sports betting is entirely legal in the Garden State.
• Nevada: Continues to be completely legal in Nevada.

Bills have at least been introduced in several other states, while others have yet to take substantive action. Here is a complete list of where you can bet on College football legally in the US.

California sports betting and sports betting in Florida are in the list of states where online wagering is still not legal.

What is the biggest difference between NFL betting vs. college football?

One of the most significant differences between betting on college football versus the NFL is the number of teams in a given week.

There are 32franchises in the NFL. That means that there will be a maximum of 16games on a given week.

Each team gets a byeweek during the regular season, so the number of games on the weekly schedule can range between 13 and 15 contests. Generally, bye weeks take place in the middle of the season, so the beginning and end of the year will see full slates of games.

For college football, 130programs play at the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) level, which is sometimes also referred to as Division I. Below the FBS is the FCS (Football Championship Subdivision. Below that are Division II/III programs.

For betting industry purposes, the majority of the attention is to FBS.

When college football games are played

With 130 teams, the weekly schedules are jam-packed. The majority of the action takes place on Saturdays. College football gets underway at the end of August, usually at least a week ahead of the start of the NFL’s regular season.

For the first week, there’s typically a Sunday and a Monday football game as well since there isn’t any competition with NFL viewership. Thursday and Friday’s games are standard parts of the schedule throughout the season, and there will also be some midweek games as the season moves along.

Learning college football betting

The NFL is king in terms of media attention. It would be tough for a story regarding the league to slip through the cracks.

For college, the major programs will receive a ton of attention as well, but information on smaller schools can often be more challenging to come by. That’s an area in which bettors can gain an edge over the long run. The time devoted to digging for potential nuggets of information can help to spot opportunities that other bettors or sportsbooks may miss.

This info can help when a powerful school is matched up with a smaller program. Generally, the larger program will be huge favorites. Spreads of 20 points are greater are not uncommon at all. You can sometimes uncover value here.

In addition, the less attention paid to college football by the sportsbooks and bettors can occasionally lead to softer lines that are ripe to be exploited.

Experience means a great deal in college football. Programs that have solid continuity at the key coaching positions are generally built to last. For other schools, turnover at critical spots is not uncommon when poor results are achieved.

The experience factor also applies to the players on the field. In the NFL, we are dealing with professionals who have proven to be the best of the best. At the college level, we’ll see first-year players mixed in with seniors.

Of course, inexperienced players can make more mistakes than their experienced teammates. This is especially true in the early part of the season. Teams with coaching staffs who have been together a while and also have a good amount of returningstarters can be ready to burst out of the gate.

Programs that have lost a lot of players to graduation or by moving on to the next level can take some time to get going. The same applies to teams with newcoaches, but there are always exceptions to those two rules.

College football betting lines

Looking at a college football oddsboard can be intimidating at first glance due to the sheer number of games weekly. On the bright side, no rule says you have to handicap every one of them.

For example, some seasoned bettors prefer to stick with a conference or two that they know particularly well. Plenty of folks will focus solely on the big games and nationally televised affairs. Also, there will be those who prefer to focus on not-so-popular games.

There is no golden rule on which approach to take. It all comes down to personal preferences, as well as the amount of research time you have at your disposal.

For the gamelines themselves, they appear exactly as they would for an NFL game. You will find point spreads and total points, as well as moneyline opportunities if you prefer just to pick straight winners. One caveat to the moneyline approach is that betting on a massive favorite will not generate much in the way of returns.

Point-spread bets receive the most attention. Your goal is to figure out who will win the game and by how much. If a team is favored by seven points, you have to determine if the margin of victory will be within that parameter or outside of it.

It’s challenging, but that’s also part of the fun. Few things in life can be more satisfying than seeing your hard work pay off and translate into results.

How to shop for lines

As you become more familiar with college football lines, you will begin to recognize valuable and not-so-valuable opportunities. The lines from the various sportsbooks are generally similar, but that doesn’t mean they are all exactly alike.

That’s where the concept of lineshopping comes into the frame. When a book opens up a line for a game, it can shift based on the action it takes in.

For example, a seven-point favorite can suddenly be whittled down to a six and a half-point favorite, or go in the opposite direction and rise to seven and a half points.

While that may not sound like a significant difference, it certainly is. This is especially true for games that you may be on the fence. The extra half-point of security can make a difference for your peace of mind, not to mention your bankroll.

