2024 NCAAF Betting Odds

The 2022-’23 NCAAF National Championship game was a classic case of David vs Goliath when the TCU Horned Frogs (David) took on the defending champs from Georgia. (Goliath)

Georgia was a -13 point favorite before kickoff, despite TCU having impressive wins against:

• (19) Kansas, 38-31
• (17) Kansas St., 38-28
• (18) Oklahoma, 55-24
• (8) Oklahoma St, 43-40
• (18) Texas. 17-10
• (2) Michigan, 51-45

When the dust settled and the championship trophy was being raised, it was Georgia who was clearly the most dominant team in the country.

The Bulldogs beat TCU 65-7 and capped an undefeated season with their second consecutive National Title.

This year, the Bulldogs are once again the top-ranked team as the season kicks off.

Something to consider this year – No team has won three consecutive college football championships since the Minnesota Golden Gophers accomplished that feat.

It’s worth noting that Minnesota won three titles during the 1930s. (1934-’36)

Georgia might not have history on their side in their quest to 3-peat. But the Bulldogs do possess a defense that just might be good enough to rewrite the record books.

2023-’24 NCAAF Contenders

Georgia +250 Championship Odds

As mentioned above, Georgia was really good last year. With their 65-7 defeat of TCU, the Bulldogs can now claim the largest margin of victory in an NCAAF championship game.

This year, Georgia started the year ranked #1, and sportsbooks made them the betting favorite once again, setting their preseason championship odds at +240.

Georgia was still undefeated and ranked number one through their first nine games.

However, there are some question marks surrounding the back-to-back champs.

Against the spread (ATS), Georgia is only 2-6-1. (25%)

Despite owning the top spot in the rankings, Georgia is no longer the betting favorite to once again be the last team standing. Instead, that honor currently belongs to Michigan.

However, the champs are still the champs until someone can beat them.

So far, that hasn’t happened yet, and we should expect Georgia to be in the conversation when the college playoffs begin on New Year’s Day.

Michigan +230 Championship Odds

After beating their top rival, Ohio St., and knocking off Purdue in the Big Ten Title game last year, the Wolverines had 2022-’23 national championship aspirations.

But along the way, they ran into a very surprising TCU team, who put up 51 points against Michigan in a semi-final game, beating the Blue and Gold 51-48.

After nine games into this year’s schedule, the Wolverines were a perfect 9-0 and had jumped Georgia for the shortest odds to win the National Title.

If bettors have reason to be concerned, it might be because the Michigan schedule was very light to start the season.

Wins against teams like East Carolina, UNLV, Bowling Green, and Rutgers all count in the standings but don’t necessarily make recreational bettors immediate believers.

With Penn St. and Ohio St. still on their schedule, if Michigan were to win both those games, one would have to expect their championship odds to get even shorter.

Bettors now have an opportunity to decide how they feel about Michigan’s chances to win it all. If you believe they can and will beat Penn St. and Ohio St., then buying at +230 makes a lot of sense.

Florida State +600 Championship Odds

Last year, Florida State set itself up with a challenging October schedule.

If the team could play hard and win at least a couple of games against (22) Wake Forest, (14) NC State, and (4) Clemson – then Seminoles fans would know they had a team they could believe in.

Unfortunately, FLA St. lost all three games, and despite running the tables after that, including wins against Miami, Florida, and Oklahoma, they were out of the playoff conversation.

This year, the Seminoles took on LSU in their very first game of the season, and not only covered the +1.5 spread, they beat their rivals from the bayou in convincing fashion.

With wins against Clemson and Duke this season, the Seminoles must take care of business against in-state rivals Miami and Florida.

If they do, it appears Florida State will find its way back into the college championship conversation. 

Ohio State +750 Championship Odds

The 2022-’23 season started with so much promise for Ohio State. They won their first 11 games and were blowing out almost every team they faced.

The Buckeyes lost to arch-rival Michigan in their regular-season finale but still found a way into the playoffs.

Against top-ranked Georgia, Ohio State had a chance to win the game with a walk-off field goal, but it wasn’t meant to be for CJ Stroud and company. They put up 41 points against a great Georgia defense but still lost 42-41.

This year, the Buckeyes lost Stroud to the NFL but haven’t lost to anyone on the field….

Yet.

As always, the game most Buckeyes fans have circled on the schedule is against Michigan.

