With so much to look forward to and wager on, college football betting enthusiasts have a lot to take in every season.

Our college football guide covers the basics of what you need to know about the current NCAA Division I FBS structure, how to bet on college football, and strategies, tips, and resources for college football betting.

Both new and experienced bettors can benefit from this guide. Let’s dive into what you can find here.

College Football Betting Guide Quick Links

Best College Football Betting Sites
Basics of College Football and College Football Betting
Types of College Football Bets
Is Betting on College Football Easier to Bet on Than the NFL?
College Football Betting Strategies and Tips
College Football Betting Resources
Other College Football Betting Information

Best College Football Betting Sites: Where to Bet on NCAA Football in 2026

If you bet on sports at U.S. online sportsbooks, college football odds are easy to find. College football is one of the most popular sports to follow and bet on in the U.S.

Whether you focus mostly on betting on NCAA football games or enjoy betting on NCAA football futures odds, you won’t have to look very hard to find what you are looking for. Some sports betting sites offer more variety, but there are many great books to choose from out there.

That said, there are several college football betting sites that we recommend above the rest of the field. These books are recommended because they offer the best combination of betting options, competitive odds, and perks.

If you don’t have an account at one of our recommended books, check out our site reviews to learn more. Our in-depth sportsbook reviews cover available betting options, deposit and payout options, mobile betting, and sportsbook bonuses and promos. All sports bettors are not the same, but these factors are some of the areas many bettors consider the most when deciding where to place bets.

Basics of College Football and College Football Betting

What Is College Football?

The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, also known as FBS (and formerly I-A), is the top level of major college football.

Many of the types of bets, as well as the strategies and tips mentioned, can apply to betting on other levels.

But most college football betting odds and betting information are for FBS games, and the information here is centered around FBS betting. So, any mentions of the words “college football” or “NCAA football” or abbreviations like NCAAF or CFB are referring to FBS odds, bets, teams, players, and games.

As of the 2025 college football season, 136 teams are a part of the FBS. With UMass moving to the Mid-American Conference, Notre Dame and UConn are the only two teams that are not attached to a conference. The top four conferences, the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, and SEC make up the Power Four, while the remaining conferences make up the Group of Six.

Power Four College Football Teams

ACC (17 teams): Boston College, California (also known as Cal), Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami (FL), North Carolina, North Carolina State, Pittsburgh, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Big 12 (16 teams): Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, UCF (Central Florida), Utah, West Virginia
Big Ten (18 teams): Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, USC, Washington, Wisconsin
SEC (16 teams): Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss (University of Mississippi), South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt

Group of Six College Football Teams

American Athletic Conference (14 teams): Army, Charlotte, East Carolina, FAU (Florida Atlantic), Memphis, Navy, North Texas, Rice, South Florida (USF), Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, UTSA
Conference USA (12 teams): Delaware, FIU (Florida International), Jacksonville State, Liberty, Louisiana Tech, Kennesaw State, Middle Tennessee (MTSU), Missouri State, New Mexico State, Sam Houston State, UTEP, Western Kentucky
Mid-American Conference (13 teams): Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (OH), Northern Illinois (NIU), Ohio University, UMass (University of Massachusetts, Toledo, Western Michigan
Mountain West (12 teams): Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State, Wyoming
Pac-12 (two teams): Oregon State, Washington State
Sun Belt (14 teams): Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisiana, Louisiana-Monroe (ULM), Marshall, Old Dominion (ODU), South Alabama, Texas State, Troy, USM (Southern Miss)

College Football Independents

Notre Dame
UConn (University of Connecticut)

At the end of the regular season, a dozen teams will earn a spot in the revamped College Football Playoff.

Many of the teams who don’t qualify for the CFP will play in a bowl game, unless they decide to opt out of playing in a bowl.

The six most prominent college football bowl games are referred to as the New Year’s Six. Those six games are the Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Sugar Bowl. Under the new format of the College Football Playoff, the New Year’s Six make up the quarterfinal and semifinal games.

Basics of CFB Betting

Do you know how to bet on NFL games? If you follow or bet on the NFL at all, college football and the NFL share a lot of similarities. There are some differences, but a lot of the basics of NFL games are basics of college football as well.

We don’t recommend betting on a sport if you don’t have some basic knowledge of it. But if you know American football rules and concepts, knowing college football teams, players, and conferences is a good place to start with boosting your betting knowledge.

That said, we all must start somewhere, and some people learn very quickly. If you are not familiar with American football but would like to learn about it to help you eventually bet on college football, the below video explains a lot of American football basics.

In addition to knowing basic rules and information about teams, players, and conferences, it is also important to know about the types of college football bets you can make at most sportsbooks.

Types of College Football Bets

There are many types of college football bets you can make at most sportsbooks that offer NCAA football odds.

