Football Game Odds
Click on the NFL odds link to see this weeks live spreads below the article.
Alabama Football Game Odds
Moneyline is the simplest type of bet for you to make. These bets are nothing more than the NFL odds on who will win the game. The margin of victory is not included in these types of bets. Now, keep in mind that the chances of a team winning will always be defined as per the current football odds, which effectively will reflect the most recent performance of the team. Keeping up with the stats – not just the match stats is quite important. And now, let’s take a look at the odds.
What does it mean when you open up the newspaper, look at the NFL football odds, and see Green Bay (-2) vs. Washington? The number listed in parenthesis are the NFL odds. In this case, when the game between Green Bay and Washington is over, 2 points are subtracted from Green Bay's score. This adjusted score determines the winner. For example, if the final score is Green Bay - 21, Washington - 20, Green Bay has obviously won the game. However, for betting purposes, we subtract 2 points from Green Bay and the final score for betting purposes is Green Bay - 19, Washington - 20. If you bet on Green Bay to win, you lose the bet even though Green Bay won the game. This is how NFL Football Odds work.
NFL football odds are also known as the NFL betting lines or the NFL point spread. NFL odds makers add points to, or subtract points from, the two teams involved in a contest as a way of making the score even. If one team is thought to be worse than the other, they will get points added to their score. If a team is thought to be better than the other, they will have points subtracted from their score.
Free NFL Odds
Other factors also contribute to determining the NFL football odds for a game. NFL odds rely heavily on a wide range factors. NFL oddsmakers scour the news for injury reports. They track numerous tendencies for each NFL team. Some teams play better in poor weather. Others have a solid winning percentage when playing in a dome. Often teams, have winning or losing tendencies coming when off a bye week. These and other numerous sources of data affect the NFL odds from week to week.
NFL football odds make betting on professional football more difficult to predict, thus adding excitement to the betting experience. Do you think Green Bay will win by more than two or not? Check your stats, examine the tendencies, check your gut instinct, and lay down your bet. If you still not sure on which teams to take after looking over the Free NFL Odds, check out our NFL Picks page where we release premium picks for clients so they can increase their nfl football gambling bankroll all season long.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL POINT SPREADS EXPLAINED:
While the NFL is the most wagered upon sport in North America, college football is the most exciting brand of football you can watch on TV. The passion these kids play with is second to none and the century old rivalries amongst some of college's elite programs makes that one game a season sometime mean so much more than a national title. Since Michigan is generally out of the CFP discussion by November, there game against Ohio State is the be all and end all of their season. Michigan wants to beat Ohio State so badly, that some of the fan base would be considered there season a success if that's the only marquee win on the schedule.
If you don't know some of the history of college football, I suggest looking into it. If you are like everyone else who reads this piece and want to understand how to bet on the basic college football options, you can keep reading. If you are a little more seasoned, you can skip down to the advanced wagering options by clicking here. If you want to know how to lay a few bets down on the futures market, I suggest you click here.
Betting on the Money Line in College Football
As a concept, this is the simplest wager you can make on any game in any sport. The money line betting option allows you to place a bet on the team you think is simply going to win the game. In college, this bet includes overtime. Unlike the NFL, college football games cannot end in a tie due to their overtime format.
Example:
Alabama Crimson Tide: -450 ML
Kentucky: Wildcats +300 ML
The money line betting odds correlate to the listed point spread. In this example, Alabama are the favorites and you must wager $450 dollars to turn a profit of $100. If you are a homer or love betting on the underdog, the Wildcats will return you $300 for every $100 you wager on them if they pull off the upset.
Betting on the Point Spread
Regardless of if I am talking about the NFL, CFL, NCAA, Arena League or upcoming XFL, the point spread is the most popular wagering option for bettors who love to test football betting skills. The point spread is an indication of which team is the favorite and underdog heading into their matchup.
A negative betting line such as -7.5 indicates that the favorite team is expected to not only win the game outright, but win by eight or more points. On the flip side, positive betting lines such as +7.5 indicate a team's underdog status. Not only is the underdog expected to lose, but they are expected to lose by at least eight points.
When looking over betting options for the college football, you will come across lines that look like the following:
Alabama Crimson Tide -7.5 (-110)
Kentucky Wildcats: +7.5 (-110)
Depending on which side you select, your team must 'cover the spread' in order for your wager to be graded a winner.
If you choose to take Kentucky +7.5, you will be a winner if either of these two scenarios play out. The first being Kentucky wins the game outright by any score. The second being Kentucky loses by seven or fewer points, thus 'covering' the +7.5-spread.
If you decided to wager on Alabama as -7.5-point favorites, they must win by eight or more points in order for wager to be graded as a winner.
