NCAA Football Odds

The UConn Huskies aren’t the most illustrious college football program, but NCAA football odds are still very popular in Connecticut.

You can expect everything from moneylines and point spreads to player props on big bowl games. The big exception here is betting on the Huskies. Connecticut has state-specific rules that mean you can only bet on in-state college teams if they play in a tournament that has four or more teams.

For teams that aren’t based in Connecticut, though, there are no betting restrictions. See below for all the details you need to start betting on NCAA football in Connecticut below.

Live NCAA football game lines and futures odds

Check below for the latest college football odds direct from Connecticut online sportsbooks. Click on any odds to go right to the sportsbook, claim the posted bonus and start getting bets in.

How to set up a betting account in Connecticut

No matter which Connecticut sportsbook you choose — whether it’s DraftKings, FanDuel or SugarHouse — the process for registering a new account is very similar. You can do so via the sportsbook’s website or by downloading the sportsbook’s app. Here is a list of info you’ll typically need to provide to set up your account:

• Name
• Address
• Date of birth
• Phone number
• Email address
• Username
• Password
• Last four digits of your Social Security number

Once you’ve provided all that, you’ll have to confirm your age (you need to be at least 21 years old to bet in Connecticut) and accept the sportsbook’s terms and conditions. CT sportsbooks must fully verify the identity of all their users, which is why you need to give some digits from your Social Security number. Depending on your info, you may need to give some additional documentation, like a copy of your driver’s license.

Don’t forget that the sign-up process is also often the time you can claim your welcome bonus. This may require a bonus code, though not all books require one. If you sign up using our links, we can hook you up. Whichever book you choose, setting up your account should only take a couple of minutes. You’ll be able to make a deposit and start betting right away.

How to read NCAAF betting lines

For the most part, college football betting lines in Connecticut are similar to the lines available for NFL games. Placing bets at CT online sportsbooks is fast and easy. Below are some of the main bets you can expect to find.

College football moneylines

Moneyline bets are straight-up bets on which team will win an individual game. Here’s an example from DraftKings Connecticut:

In a moneyline bet, the team with negative odds is the favorite, while the team with positive odds is the underdog.

The best way to understand how much you would win with moneyline odds is to think in terms of $100. Here, Utah is the narrow favorite at -139. This means that if you bet $139, you would win $100 on a correct bet. Oregon is the underdog at +112, meaning if you bet $100, you would win $112 if Oregon won the game.

Just like all betting lines, moneyline odds are subject to movement depending on how the public bets once the lines become available.

College football point spreads

With point spread bets, the sportsbook sets a line designed to more or less make up for the difference in quality between the teams — almost like giving one team a head start — with the intention to attract an equal amount of action on both sides of the bet. Here’s an example from the FanDuel CT app:

As you can see, the odds for point spread bets are normally similar for both sides, usually starting at or near -110.

Here the spread is 4.5 points, with Oklahoma State as the favorite. That means if you bet on the Cowboys, they would need to win by at least five points (i.e., over 4.5 points) in order for you to win your bet. If they beat Baylor but only by three points, you lose the bet.

Conversely, if you bet on Baylor, you need the Bears to avoid losing by more than four points in order to win the bet. They could wind up beating Oklahoma or losing by three points, for example, and either way you’d win the bet.

Spread betting lets you bet on the favorites without having to accept very unfavorable odds. Or you can bet on the underdog even if you think that side will lose the game straight up.

College football over/unders

With totals bets, you can forget about which team actually wins the game. Instead, you’re betting on the total number of points that both teams score in the game. Here’s an example line from SugarHouse CT:

Georgia	Over 49.5 (-105)
Alabama	Under 49.5 (-115)

In this case, you can bet on the two teams to combine to score over or under 49.5 points. Just like point spread betting, the odds will normally start at around -110 on both sides. In this example, the line has moved a little, as the under has attracted more bets.

If you bet the over here, you just need the teams to combine for 50 points or more — whether the final score is 40-10, 40-30, 27-23 or something similar. And the reverse is true for betting on the under.