As you gain experience with sports betting, you will undoubtedly come across your preferred platforms and sportsbooks. It’s perfectly fine to keep the majority of your action there, but don’t be afraid to shop around for better deals.

Shifts in the point spread, game totals and moneyline values can happen throughout the week at various books. If you have a game or several games that you are particularly keen on, take the time to look around and see what other operators have to offer.

You never know when you’re going to find an attractive opportunity you weren’t expecting.

NCAA teams

As we mentioned up above, there are 130 teams at the FBS level. The teams are usually spread across 10conferences, but there are currently six schools that have independent status and no direct affiliation.

The conferences are further broken down into two categories: Power Five and Group of Five. In general, the Power Five conferences include the bigger programs, while the school in Group of Five are in the middle or lower in terms of overall power.

There is some crossover in which more prominent programs have down years. Also, for Group of Five schools which are playing exceptionally well and attracting a lot of talent. However, it makes for a fair rule of thumb to follow.

This is also where the researchcomponent comes in handy. Betting markets sometimes discount the smaller programs when they are matched up with a school that looks stronger on paper. However, anything can happen after kickoff, and there have been plenty of upsets over the years.

Best of the best in the NCAA

If you begin to study college football, you’ll begin to recognize some patterns.

Success often breeds additional success. Many programs will remain strong for several years at a time, while others can have trouble getting out of a constant downward trend.

This can help tremendously with your handicapping, as you’ll begin to get a feel for which teams are more reliable. After all, it’s easier to count on a program that continually excels as opposed to one that seems to have trouble getting out of its own way.

Let’s take a look at the best of the best in a few categories:

• Most Wins: Michigan is tops on the list of total wins, followed by Ohio State and Texas. Other top programs are right behind them, including Alabama and Notre Dame.
• Most Championships: The history of college football stretches back to 1869. Princeton and Yale are at the top of the list in spite of not being top football programs for some time. Behind them are powerhouses Alabama and Notre Dame with 22 championships each.
• Most Players Who Get Drafted: USC is atop the list for most players drafted all-time as well as first-round selections. For the most recent draft, Alabama had the most players drafted.
• Best Coach In College Football: Two coaches are generally considered the best in the current college football landscape: Dabo Swinney of Clemson and Nick Saban of Alabama.

It’s important to remember that no two seasons will be exactly alike. However, schools that consistently put a reliable product on the field tend to continue that trend and vice versa.

College football predictions

Predicting the outcome of games can quickly evolve from a curiosity to a passionate hobby. Just like the various approaches to tackling the big college football schedule we outlined up above, there are several ways to attack it.

For some folks, the research component is a big part of the enjoyment. Those in this category tend to have their systems that rely upon crucial pieces of intel. They will often work toward continually tweaking and trying to perfect their model.

There’s also a large group of people who prefer to take a hands-off approach. Those in this category may rely on a handful of trusted sources to help them make their handicapping decisions. There are even subscriptionservices and individual game picks available for people who prefer to have others do the leg work.

In between these two approaches are many other ways to play the game known as sports betting. Once again, there’s no right or wrong way. It all comes down to what you are most comfortable with, what brings you the most enjoyment and hopefully, what allows you to cash more tickets in the long run.

For those just starting up, start with the basics and build up from there. Look for key metrics like average points scored and allowed yardage for and against, and turnovers.

Besides, there are plenty of free services out there that release power ranking and other metrics.

Power rankings attempt to conceptualize the overall strength of a team into a single number. The better ones out there can be quite useful when you are trying to figure out point spreads.

College football bowl games 2020-21

After the college football regular season is done, it’s time for bowl season. The schedule of what you can look forward to in 2020-21 is still very much TBD. Check back later in the season to see what’s scheduled. For more on the history of college bowl game sponsors, check our A-Z list here:

The bottom line on college betting

College football is one of the more popular sports in the US, both from a general interest level and from a handicapping perspective. For many seasoned gamblers, college football season is the best time of the year.

Is Betting On College Football Legally

Beyond being fun and enjoyable, the massive volume of weekly games opens up numerous profit opportunities. Some bettors love to dive in and break down as many games as they can handle, while others prefer to specialize and focus on a select few contests each week.

Online Betting For College Football

The same applies to the break down of the games themselves. Some bettors prefer to do their research and another group that relies on trusted sources.

Is Betting On College Football Legal Expert

Whether you prefer a hands-on or hands-off approach, there will be plenty of opportunities. Enjoy the season.