One thing to keep in mind when betting on the point spread is that the point spread moves up or down depending on how much action a certain side is receiving. If you are able to lock in your bet at -7.5 and the line goes down to -5.5, your ticket would only be a winner if your team won by eight or more points. If they won six or seven, they would have beat the closing spread of -5.5, but your odds are locked in from the time your ticket is printed or you click place bet.
Betting Game Totals
Despite being classified as the same sport, NFL and college football totals are apples and oranges. In college, it's easy to spot the teams that play absolutely zero defense. The scores from their games are typically in the 70's/80's on a consistent basis. In the NFL, there were only a handful of games that games that reached those totals. College football is more receptive to the spread offense, which is why sportsbooks have no choice but to inflate totals to try and cover their own butts.
Let's look at an example of a game total:
Texas Tech Red Raiders/Oklahoma Sooners – 'Over' 78.5 -110, 'Under' 78.5 -110
If you bet the 'over' 78.5, there must be a total of 79 points or more scored in the game in order for you to be a winner. If there are 78 or fewer points scored, then those who bet on the 'under' will cash their tickets.
If totals are whole numbers such as 78 or 80 and the total happens to land exactly on the number, your bet, regardless whether it's an 'over' or 'under' bet, will be graded as a push and your money will be returned to you.
Advanced College Football Wagering Options
Advanced wagering options in college football are nearly identical to those of the NFL. The only thing you will not find in a sportsbook in relation to college football is the 'First Touchdown Scorer or Anytime Touchdown Scorer' market. Below are some of the more popular wagering options.
Team totals
This works almost exactly like the game total, but revolves around one team instead of both. With the 'team total' wagering option, you are essentially betting on whether you think Team X will score more or less than the line given out by the sportsbooks.
Football Game Odds
Example:
Texas Tech Team Total: 'Over' 35.5 -110, 'Under' 35.5 -110.
In this case you have two options. You can bet them to score 36 or more points or 35 or fewer. The decision is ultimately up to you. This bet also includes overtime, unless otherwise stated in the betting rules provided by your sportsbook of choice.
First Half Spread
The 'first half spread' betting option is a trickier form of betting the full-game point spread. This option takes into account the score at half time in order to determine a winner. The first half spread is usually half of what the full game spread is.
Example:
Alabama -3.5 1H
Kentucky +3.5 1H
Depending on what side you are on, the score going into half time is what is used to determine a winner. If the score is 31-21 in favor of Alabama, bettors holding an Alabama -3.5 1H ticket are winners since they were able to cover the -3.5- first-half spread.
As I mentioned above, the first half point spread is typically half of what the full game line is.
Player Props
There are only a handful of sportsbooks that offer up player props in college football, but they are nowhere near as extensive as the NFL player props. Typically, there will be props offered on one or two superstars per team and the lines will typically be inflated depending on who is playing.
Examples:
Jalen Hurts: 'Over' 18.5 completions -110, 'Under' 18.5 completions -110
Nick Chubb: 'Over' 74.5 rushing yards -110, 'Under' 74.5 rushing yards -110
Calvin Ridley: 'Over' 4.5 receptions -110, 'Under' 4.5 receptions -110
For each of these three player prop options, each player must go 'over' or 'under' the posted line. If you think Hurts will complete at least 19 passes, you would take the 'over'. If you think Ridley will be held to four or fewer catches, you would bet the 'under'.
Football Game Odds Explained
A futures bet is a wager placed in the time leading up to the start of the event on a team or player that you believe is going to win their respective competition. Heading into the 2018/19 College Football season, the CFP futures odds look like this:
College Football Game Odds 2019
2019 College Football Champions: Alabama +200, Clemson +700, Georgia +700, Ohio State +700, Michigan +1400, Penn State +1600, Oklahoma +2500, Wisconsin +2500, Florida State +2800, etc.
In order for you to successfully cash your ticket, you must correctly choose the team that will hoist the CFP trophy at the conclusion of next year's College Football Playoffs.
Team Win Totals
This is another popular type of futures bet amongst pro handicappers. The concept is straight forward. Every sportsbook will put out a 'win total' for every team long before the season begins. Handicappers must simply decide whether they believe that team will exceed the posted win total or fall short of it.
Example:
Alabama Crimson Tide Win Total: 'Over' 11.5 wins -110, 'Under' 11.5 wins -110
If Alabama wins at least 12 games, the 'over' would cash. If they win 11 or fewer, the 'under' would cash.
Here is a list of our other betting lines and odds pages.
NFL Odds NBA Odds College Basketball Odds MLB Odds NHL Odds Soccer Odds WNBA Odds CFL Odds Boxing Odds Golf Odds
Check back often as these Football Odds will be updatedevery 5 minutes
Powered by OddsShark