How to Bet On College Football – 2025 NCAAF Betting Guide

If you bet on college football, you know just how much it can raise the stakes for even the most inconsequential games. This is especially true for a sport which sees a very low ratio of its teams make it to postseason play year in and year out.

In the NFL, almost half of the league’s 32 teams reach the playoffs. In the NBA more than half the teams play in the postseason. But in college football, just 4 of the 134 schools had a chance to vie for the crown at the end of the year. That’s all changing very soon.

2024 might be the most “different” year college football has seen in some time. The College Football Playoff is expanding from 4 to 12, with talks to expand even further in the following seasons. If betting on college football raised the stakes before, just imagine what it’ll be like with more and more teams playing meaningful football in November!

On this page we’ll look at all the specifics that go into betting on college football with a season of change looming. We’ll look at the top ways to use any of the several fantastic sportsbooks at your disposal, the best odds as of May 2024 and so much more.

Let’s dive in.

How to Bet on College Football: A step-by-step guide

Before you jump into college football betting, it’s important to make yourself aware of any restrictions in place where you live. Further along this guide you’ll find a list of any restrictions in place in your state.

1. First, you’ll need to choose a sportsbook to place your wagers with. In this guide you’ll find some of the best available college football promos to take advantage of from the likes of DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM. Be aware that age and eligibility requirements may vary by location. You will also need to be physically located in a state where sports betting is legal.
2. Click on on of the great promo links above where you will be promoted to create an account. The sign-up process for all sportsbook is fairly quick a hassle free. Make sure to follow the initial prompts to create an account. You will then be required to enter your personal information, such as date of birth and social security number so that the sportsbook can verify you identity.
3. You can choose to place wagers via your desktop or through your mobile. If you wish to place bets on your mobile, we encourage you to download the app for whichever sportsbook you choose, as apps from the major sportsbook provide a comprehensive betting experience.
4. You will then need to add funds to your account. You can do this via different methods, including credit/debit card, PayPal or via eCheck. Depending on the bonus you have chosen, this may be where you need to enter your promotional code.

From there, find what works best for you and what’s most enjoyable to bet. Maybe you’ll find that you enjoy parlay bets over simply betting on the outcome of a specific game.

Live 2025 College Football Promos

Well, you can’t bet on sports without a sportsbook. Here’s a look at some of the best sportsbook offers currently available. Click any of the links to get started. Undecided? Click here to get a further look at the specifics each sportsbook brings to the table.

Note that these promos codes work on for both NFL and college football (as well as basketball, baseball, you name it). So no matter what action you want to dive into ahead of the 2024 football season, you can’t do any better than these offers!

DraftKings College Football Promo

This DraftKings college football promo will get you excited and is perfect to take advantage of ahead of the new season. The promo is simple: Make a $5 bet on any game and receive a $200 bonus instantly.

Why does DraftKings get its own section? Because DK has just about anything you want from a sportsbook, whether you’re a veteran or prospective player. The DraftKings app has an excellent user interface, competitive lines and excellent in-app promos that run daily and weekly. Plus, as we’ve already highlighted, DraftKings’ welcome offer is among the best in the business.

The promo below does not require a promo code, simply click on the link and it will be automatically applied for you following the completion of signup!

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How to Bet on College Football: Preseason

It’s already been a few months since Michigan won the national title and Jim Harbaugh bid farewell to Ann Arbor. Georgia, Texas and Ohio State remain top bids to contend for the title in 2024.

Waiting for the college football regular season to come back around has been arduous, but it’s slowly sneaking up on us. Here are a few of the best ways to bet on college football in the offseason.

• Heisman Trophy Futures: The Heisman Trophy is one of the most talked about awards in American sports in which the most outstanding player in all of college football is awarded entry into this exclusive club. Betting on who will win the Heisman each year is very common, especially in the preseason when you might find some wild odds around your favorite longshot. Here’s a look at the Heisman odds for 2025:

• Win Totals: At the start of each year, sportsbooks will put out an estimated win total number for most major college football teams and bettors can bet both sides of this number (e.g. that the team will either win more games than the number, or fewer). For example, DraftKings has set Georgia’s over/under total at 10.5 for the 2024 season. Here’s a look at the rest of the SEC’s over/under total as of April 2025.

• Championship Odds: Another very fun preseason bet is betting on a team to win the national title. That’s what everyone is fighting towards, isn’t it? Note that while these bets receive a lot of preseason interest, these bets are typically available throughout the regular season as well. For now, Georgia, Texas and Ohio State lead the way to win the 2024-25 crown.

How to Bet on College Football: Postseason

The postseason involves bowl season, the newly expanded College Football Playoff and the national title game itself. Recent expansion means more teams in the playoff, more drama and much more lines for sports bettors.

Of course, you’ll receive updated odds for the national champion and Heisman trophy winner. But the postseason is also where prop bets come to shine, mainly in the national title game. Of course, the stakes are higher and each game will have its share of moneyline, spread and over/under bets. Keep reading to learn more about each of those types of bets!