If you bet on NFL odds, you will be familiar with the types of bets mentioned here, even if you are newer to some of the specifics like Heisman Trophy odds or other kinds of college football futures odds.

Betting on College Football Games

There are many ways to bet on college football games each week at online sportsbooks like BetOnline. Whether you are wagering on one of the biggest rivalries or a mid-week MACtion (Mid-American Conference) or Fun Belt (Sun Belt) matchup, these are the types of bets you may look to make.

Point Spread Bets

One of the three main ways to bet on college football games is to bet on point spreads.

If you are betting on a college football spread, you are wagering on one of two scenarios. Either you are betting on the spread favorite to win by at least a certain number of points, or you are betting on the spread underdog to win outright or lose by fewer than a certain number of points.

Moneyline Bets

While spread betting comes down to a particular outcome, college football moneyline betting is all about the winners and losers.

With spread betting, the bigger the favorite, the higher the spread. And with moneyline odds, the more sizable a favorite is, the shorter their moneyline odds will be.

With all of this in mind, it is important to weigh up the risk anytime you make college football moneyline bets. Sometimes the risk is worth it, even if the bet loses. Sometimes the risk is not worth it, even if the bet wins.

Total (a.k.a. Over/Under) Bets

Moneyline and spread betting can be made or broken by the outcome of a game. But with total betting, also known as over/under betting, only the number of points comes into play. Who scored the points is not relevant unless you are betting on team totals.

When betting on college football over/under odds, you are betting on the two teams to either score more points than the listed total (over) or score fewer points than the listed total (under).

College Football Prop Bets – Player, Team, and Game Props

Betting on college football props is not as popular as betting on NFL props, but you can find a variety of player, team, and game props for many college football matchups.

Many player props are over/under bets (like passing yards props, rushing yards props, and receiving yards props). First and anytime touchdown scorer props, which are moneyline props, are some of the most popular college football prop bets.

Similarly, first score and first team to score props are among the most popular team and game props for college football games.

Live Betting

Live betting doesn’t refer to a specific bet type but is one of the ways to bet on college football.

Did you bet the over on a game, but it went scoreless in the first quarter? Has a favorite fallen behind early but still has plenty of time to turn things around? With college football live odds, you can take advantage of value you may not have had before kickoff.

Also, live betting can just put an extra spin on following or watching a game.

Thanks to smartphones and tablets, you can bet on a game from anywhere and at any time. As a result, offering live odds is a must for any reputable sports betting site these days.

Parlays, Same-Game Parlays (SGPs) & Teasers

With so many games taking place each week, many bettors like to place college football parlays, same-game parlays, and teasers. Each of those options allow you to bet on multiple betting lines, but what are the differences between them?

With regular parlays, you can combine odds from several games. Those odds can be spreads, moneylines, over/under odds, or even props.

Same-game parlays, also known as SGPs, allow you to combine multiple betting options from a single event. For example, you can combine a spread bet, a total bet, and a player prop from the same game.

Parlays and teasers are similar in that they involve odds from multiple games. However, teasers are limited to only spreads and totals. Also, your potential winnings from teasers are much different because the lines are significantly altered.

Futures Betting

The above types of college football bets largely involve betting on college football games. College football futures betting, however, doesn’t involve directly betting on game odds.

When betting on college football futures odds, you are betting on outcomes that are yet to be decided.

Some of the futures bets you can make for college football include bets on Heisman Trophy odds and other prominent college football awards, College Football Playoff winner odds, and college football win total odds.

Typically, college football futures are moneyline bets. However, NCAA football win totals are a notable exception, as they are over/under bets.

Is NCAA Football Easier to Bet on Than the NFL?

College football betting and NFL betting share many similarities, but there are notable differences in approach and strategy.

Does that mean that betting on college football is easier than betting on the NFL? Or is the NFL easier to bet on than college football?

For example, with college football betting, you must handicap larger point spreads and totals (and occasionally smaller totals). Spreads of two touchdowns or more are a frequent sight in college football but not in the NFL.

For totals, the highest NFL totals may be around 55 or so points, while the lowest totals can be in the mid to upper 30s. For college football totals, totals can hit the high 70s or even the 80s when two high-scoring teams meet and fall into the 20s if the Iowa Hawkeyes are involved.

Also, the worst NFL teams regularly beat the best NFL teams. Comparatively, the worst college football teams rarely beat the best college football teams.

If you are betting on college football point spreads, you may feel more confident about betting on a big favorite on the road in an uneven matchup than you would about betting on a big NFL favorite on the road in an uneven matchup.

That said, no sport is easy to bet on, even if you know it extremely well. There is a reason that even just breaking even long term is a great achievement.

There is a lot to consider when betting on both NCAA football and the NFL, and it takes a lot of work to have success doing so.

