Nearly 500,000 athletes compete annually in events run by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Football is one of the biggest college sports enjoyed by fans in the United States and USA. Spectators can get extra involvement in the action by taking advantage of a host of online NCAA football betting opportunities.
In this guide we’ll tell you:
People who love top-quality football action have plenty to keep them entertained from venues across the United States.
NCAA football has a long history and pre-dates the NFL by decades
It is considered the second tier of football in the United States and USA behind the NFL
There are four levels of college football, with 124 teams in the highest, the Football Bowl Subdivision, divided into 11 conferences
Champions in each conference play off in Bowl games
Since 2014, there has been a College Football Playoffs knockout tournament to determine a national champion
Four teams are selected to play in the semi-finals, with the winners meeting in a single final
Players who shine in NCAA football action have the best chance of taking the next big step up to the NFL
You can bet on on NCAA Football in exactly the same as you can wager on the NFL. This is a simple guide to how the odds work.
Take the example of a match between Ohio State and Alabama. The odds, expressed as decimals, may read:
If you stake C$10 on Duke, the favourite, you get back C$17. If you put C$10 on Washington, the underdogs, and they win your return is C$22.50.
Odds can be displayed in other formats, such as fractional and moneyline (also known as American) odds.
Most sportsbooks, however, allow you to swap between systems so you can choose how to view the odds. Have a go at our Odds Calculator to see how they compare.
Also known as handicap betting. The sportsbook sets a figure predicting by how many points one side will win, then gives you a 50-50 choice. You have to decide whether you think one side will win – or lose – by more than that margin.
This time there isn’t a handicap, simply a straight choice. Which team is going to win the match?
Another simple question: How many points will the teams score in total? If you think it’ll be a lower-scoring match than the sportsbook does, it’s the unders for you.
Which side will score more points in the first quarter?
Proposition bets, to give them their full name, are unrelated to the overall outcome. These are special markets on things that might happen during a game.
If you are confident a team will win its conference, you will get better odds if you wager on them well in advance.
This may be a long way off, but sportsbooks will offer markets about the big game at the end of the season well before anyone knows who’s playing.
The first intercollegiate game is played, between Princeton and Rutgers
The first night-time match is staged as the sport expands rapidly
The NCAA, established four years earlier, takes its new name
Georgia Tech beat Cumberland 222-0 in the most one-sided game in college football history
Creation of football’s four Bowl games – Orange, Sugar, Sun and Cotton
Oklahoma wins its third national title of the decade
By now there are 19 bowl games
For the first time, all major conferences meet in the Bowl Championship Series
Tennessee wins the first BCS Championship Game
Alabama wins the BCS Championship Game for the third time in four years
Betting on NCAA football is hugely popular among fans in USA. Now that, it seems, virtually everybody owns a smartphone, and given the user-friendly nature of sportsbooks’ apps, it is increasingly easy to get involved.
To find out everything you could want to know about football betting in USA, check out our home page.
The organization with overall responsibility for college sports in the United States. Football is one of the most popular sports it oversees.
The point spread is a trusty favourite for football bettors. It offers them a chance to pit their wits against a handicap set by a sportsbook.
Our online betting guide gives you all the advice you could need when choosing one of our recommended sites. The areas we suggest you focus on are security, licensing, range of bets and bonuses.
Most definitely. Apps that can be used on virtually any device are now a feature of most sportsbooks.
Even after the game is under way, you are able to wager on the live action – as well as the overall result.
