How to read College Football Las Vegas Money Line Odds

If your team wins, you win!

A college football money line wager means you’re simply picking a side. The betting term Against the Spread (ATS) is tossed out the window for these types of wagers since the spread is no factor.

Similar to our Spread and 1st Half Odds, every matchup is listed in order of Rotation and those numbers are preceded by the Date and Time of the College Football game, every matchup is listed in order of Rotation and those numbers are preceded by the Date and Time of the College Football game.

The Rotation for college football games typically lists them by scheduled starting time, which can lead to some confusion since the number will remain the same even if the games wind up changing due to television networks often shifting around action to present more attractive matchups. Home teams are listed at the bottom and will therefore be your even-numbered squad.

The numbers next to the teams are based on a scale where $100 is the key figure. Favorites are the teams with the minus (-) sign next to their figure, which represents what it would take to win yourself $100 with the favored group. The team in the Underdog role has the plus (+) symbol next to the amount you would be able to win by wagering $100.

For an example, the Ohio State Buckeyes were heavily favored over the Wisconsin Badgers in the 2019 Big Ten Championship game.

Ohio State -727 (Bet $727 to win $100, Betting $100 wins only $13.76)

Wisconsin +494 (Bet $100 to win $494)

That number is often set by oddsmakers after the spread is established and released on Sunday afternoons but similarly fluctuates throughout the week based on the amount of money coming in on bets.

How to bet College Football Las Vegas Money Line Odds

The skill in betting the money line in college football is to try and avoid pitfalls when backing the favorites and to zero in on upsets to cash in on spots where you believe the underdog will rise up. Because the majority of spreads end up being double-digits at this level, money lines for favorites are often very high.

Consider that in last season’s Big 12 Championship, which involved two of the teams that had college football’s most successful seasons, Oklahoma was still a double-digit favorite over Baylor despite winning by just a field goal against them in their first meeting of the season, so bettors might have been hesitant to lay 10 points.

Oklahoma -325 (Bet $325 to win $100, Betting $100 wins only $30.27)

Baylor +260 (Bet $100 to win $260)

The Sooners won the second matchup 30-23, so only bettors who backed the money line prevailed with them since Baylor covered. The Bears were a popular Money Line bet due to Oklahoma’s tendency to lose late in the season, but those hoping to win via the underdog ultimately went home with empty pockets as well. Betting the money line in games where you don’t want to lay three points for fear of pushing on a field goal and not cashing after 60 minutes of action is a popular reason to ride a money line favorite.

Wake Forest -152 (Bet $152 to win $100)

Utah State +138 (Bet $100 to win $138)

In the 2019 college footba season’s opener for both teams, Wake Forest defeated Utah State 38-35 in a crazy rollercoaster of a game. Wake bettors who laid the 3/3.5 points didn’t cash despite the team they backed pulling out the win. Money Line bettors prevailed, albeit nervously.

A popular wager for college football bettors is to pick a handful of heavy favorites in looking to hit a big ticket while avoiding the heavy point spreads.

The VegasInsider.com Parlay Calculator is a great tool to see what kind of return you can create while avoiding the pitfalls of risk. Just avoid the upset.

Underdogs rise up often in the college game, so pinpointing a handful of spots and attempting to cash in a few winners is also capable of yielding success. Backing heavy ‘dogs isn’t advisable but Georgia State’s upset of Tennessee to open the 2019 season cashed +1138 ($100 won $1138).