Those two will go H2H in the last game of the regular season, and assuming both teams are still undefeated by then – it’s a game that will have huge implications on which four teams will make the playoffs.

More NCAAF Futures Betting

Betting on the National Champion is a very popular futures wager for those who enjoy college football.

With 133 teams in D-I, the reality is that for many of us, the team we follow isn’t in contention for a national title most years.

Just because our favorite team or player isn’t competing for the game’s biggest prize doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways to wager on their success.

Betting NCAAF Conference Champions

With all the realignment in college athletics lately, we are all forgiven if we don’t remember which teams ended up in which conferences and why the Big 10 still goes by that name despite having 18 teams in their conference next year.

That said, if you live in Ohio but don’t love the Buckeyes (blasphemy), there are still a lot more local teams for us to focus our attention on.

2023-’24 MAC Champion Odds

Team	To Win MAC Odds	2022-’23 Record
Toledo	-250	9-5 (5-3 Conf.)
Ohio	+250	10-4 (7-1)
Miami, Ohio	+1900	6-7 (4-4)
Buffalo	+2500	7-6 (5-3)

Spoiler Alert!

We will not see any team from the MAC in this year’s college football playoffs.

For those of us who enjoy the quality football being played in that conference, there are still many ways to use our knowledge and interest in the MAC teams to make some futures bets.

Last year, Toledo beat Ohio in the championship game, 17-7. The Rockets scored on the opening possession and never trailed.

Anyone who liked the Rockets or the UNDER walked away happy that night.

This year, sportsbooks once again believe the MAC is Toledo’s to lose.

If you like one of the other schools from Ohio to win that conference instead, some enticing odds are available for either Ohio and/or Miami.

Betting On The Heisman Winner

When the votes were tallied last year, USC quarterback Caleb Williams was named the best player in all of college football and took home the coveted Heisman trophy.

Trojan fans were obviously super excited at the prospect of Williams winning back-to-back Heisman awards, something that only RB Archie Griffin, Ohio State (1974 & 1975) has been able to achieve.

Williams was the pre-season betting favorite to win the award, but as the season plays out, it is now Michael Penix Jr. (Washington) and Bo Nix (Oregon) who are the current betting favorites.

For an in-depth look at all the Heisman candidates this year and who might be worthy of a long-shot wager, BestOdds has you covered here.

Betting NCAAF Sides & Totals

Betting NCAAF sides and totals is just another way of saying Moneylines, Point Spreads, and Over/Unders.

Traditionally, when we talk about betting on college football, we are referring to one of those three types of wagers.

Week 11 Michigan vs Penn State

Teams	Moneyline	Point Spread	Total (O/U)
(2) Michigan	-215	-5.5 (-115)	O 44.5 (-110)
(9) Penn St.	+176	+5.5 (-105)	U 44.5 (-110)

During Week 11 of the college football season, arguably the game of the week is #2 Michigan traveling to Happy Valley to take on the 9th-ranked Nittany Lions from Penn State.

Moneyline Odds

In our game above, Michigan is the betting favorite. We know this because the odds have a minus sign in front of them. (-215)

If you are new to moneyline betting and struggle to read the odds – don’t worry.

We have you covered!

A -215 moneyline means to win $100 in profit, a bettor would have to wager a total of $215.

The Penn State moneyline is +176. The (+) sign tells us they are the betting underdog. If a bettor wagered $100 on Penn State to win, the potential profit would be $176.

It’s just that easy.

Point Spreads

By now, most of us are familiar with how point spread betting works.

Again, a (-) or (+) sign will tell us if we are betting on the favorite or the underdog.

Because Michigan has a spread of -5.5, oddsmakers are telling us that for the Wolverines to cover the spread, they must win by MORE than 5.5 points. (6 or more.)

Of course, that makes Penn State (+5.5) the underdog. As long as the Nittany Lions lose by no worse than five points, they will have covered the +5.5 spread.

Totals (Over/Under)

Betting on a game total or the Over/Under for a game means we are interested in the combined total score of both teams.

In the case of Michigan vs Penn State, the oddsmakers have set the total at 44.5 points. As a bettor, we now have to decide if the two teams will combine to score more or less than 44.5 points.

It’s important to remember that a moneyline is also attached to both a point spread and a totals bet.

NCAAF Betting Strategies

Let’s be honest right now.