NCAA football team and player futures

Futures bets, as the name suggests, are bets on more distant outcomes. Think the winner of the FBS championship or the Heisman Trophy. Here’s an example line on the former:

Futures bets are popular at the start of the season or the start of the postseason, but you can place a futures bet at more or less any stage you want. Because a lot of things have to go your way over a long period of time, futures bets typically have pretty good odds compared with many other bets. They’re also fun to track over the course of a season.

Props

Player props in the NCAA are not quite as extensive as you’ll find for NFL games, but you can still find pretty specific prop bets on college games. More options tend to be available for bowl games and other big events, as well.

Prop bets are bets on something within the game, rather than the outcome of the game itself. For instance, think bets on the rushing yards, tackles, throwing yards and other player statistics.

Props can be a great way to use your research and analysis since they let you get a lot more micro compared with simply picking a team to cover the spread or to win a game outright.

NCAAF live betting and apps

Connecticut sportsbooks also let you bet on live college football games as they happen, either via a sportsbook’s website or using an app. Live betting has been steadily growing in popularity for the last decade or so, with more live betting options appearing every year.

As you look to place live bets, the odds will change and update frequently, responding to what’s going on in the game. It can be a little stressful, but it’s a very exciting way to both watch sports and bet — by reacting to what you’re seeing in front of you.

It’s worth noting again that — as with other bets — live betting on any in-state team is not legal in Connecticut. So if you’re at Pratt & Whitney Stadium watching a game, you won’t be able to place any bets right then and there on the Huskies.

All the sportsbooks already up and running in CT have live betting, as well as apps ready for download. Apps are the most convenient way to bet on live sports since they live right there on your phone and are accessible at the touch of a button.

College Football Playoff betting, bowl games

Connecticut sportsbooks book action on individual college football games all season long. They also let you place futures bets on winners of specific conferences. And by the time bowl games roll around, you can expect an even deeper selection of odds.

The biggest concentration of betting action comes around the end of the year, with the New Year’s Six bowl games and the College Football Playoff title game.

The New Year’s Six bowl games are the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl. The schedule rotates every year so that two of the games have semifinal status, with the winners going on to play in the championship game.

This series of games is the high point of the college football season, and each one attracts a large amount of interest and betting. You’ll likely find a significantly enhanced range of college football odds, including team and player prop bets that don’t appear for regular-season games.

The same is true to a lesser extent for the other bowl games at the end of the regular season, with over 40 scheduled. Bowl games, just like the college programs in general, are deeply entwined with their local communities, and you can expect local sportsbooks to come up with special promos and bonus offers when their respective bowl game comes around.

Reasons why NCAAF betting is great for beginners

College football makes a lot of sense as a sport for first-time bettors. Here’s why:

• Compared with the NFL, there are fewer betting options for NCAA games. This means fewer things to think about, less research required, and an altogether more manageable betting experience. It’s true there are more teams overall in the NCAA, but we recommend sticking to a conference you know. If you’ve never bet on football before, the college football section of your sportsbook is a great place to start.
• On average, scoring is higher in a college football game than in an NFL game. This is naturally more enticing for first-time bettors, who may prefer to root for and bet on free-flowing football with lots of touchdowns, rather than tense tactical chess matches.
• Local knowledge has the potential to be a factor in the NCAA in a way that is very unlikely in the pro league. Colleges can be more tied to their communities than franchises, and casual fans and beginners have the potential to hear about useful information — whether it’s about injuries, playing time, or anything else. This is the kind of thing rookies can pick up just as easily as sharps who spend hours studying stats.

College football betting tips

College football is a fun sport both to watch and bet on. The pageantry, the passion, the crowds of up to 100,000 people … it’s a distinct institution. And a distinct institution calls for some distinct betting strategies. Here are our top NCAA football betting tips:

1. College football is not the same sport as the NFL

And we’re not just talking about minor rule changes. For one, college football games tend to be more high-scoring, which means larger lines for totals and spreads (due to mismatches). So don’t just jump on the under because it looks too good to be true. More points also mean more variance in the final score, so key numbers on the point spread — 3 and 7, primarily — are less significant in college football.

Simply transferring your betting habits from the NFL to NCAA football is not a winning strategy.