College Football Betting Terms

As you examine the live odds above, you’ll notice a few different types of bets or sets of odds available. Alongside other types of sports betting, college football betting offers players plenty of choice on different types of wagers. However, the different terms can often be confusing. First, you’ll notice that each game typically has a spread, a moneyline and an over/under (O/U). It’s important to understand the different terms when placing wagers. If you want to find out more on how to bet on college football, you’ll find a full list of college betting terms below:

• Moneylines: Moneyline bets are about as simple as it gets. You’re simply predicting the outright winner of the game without any spread or anything. Seems simple right? Well, you also need to factor in the odds. Since in most games, one team will be favored over the other, the sportsbooks factor this into moneyline bets by adding in odds. Let’s look at an example. If Alabama is again favored by 3 points, the odds on the moneyline bet might be something like -140. This means that you’d have to bet $140 for Alabama to win the game in order to win $100. Or if you’re betting on an underdog to win outright such as Ohio State which is considered an underdog by 3 points, the moneyline odds might be something like +180. Then, if you bet $100 for Ohio State to win outright, you’d win $180 if they win.
• Point Spreads: When betting on the spread in college football, you have to factor this number into the final score when making your bet and understanding the result. The spread essentially evens out the odds when factoring in that one team is likely better than the other. Let’s look at an example. If Alabama is a -3 favorite over Ohio State in a college football game, it would mean that Alabama is favored by three points. If you bet on Alabama -3, you will win the bet if Alabama wins by four points or more (If they win by 3, it is called a “push” which is similar to what you might consider a tie in sports. You’ll just get your money back.). If you bet on Alabama -3 and then Alabama wins by two points or fewer, or loses outright to Ohio State, you’ll lose the bet. If you bet Ohio State +3, then you will win the bet if Ohio State wins outright or loses by two or fewer points.
• Over/Under: Over/under bets are unique in that if you’re making this type of bet, you don’t care who wins or loses the game. All you are doing is making a prediction on how many total points are scored in the college football game. If an over/under line on the Alabama vs. Ohio State game is 59.5, then you can make a bet on either the over 59.5 number or under the 59.5. If you take the over, you don’t care if the score is 35-30 or 59-2, you just want a combination of at least 60 points so you win the bet.
• Props: A prop bet is simply a wager placed on the side based on a smaller aspect within a game. This could be focussed on accomplishments of an individual player or team, or it could be something that may or may not happen during the game, such as a specific number of tackles by a certain player or yardage made by a specific player.
• Team Props: A team prop is a wager on how a specific team performs in certain areas. This could be based on points scored, yardage or tackles made or other stats.
• Game Props: A game prop is a wager on a specific outcome of the game. This could be the total number of points scored in the match, margin of victory for either team or the chance of a shutout.
• Totals: Prior to the start of a college football games, sportsbooks will set a predicted total for points scored in each game. Bettors can then place a wager whether the actual score will be over or under this predicted total. College football totals can range anything from the 30 point mark up to over 60 points.
• Yardage: Unlike betting on NFL or other sports, college football betting does not allow for player props on every state where sports betting is legal. Therefore, placing yardage wagers for key players is the most popular alternative and can be done in an over/under format.
• Parlays: A parlay is a multi-leg wager in which you have multiple wagers under the same bet, such as multiple Moneylines. All wagers have to come in for you to win the bet.
• Futures: A futures bet is a longer-term wager that is placed on a season long outcome. Sportsbooks will typically release futures odds after the offseason.
• Regular Season Wins: Prior to the first game of the season, sportsbook often release a prediction for the number of regular season wins each team will achieve. Bettors can then place over/under bets on whether their favorite team will win more of less games than those predicted.
• Live or In-Game Betting: Live in-game betting is becoming more popular amongst fans and sportsbooks are continuing to offer more in-game college bets. In-game betting allows players to place wagers during a game, allowing you to capture live and up-to-date odds.
• National Championship: As part of the futures market, you can place a wager on the winner of the national championship. Odds will be released prior to the start of the season and will include odds for each participating team.
• Heisman Trophy: One of the most popular wagers in the futures market, bettors can place a wager predicting the winner of the Heisman Trophy. The odds for the winner of the Heisman Trophy will continue to change throughout the season based on team and individual performances.

College Betting Rules: State by State

College football betting has grown in popularity over recent years and each season, more bettors are looking to place wagers on their favorite team. Before placing your first wager, find out how to bet on college football in your state by looking at the restrictions in place below:

How to Bet on College football Responsibly

If you’re new to college football betting, it’s important to start slow. Maybe place a small bet on the spread of one of the big games that you plan to watch. You’ll likely find out quickly that the entertainment value (or the anxiety) increases dramatically when you have something on the line during the game! Here are a few tips to consider when starting to bet on college football:

• Start small: You can often times bet as little as $5 or $10 on a single game. Definitely start small and just enjoy the entertainment value of betting on college football.
• Keep it simple: While there are a myriad of betting options available to seasoned bettors, keep it pretty simple in the beginning. Stay away from wild parlays and in-game betting until you really understand and get the hang of it.
• Play the long game: If you plan to start betting, play the long game. Don’t expect to make a bunch of money quickly. Instead, focus on learning and getting used to how odds are released and evolve between the release date and gametime. Perhaps, most importantly, understand that it’s not easy! It takes getting crushed by a bad beat to fully understand and appreciate how hard predicting some of these outcomes can be. Focus on learning, keep your bets small and manageable, and enjoy the fun.

College Football Betting Frequently Asked Questions

Kevin Duffey

A graduate of the University of Florida and founder of Saturday Down South, Kevin is a college football enthusiast.