Betting on college football:  Is it the same as the NFL?

You’ve spent years placing wagers on your favourite NFL team, right?  Now you want to try your hand at some wagering on your college football heroes.  Is it the same?  In a word, no.  There are a few things you need to know before making the switch.

First off, in NFL football the average point spread is about 7, with a big point spread being anything over and above about 11 points.  Also, in NFL the over/under is somewhere around 30-40 points.  That being said, when you venture into betting on college football, you will notice that the NCAA features much bigger over/under and point spreads.  That is due to the fact that there is a big disparity from one conference to another and also to the season schedule (the SEC football schedule, for example).  The ranking determinations are also a factor that can affect the points spread and over under.  That’s important to understand before you place your bets.

Here are a few other important differences between NCAA and NFL football that may affect your betting strategies.

Season structure

College football teams play four games during the regular season against opponents who are not in their conference.  Why is this important?  Because it can mean that the pairings can be very uneven for some of the games.  One team can end up way outscoring the other, and it’s not always the favoured team who ends up with the win.  Sometimes there can be a pretty serious upset, which can wreak havoc on bets.  Those mismatched teams could garner a huge point spread and over/under as well, which you may not be used to if you have only bet on the NFL in the past.

Season schedule

Another thing that can throw a wrench into your betting strategy is the structure of the NCAA season.  Non-conference matchups, for example, are typically played at the beginning of the season.  That can make a difference because teams that aren’t as strong can often struggle against better teams from the best conferences, who typically have the best players and state of the art facilities.

Also, at the end of the regular season (just the Bowl season starts) those teams that go on to compete in the Bowl season usually have an extended, multi-week rest period.  Although this is useful for the players in terms of giving them time to rest and prepare to compete, it can mean that Bowl games can see a pretty serious disparity between the teams.  Better teams can perform at a lower level, and lesser teams can put out a good show, which can result in upsets on the field and in terms of betting.

If you are going to try your hand at betting on the NCAA, it’s important to know that it’s not the same as the NFL.  The schedules, the season structure and even the way the teams are ranked nationally can make a difference in the way you should place your bets and your chances of success, so always do your homework before you place your wagers.