How to Bet on College Football and Win Big in the Early Weeks

Previous Betting News

The 2023-204 NCAAF Division I season officially begins on August 26. The first four weeks of the season ends on Saturday, September 23. Unlike the NFL, where teams play an eighteen week schedule, college football plays twelve games before conference title matchups and the bowl season. Check out college football lines when available, betting tips, and updates for four important matchups happening in the first four weeks of this upcoming college football season.  

College Football Betting Updates For the First Weeks of the 2023-2024 | MyBookie NCAAF Betting Preview

2023 NCAA Division I FBS season | 154th season of college football in the United States
August 26, 2023–December 9, 2023

Florida State versus -2.5 LSU in Week 1 could Be the Most Important Matchup of the Season

On Sunday, Sep 3, the Florida State Seminoles take on the Louisiana State Tigers. Although in past seasons, LSU versus Florida State hasn’t meant much, Tigers versus Seminoles is huge this season.

The winner could catapult to number 4 or 5 in the nation. Brian Kelly’s LSU squad, the SEC West defending champions, rank in the top ten on most early polls. Kelly’s team ranks in the top five in some. Florida State ranks in the top five in some as well. So LSU against FSU is big.  

Bet Florida State @ LSU
MyBookie Betting Lines for the Game

Texas Believes They can Knock off Alabama -6.5 in NCAAF Week 2

Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide squad is a tepid -6.5 favorite against former Tide offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns even though the game takes place in Tuscaloosa.

Can the Longhorns beat Alabama? Whether we do or not, Texas believes it can. The Horns lost the great Bijan Robinson but all five starting offensive lineman from last season return as does starting QB Quinn Ewers and the deepest wide receiver room in college football.

Almost important is that 3-of-4 defensive linemen, T’Vondrae Sweat, Byron Murphy II, and defensive end Barryn Sorrell, are back.

Also, Sarkisian is doing something rare in this day and age of college football. Sark is both recruiting top talent and transferring top talent. So a win against Alabama is possible.    

Bet Texas @ Alabama
MyBookie Betting Lines for the Game

Clemson versus Florida State in NCAAF Week 4 could Propel the Seminoles into the Top Four

Clemson has some talent, which makes the Tigers a formidable opponent to Florida State in NCAAF Week 4. The Seminoles, for sure, will have their hands full since this game takes place at Death Valley on Clemson’s field.

Depending on what happens in the first three weeks, Clemson’s game at Duke in week 1 isn’t a slam dunk victory, the Seminoles or the Tigers could be the chalk.

The winner, if they enter the game undefeated, may end up in the CFP Top Four. If the winner is Florida State, and the Seminoles had beaten LSU in week 1, Southern Miss, and Boston College before playing at Clemson Memorial Stadium, no doubt, FSU will be ranked no worse than third in the nation after undefeated Georgia and undefeated Alabama.

Florida State is going for it early. Head coach Mike Norvell knows that if he can beat LSU and Clemson in the first four weeks, he might be able to go undefeated during the regular season.

Bet Clemson @ Florida State
MyBookie Betting Lines for the Game

Ole Miss at Alabama in NCAAF Week 4 should be one of the SEC West’s Key Matchups

Ole Miss travels to Alabama, but if the Tide knows what’s good for them, they won’t overlook Lane Kiffin’s Rebels. Mississippi started last season going 7-0.

This season, Kiffin’s bunch has an early test versus the Tide on Sep 23. The Rebels have enough talent on both offense and defense to challenge Bama.

So if Saban’s squad is feeling too good about themselves after beating Texas in week 2, if the Tide isn’t focused, Ole Miss can pull off the upset win.  

Bet Ole Miss @ Alabama
MyBookie Betting Lines for the Game

NCAA College Football National Championship Odds Top 20

I have read enough, I need to place my bet now. What to do?

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MyBookie Odds for the Games

Previous Betting News

If you’re wary of making early-season college football bets, (as you should be), and you’re looking for some expert NCAAF betting tips from a pro on how to make money betting the first weeks of the 2018 college football season, then consider your ticket punched. I’ve got a trio of expert early-season college football betting tips that will help you get your latest collegiate gridiron betting campaign off in style!

Let’s get to it!

How to make money on the first weeks of the 2018 NCAAF Betting Action

Look for Coaches That Like or Need to Run Up the Score

You know how you see those early season matchups featuring a huge, title-contending school versus a mid-major or overmatched tiny small program that has absolutely no chance whatsoever of winning the game?

