Betting College Football Props

College football Props are like side wagers placed on events within the game that aren't necessarily based on the game's outcome. This article will examine the variety of Prop bets for college football and why they can provide more expected value (EV) than standard bets.


Downtown Ricky Brown
August 3, 2024

"Prop" stands for proposition bets, and their markets are offered alternatively to the standard Point Spread, Moneyline, and Total. In other words, they focus on game segments, such as a team or player's performance.

Sportsbooks like to offer a variety of betting options to attract more customers. The good news for sports bettors is that big market makers typically don't set the Prop odds. Third-party vendors do. With so many offerings out there, it can be challenging for the book to track them all. Thus, finding positive EV in Props is more achievable than picking through efficient markets like Moneylines, Spreads, and Totals.

Prop bets vary between Sportsbooks, but you'll typically find offerings like Over/Under Passing Yards, Over/Under Rushing Yards, First Player to Score a Touchdown, Will There be Overtime, Longest Field Goal Kicked, etc.

College Football Team Props

Team Props focus on team-related outcomes rather than individual players. These bets can be based on the entire game or broken into halves or quarters.

Some Props will be derivatives of Totals or Moneylines like the first-half team Totals. Other types include Yes/No formats, such as whether a team will win all four quarters. Or will they score a touchdown on defense? Below are more examples:

College Football Player Props

Player Props are bets based on player performance during a game and focus on individual players or two or more players going against each other in head-to-head Props.

If a quarterback with a good arm is facing a weak pass defense, you could look for a Prop bet for him to throw over the predicted number. Other examples of player Props can include the first player to score a touchdown, the number of touchdowns a player will score, or the number of receiving yards a player will record.

If a player's interception Prop lists 0.5, you could bet the Over if you think the player will make at least one interception. If you don't think they'll make any interceptions, you could bet the Under. Other player Props include:

Season Long Props

A season-long Prop bet requires that you wager at the beginning of the season and then wait until the end to see if you won. For instance, Sportsbooks will pick a Win Total number for each football team, and you can choose the Over or Under for the season. I don't like tying my money up for an entire season, but if you're familiar with futures and like those kinds of wagers, then this could be a good Prop bet to focus on.

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College Football Same Game Parlays

Same-game Parlays are a type of Prop where bettors can select various wagers within the same game. For example, you might find a Parlay where you pick a player to score, a team to win, and the Over at 35 in the same game. Same-game Parlays offer high payouts, but every Prop selection has to win. Books vary in offerings, but some will let you Parlay a Prop bet so long as it is not a correlated Parlay.

How to Play College Football Props

First, look for value by exploring the teams' strengths and weaknesses. See which Props fit your findings and how a team can be leveraged or exploited in the Prop odds.

Unfortunately, college football Prop varieties are not as abundant as NFL Props. Also some states, like Iowa, may ban them altogether particularly on player props. The reasoning is that young athletes may be tempted to shave points for kickbacks if betting on their performance is allowed. However, larger menu sizes are available for big games like high-profile college football rivalry matches and the playoff semifinals and finals. Fewer Prop bets are available outside of these, and some Sportsbooks won't offer any.

Line Shopping

You want to shop for the best odds since prop bets vary significantly. Picking and choosing between various lines will require having multiple Sportsbooks accounts. Also, Prop odds will become available later than Moneylines, Spreads, and Totals. But for college football, they should start showing up on Thursday or Friday before Saturday's game (although some props don't show up till game day). Furthermore, many books offer live in-play Props on the team, players, and game. You can find some good bets here because live action on Props is even more challenging for the books to monitor.

Expect the hold to be greater than traditional bets because Sportsbooks understand that this market is less efficient than standard bets. Even though they like to encourage more action by offering more Props, they also understand that sharp action on their Prop offerings threatens their bottom line. To compensate for their exposure, their hold is greater. Furthermore, using a "synthetic hold" is great for standard betting, but can be more difficult to obtain since different Sportsbooks won't offer as many of the same type of Prop bets.

Think about Derivatives

If your prop bet derives from the Moneyline or Totals, watch for changes to those lines. Some books are slow to change their prop bet offerings after a market maker changes the line that the prop bet is a derivative of.

Check For Injuries

One thing you will want to research is the injury report. Look for players that an injury might sideline, as this could affect how the Prop bet plays out. Market makers will already have this information baked into the line, but some books are slower at responding to news than others.

College Football Prop Bets - Conclusion

If you find an edge, be aware that Sportsbooks aren't going to sit back and let you feast on Props all day. You'll get limited quickly if you expose yourself as a sharp Props bettor at a smaller retail Sportsbook. In a later article, we'll examine ways to overcome this challenge.