2. Take advantage of early-season variance

The lifespan of a college football athlete is one to four years, and in the case of freshmen, we have nothing except (not especially relevant) high school stats to give us an idea. Compare this with pro sports, which have whole databases of research and statistical info available for basically every player — including their college stats. What does this mean for betting? Well, it means college football lines are much more volatile in general, and particularly at the start of the season.

With little data and small sample sizes, it often takes a while for sportsbooks to iron out accurate lines — at least the first few weeks of a season. Of course, the same is basically true for us, but at least it’s an even playing field. If you get on a good thing early, you should look to exploit it as much as possible early in the season. The longer the season goes on, the more the pros at the sportsbook will be in the driver’s seat.

3. Jump on look-ahead games

Rivalries are the heart of college football. With the pride of the whole institution on the line in front of tens of thousands of their peers, student-athletes can reach a huge emotional pitch — one the average 21-year-old can’t find very often per season. Look-ahead games refer to games that immediately precede big rivalry games, and teams historically underperform in them.

Say Alabama is playing Auburn in a couple of weeks. But first, the Crimson Tide takes on the South Carolina Gamecocks. It’s just not realistic for them to be totally focused on the game at hand, and not have at least one eye on the following week. It’s a perfect spot to consider betting on Alabama to at least not cover the spread.

Reasons to use legal sports betting sites in CT

Sports betting has been legal in Connecticut since late 2021, but illegal sportsbooks have been around for much longer than that. Before the safe options arrived, many people bet using unregulated offshore sportsbooks. However, using such offshore sites involves risks. Here’s why you should stick to the legal options:

• Offshore sites operate outside of US law. This means there is absolutely nothing stopping the sportsbook from taking your money and effectively disappearing with it, which can happen. Since they’re unregulated, offshore sites are basically free to do what they want.
• Traditional payment methods, like reputable banks, often block deposits to offshore sites, so you wind up having to use inconvenient or costly methods, like gift cards. Withdrawal options are also typically much more limited and awkward.
• Offshore sportsbooks likely don’t have apps available in the US. Their bonuses are less interesting and valuable. Overall, it’s often just a worse experience.

Sportsbook rules for NCAA football

Many states where sports betting is legal have specific rules for betting on college sports. States understandably regard betting on amateur athletes as a little more delicate than the pro leagues, and many lawmakers have decided to take steps to protect both the athletes and the integrity of the markets.

In Connecticut, this manifests as the rules for betting on in-state teams, which in the case of college football means the UConn Huskies. The only time you can bet on an in-state team is when it is taking part in an intercollegiate tournament of at least four teams. Apart from this exception, Connecticut sportsbook rules for college football betting are more or less the same as for the NFL or other sports.

Vegas college football odds vs. CT sportsbook odds

The term “Vegas odds” dates back to the time when Nevada was the only state in the US where you could legally bet on sports. These days, Vegas odds may also more generally refer to the way that odds are expressed in US sportsbooks.

It’s very possible you’ll find different odds at sportsbooks in Vegas compared to other states, including Connecticut. For example, you’ll often find that the odds end up moving against in-state teams, for the simple reason that people are more likely to bet on their favorite team. For this reason, you may find better odds on local teams at Vegas sportsbooks, rather than at books in Connecticut. When it comes to college football, however, this doesn’t really apply since betting on in-state teams is heavily restricted.

UConn Huskies’ bowl game history

The UConn Huskies have never quite been a top-tier college football team. They spent the majority of their time in Division I-AA after beginning play in 1896. The Huskies finally made their long-awaited leap to Division I-A in 2002, and two years later made their first bowl game in their debut season in the Big East Conference.

The Huskies have managed six bowl games in their history, with a record of three wins and three losses. From 2007-10 the Huskies went to four bowl games in a row, by far the most successful run in the history of the program.

Here is their record:

Season	Opponent	Bowl	Result
2015	Marshall	St. Petersburg Bowl	L 10-16
2010	Oklahoma	Fiesta Bowl	L 20-48
2009	South Carolina	PapaJohn.com Bowl	W 20-7
2008	Buffalo	International Bowl	W 38-20
2007	Wake Forest	Meineke Car Care Bowl	L 10-24
2004	Toledo	Motor City Bowl	W 39-10