College football handicappers know that if they just concentrate on backing favorites against the spread, they’ll evaporate their bankroll before Week 8. It’s important to consider underdog angles as much as stats when handicapping college gridiron games. Check out four 2019 college football betting underdog angles that sports bettors can use when deciding which team to back against the spread.
4 Ways to Win Money Betting on 2019 College Football Underdogs
1. Take the points on non-Power 5 Conference Teams versus a Power 5 Team
In the first month of the college football season, Power 5 conference teams like to schedule games against non-Power 5 Conference teams. Often, those Power 5 Conference squads will cover the spread. But, there are plenty of times where they won’t.
The reason? Coaches like Dabo Sweeney at Clemson and Nick Saban at Alabama know how important it is to get their bench players time on the field. It’s about adding depth early on in the season for top Power 5 Conference teams.
Clemson takes on Georgia Tech, Texas A&M, and Syracuse, but in Week 4 they get a breather against Charlotte. Do you think Sweeney plans on playing all his starters against Charlotte on Sep. 21? That game could be a good time to back the dog.
Bama takes on Duke on August 31. Duke plays in the ACC, a Power 5 Conference. But, let’s be honest, is Duke a true Power 5 Conference team this season? Saban figures to pull his starters after the first half. In Alabama’s second game, they take on New Mexico. Think Saban has Tua running around for 4 quarters in that one?
Look for underdog opportunities against the spread when teams like Alabama and Clemson battle overmatched squads like Duke, New Mexico, and Charlotte.
2. Back dogs that lost as overplayed favorites the previous week
This is an excellent angle to find quality underdogs against the spread. Here’s a good example of what could happen this season. The Auburn Tigers have two huge rivals in the SEC: the Alabama Crimson Tide and the LSU Tigers.
Auburn has a string of three straight SEC road games: Florida, Arkansas, and LSU. The Tigers will be favored to dominate Arkansas, maybe the worst team in the SEC, on Oct. 19. They could win the game, but lose against the spread when they face the Razorbacks. Their very next game, they take on LSU in Baton Rouge.
Auburn could be a solid play against the spread versus LSU. If LSU is undefeated at that time, no doubt the Baton Rouge Tigers will be overplayed against the Auburn Tigers.
Look for opportunities like Auburn-LSU to score on underdogs.
3. Back underdogs with the more experienced offensive line
There’s an opportunity with this angle in the Akron-Illinois game on August 31. The Illini take on the Zips at home. Illinois, inexplicably, is a -16 ½ favorite. Why inexplicably?
Akron returns 4 starters on their offensive line who have a combined 63 starts. The Zips should most definitely keep this one close if they lean on their experienced offensive line.
4. Back dogs in rivalry games at home
Auburn has a crazy tough schedule this season. They could lose 4 to 5 games before taking on Alabama in the Iron Bowl on Nov. 30. The Tigers will still fight the Crimson Tide as hard as they can.
Ohio State-Michigan, Nebraska-Iowa, Virginia-Virginia Tech, Arizona-Arizona State, Army-Navy, Notre Dame-USC, Notre Dame-Michigan, and Notre Dame-Stanford are just a few of the traditional rivalry games where the home team can often show up as the underdog ATS. When that happens, seriously consider backing the underdog to cover.