If we had the ultimate strategy to ensure you could win the majority of your college football bets, I would probably be driving a much nicer car than my current Hyundai Tucson. (no offense, Hyundai!)

That said, we have been making CFB wagers for a few years now and have learned a thing or two along the way.

Bailing On Bowl Games

When we talk about bailing on CFB Bowl Games, we don’t mean bettors should stay away from them. In fact, we recommend the exact opposite.

Do your homework. Make your bets, and have fun watching them all play out.

We do want to point out that it is becoming a trend for some CFB players to bail on a bowl game, especially if they are considered a top prospect about to be drafted AND if their team is not playing for a potential shot at the National Championship.

Again, it’s important to understand the scenarios where players choose to play and when players decide it’s in their best interest to bail.

The majority of players who bail are projected to be high draft picks in the upcoming draft and are about to play in a bowl game that won’t lead to a National Championship.

As bettors, when we are doing our research and handicapping the many different games each bowl season, be aware of players who have decided to opt-out.

Last year, Florida QB Anthony Richardson and Kentucky QB Will Levis opted out of bowl games.

Richardson was a first-round pick of the Colts, and Levis was drafted 33rd overall by Tennessee.

Obviously, sportsbooks will factor their absence into the odds, but as bettors, we still want to know this information before making our decisions and placing our bets.

Sometimes, David Beats Goliath

When the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs played the Florida Gators in this year’s Cocktail Party, the Bulldogs had been ranked number one for 19 consecutive weeks.

Georgia had won 24 consecutive games and was one of the betting favorites to win this year’s National Championship.

As a bettor, seeing a team that has been ranked number one for 19 consecutive weeks and has won 24 consecutive games probably seems like an opportunity to win some bets.

Georgia Bulldogs Against The Spread

Week	Result	Spread	Cover
TN Martin	48-7 Win	GA -51	No
Ball St	45-3 Win	GA -42	Push
South Carolina	25-14 Win	GA -26.5	No
UAB	49-21 Win	GA -40	No
Auburn	27-20 Win	GA -14	No
Kentucky	51-13 Win	GA -14.5	Yes
Vanderbilt	37-20 Win	GA -32.5	No
Florida	43-20 Win	GA -14	Yes
Missouri	30-21 Win	GA -14	No
Totals	9-0	N/A	2-6-1

Despite winning all nine games they have played this year, the Georgia Bulldogs are only 2-6-1 against the spread. (ATS)

The point spreads will be huge when Georgia plays teams like Tennessee Martin, Ball State, or UAB.

The reality is that Georgia could win by a huge amount of points if Kirby Smart’s only goal was to blow out every opponent by as many points as possible.

But, as our table above points out – that just isn’t the case.

As bettors, we need to be conscious of how good teams and good coaches approach these David vs Goliath-like matchups.

Some coaches will play starters most of the game and use these matchups to fine-tune and prepare for their next big opponent.

Other coaches may use the same opportunity as a chance to allow second or third-string players to learn their position in a game scenario and prepare these players for game action in case injuries occur down the road.

The long-winded point we are trying to make is that just because a great team plays a bad team doesn’t mean we can assume Goliath will take care of business and cover the spread.

Do your homework. Study recent examples of how a team or coach approaches these types of games, and develop your game script based on data analysis, not because we assume that Goliath will always beat up on David.

Always Shop Around

As fans of college football betting, spending time in the data science lab, crunching numbers, and playing with the data can be a lot of fun.

2023-’24 Heisman Trophy Odds

Player	DraftKings	FanDuel	BetMGM
Michael Penix Jr.	+140	+150	+150
Bo Nix	+180	+200	+200
JJ McCarthy	+850	+1600	+800
Carson Beck	+1400	+1200	+1600

At BestOdds.com, we always recommend you have fun crunching numbers, playing with data, and making the most informed decisions possible when placing your bets.

However, it’s also important for all of us to remember that shopping around for our Best Odds is the most effective way to increase our ROI long-term.

If we look at the Heisman Odds table above, JJ McCarthy is listed anywhere from +800 to +1600.

In this specific scenario, a bettor can actually double their profit simply by searching for their Best Odds.

We all have our own styles and methods for handicapping games, but if we aren’t shopping around for the Best Odds available, we just aren’t giving ourselves the best chance to be profitable long-term.