Well, some ‘old school’ coaches don’t like showing up their small school counterparts while others believe that once you’re on the field, everything goes.

Look for coaches that like to run up the score or ones that are at programs that are either fight for respect or a berth in the four-team playoff and back those teams to cover some of the ridiculously high spreads you see in the early stages of every college football season.

Look For Really Good Mid-Major Programs

Think about a school like Florida International, where Lane Kiffin has turned the program completely around and they’re actually pretty good. Or maybe a team like the Central Florida Knights.

When you see one of these mid-major kinds of programs going up against one of the powerhouse programs and they’re getting a bunch of points, back them to cover the chalk and then sit back and enjoy the action.

Back the Home Team Between Similar Programs

When you see two schools that are of equal or near-equal quality and talent, etc., then back the team that is playing at home to get a big, season-opening boost from their home fans.

Home teams generally do well, particularly early in the season when players are really playing on adrenaline and emotion and since the two teams are evenly matched, the home team is more often than not, offering the best value!

Previous Betting News

If you’re a college football betting enthusiast that wants to get off to a good start over the first three weeks of each and every season, then you need to know that early season college football betting is a bit different from the betting opportunities that take place thereafter.

You see, over the first three weeks of the college football season, there are a ton of matchups that feature elite Division-I programs squaring off against their far smaller – and lesser talented – lower division or mid-major counterparts. While these matchups often produce some insane point spreads that often reach four and five touchdowns, you should know that there are a few methods you can use to help increase your chances of cashing in on the crazy odds you often see over the first three weeks of the season.

How To Make Money Betting On First Weeks Of 2017 College Football

Watch those Insane Spreads

It’s difficult knowing when to back a big favorite in the first few weeks of the regular season, which is what makes betting on college football early on so difficult. For instance, let’s look at the defending national champion Clemson Tigers ‘Week 2 and 3 matchups from last season. Deshaun Watson and the Tigers were whopping 34.5-point home favorites against Troy in Week 2 but never came close to covering the spread in their narrow 30-24 victory over the Trojans and actually had to put 17 fourth quarter points on the board to escape with the win.

Clemson struggled with its offense and miscues early on and nearly had their chance to reach consecutive CFB playoffs ruined in Week 1 because of it.

“Seventeen points by the offense in the fourth quarter was huge,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said at the time. “We had three straight scoring drives. Hopefully we can pick up there next week.”

Well, pick it up they did as Clemson rolled all over tiny South Carolina State 59-0 in Week 3 to easily cash in as a mind-boggling 53.5-point home fave as Watson tossed three TD passes and a pair of backups each tossed one touchdown pass. So, how could Clemson cover the spread in week 3 as insane 53.5-point favorites when they couldn’t cover the spread as 34.5-point home faves the week before?

Well, you need to take into consideration their opponents. Troy finished the 2016 campaign with a solid 10-3 record while finishing third in the Sun Belt conference, though they did tie for the most victories. However, Troy was set for a much better campaign in Year 2 of the Neal Brown era after going 4-8 in Brown’s first season in 2015.

In Week 3, Clemson was basically playing a bunch of high schoolers when they faced a South Carolina State team that was nowhere near the caliber of team that Troy was one week earlier. The bottom line is that, if you’re betting on college football in the first three weeks, you need to be really cautious while doing all of the prerequisite ‘homework’ on the smaller team that is going up against the title-contending powerhouse.

Identify Legitimate Upset Contests

Just like Troy did against Clemson last year, there are a number of smaller schools that will face – and easily cover the spread – against their perennial powerhouse opponents over the first three weeks of the regular season.

You need to identify all of the smaller programs that have a lot of positives going for them heading into a new season and look at all of the reasons they could cover or even win outright and place your wagers accordingly. Of course, identifying these teams is easier said than done, but it’s not impossible and only requires some extra research.

Play the Total

One of the best ways to make money in the first few weeks of the regular season is to simply play the Over/Under Total. For example, Clemson went 0-4 O/U last season in their first four games while facing three totals of at least 62 points and a third of 58 points.

While the Tigers got a ton of attention for their prolific offense, college football bettors that knew better and bet on the Tigers’ underrated defense to put the clamps on Auburn, Troy, South Carolina State and Georgia Tech walked away with a month long of winning total wagers. If the point spread looks to insane early on, simply play the total!