College Football Betting Strategies and Tips

Whether you are new to college football betting or have been doing it for some time, there are many strategies and tips to consider and implement.

First and foremost, utilizing good bankroll management should be at the forefront of your betting endeavors. With so many games each week, it can be tempting to make a lot of bets. But do not spread yourself or your bankroll too thin.

As with any sport, paying attention to injury and/or suspension news is important. Injuries and suspensions can cause significant line movement and be key to whether to back or fade a team.

Knowing how players and teams match up statistically can determine the direction you take with your betting picks. For example, if one team is seventh in FBS at running the ball and the team that they are facing is 126th in defending the run, that can give the former team a big edge.

Also, don’t focus on only the major matchups or bigger conferences. You can do well betting on conferences like the MAC and Sun Belt, and the games are often exciting too.

Additionally, in the current era of college football, the transfer portal plays a significant part in how futures odds shake out from season to season. Keeping an eye on what teams have added and lost will help you make informed decisions about team win totals and conference and national championship futures (and even Heisman Trophy odds) before the season.

Lastly, be careful about falling in love with historical betting trends. Because of the turnover that takes place in college football and how programs can have significant ebbs and flows over the course of several seasons for varying factors, some college football betting trends are not as relevant or helpful as others.

College Football Betting Resources

College Football Picks

Throughout the college football season, Betting News provides college football consensus picks for games featuring Power Four teams.

For each featured matchup, we aggregate and list picks from some of the top sports betting industry sources. Those picks are matched up with corresponding odds from the best sports betting sites to determine the recommended point spread, moneyline, and total pick for the matchup.

In addition to those picks, our college football content team offers up best bets, predictions, and expert betting analysis for many of the top NCAA football matchups each week. Similar to our consensus picks, our betting analysts match up their picks with the best odds from Lucky Rebel, Everygame, and other top college football betting sites to help readers know where they should look for the best value.

The content we provide is free, and there are many other great resources and sports betting industry personalities—some of whom are the best follows on gambling Twitter—who provide reliable college football picks and insight for the low, low price of zero dollars and zero cents.

There are also a lot of great options if you are interested in paying for betting picks. If you are, we recommend checking out our rundown of the best places to buy premium sports picks.

Remember, do not tail anyone’s picks blindly, whether they are free picks or premium picks. Betting picks from reputable sources can be a very handy part of your research and can contribute to your confidence in a bet. They are not meant to be followed blindly though.

College Football Odds

In addition to NCAA football picks, we also provide college football point spread odds, college football moneyline odds, and college football over/under odds from several top online sportsbooks.

On our NCAA football odds page, you can find odds from betting sites like BetOnline and Bovada. And when you check out each individual matchup listed, you will be able to compare up-to-date spread, ML, and over/under odds for that matchup from those books and others.

For bettors seeking out the best betting value, being able to compare odds with such ease significantly streamlines your line shopping. Instead of having to look at each site individually, the odds you seek are all in one place.

College Football Stats, Standings & Rankings

Statistics are a backbone of betting research, whether you bet on college football, college basketball, the WNBA, or soccer.

With over 130 teams, poring over college football stats can be quite an endeavor. It is a worthwhile endeavor, but it can be a time-consuming one depending on what you are looking for.

For those who don’t mind putting the work in, there are many good resources for keeping up with college football statistics, including individual team websites. However, AI sports picks and predictions sites and apps can also be a valuable resource. They can take stats, trends, and other info and flip it into analysis and information quickly. Check out our betting tools and resources page to find sites and apps that could enhance your profit potential.

Also, it is important to keep up with the latest college football rankings and standings each week. This can help with knowing which games are most important each week and why those games are important.

Other College Football Betting Information

Learn More About Sports Betting

Our college betting guide is just one of many sports betting guides you can find at Betting News. If you would like to learn a type of bet, how to bet on a sport, league, or event, or understand a betting strategy, we cover a lot of sports betting basics with our guides.

Follow Betting News on Social Media

Also, we cover college football in great depth on our Twitch streams and our other social media channels. Follow us on Twitch, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube for frequent NCAA football betting insight from our content team.

College Football Betting FAQ

How do you bet on college football?

There are many ways to bet on college football. Types of bets include point spread and moneyline bets, total bets (a.k.a. over/under bets), prop bets, and futures bets.

How do you read college football odds?

There are many different types of college football odds, so how you read them depends on what they are. Sports betting guides are a great way to learn more about how to read betting odds.

Where can I bet on college football?

You can place bets on college football at any sportsbook that offers college football odds. If you bet on sports online, you will find NCAA football odds at most reputable sports betting sites.

Is college football easier to bet on?

No sport or event is easy to bet on. However, thorough research can help you make the most informed betting decisions possible.

2026 College Football Betting Guide: How & Where to Bet on NCAA Football This Season