SportsBetting3.com’s college football futures odds guide explains everything you need to know about college football futures bets. It explains what a college football futures bet is and how to place a futures bet. This guide also includes the latest odds for the most popular college football futures markets, plus the best sports betting sites where you can legally place bets in your jurisdiction.
College football futures odds will update throughout the season, particularly for the CFP Championship. Odds for select conference winners will also update multiple times each week. Be sure to bookmark this page and come back after each week’s action has concluded.
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Table of Contents
- What are College Football Futures?
- Futures Example
- How to Bet
- Top College Futures Bets
- When to Bet
- College Football Futures FAQs
What are College Football Futures Bets?
A futures bet is placed on the outcome of a distant college football event. Your bet wins if you chose the correct outcome. You may bet on more than one outcome at once, however the odds for each outcome will likely differ depending on each selection.
Popular College football futures bets include odds to win the College Football Championship and individual conferences like the SEC, Pac-12, Big 12, Big Ten, and the ACC. Additionally, sports betting sites will have odds to win the Heisman Trophy and other annual player awards.
You can place a futures bet up to any point before the actual event begins or the player award is announced. Odds will vary as the season progresses. For example, a team with a strong winning record will gradually become a favorite to win the their conference and potentially participate in the college football playoffs. On the other hand, an underperforming player will gradually become a long shot underdog to win the Heisman Trophy award.
College football futures odds offer sports bettors two opportunities. One, the chance to bet on a distant event with a potentially higher payoff than any single game bet. Two, insight into which teams or players are likely to come out on top by the end of the season. Whether you actually bet the future or not, the changing odds are a useful datapoint to sharpen your college football handicapping as the season progresses.
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How College Football Futures Bets Win or Lose
Your futures bet wins if you select the correct outcome. The bet loses if you select the wrong outcome, or if the team, player, or result you selected is no longer eligible for the event. This often happens with championship futures when a team is eliminated from the playoffs. It also happens with player awards when a player gets injured early in the season and can no longer compete against rivals.
What College Football Futures Odds Mean
Each possible college football future outcome will have moneyline odds at American sportsbooks.
The most likely, or favorite outcome, will have a minus value. The minus value indicates how much you risk to win $100. -125 futures odds mean you risk $125 to win $100.
All other outcomes will have plus values. The plus value indicates how much you win if you risk $100. +800 futures odds mean you win $800 if you risk $100. Similarly, +5000 futures odds mean you win $5000 if you risk $100.
Some futures bets will not have a clear favorite. In this case, all odds will have plus values. The lowest value is considered the most likely, while the highest is considered the least likely.
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How College Football Futures are Graded
The sportsbook will grade the college football futures bet when the event has officially passed.
In the case of an event like the College Football Championship, the bet will be graded when a winner is determined. Likewise, the sportsbook will grade a player award futures bet when the winning player is announced.
Some sportsbooks will mark your bet as a loss if your team, player, or selection is no longer viable. This happens when a team is eliminated from the playoffs and cannot win the championship. It will also happen if a team is no longer in contention to win its conference championship.
When Do College Football Futures Come Out?
College football futures bets typically come out as soon as the current season’s playoffs have concluded. That means you can expect to see next year’s College Football Championship futures within a month or two after the current year’s Championship winner has been crowned.
Conference futures will take longer to firm up. College football conference futures typically come out after the schedule has been finalized, usually around mid-June to early July.
The final futures odds for the upcoming college football season will be published in late July and early August. These will include player awards, team performance futures, and any less popular futures bets that can’t be offered until oddsmakers have enough information to create a betting market. The last futures to come out are usually for smaller conferences that get less betting action.
College Football Futures Bet Example
|
Team |  BetRivers |
|---|---|
| Clemson | +250 Bet |
| Florida State | +300 Bet |
| Miami (FL) | +375 Bet |
| Louisville | +700 Bet |
| NC State | +1200 Bet |
| Virginia Tech | +1500 Bet |
| SMU | +2200 Bet |
| North Carolina | +3000 Bet |
| Syracuse | +5000 Bet |
| California | +5500 Bet |
| Duke | +7000 Bet |
| Georgia Tech | +7000 Bet |
| Pittsburgh | +10000 Bet |
| Boston College | +12500 Bet |
| Virginia | +12500 Bet |
The following college football futures bet example is for the odds to win the ACC Conference. The example table contains odds for the top five teams.
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Clemson | +140 |
| Florida State | +170 |
| North Carolina | +900 |
| Louisville | +1000 |
| NC State | +2000 |
Sizing Up the Odds
Reviewing the table, no team has a minus value that would indicate it is a clear favorite to win the ACC conference. Instead, the top five teams all have plus values, with Clemson considered the modest underdog at +140. Florida State trails close behind at +170, and things drop off with North Carolina +900 and Louisville +1000. The odds suggest both of these teams are unlikely to win the ACC.
A $100 bet on Clemson to win the ACC would pay $140. Similarly, a $100 bet on Florida State would pay $170.
However, the payouts for North Carolina, Louisville, and NC State would be much higher as they are all big underdogs. A winning $100 bet on North Carolina +900 would pay $900, with the same $100 bet on Louisville paying a cool $1000. Bettors backing the longshot NC State Wolfpack +2000 would be handsomely rewarded for their wager. They’d collect a whopping $2000 for a mere $100 bet.
Betting 2 or More Teams
Note that you could bet on two or more teams to win the ACC Conference. Though this strategy improves your chances of a winning wager, it will come at the cost of a higher upfront investment and potentially greater loss should none of your selections win.
For example, suppose you bet $10 on Clemson to win $14, and $5 on North Carolina to win $45.
If Clemson wins the ACC, your net result would be $14.00 (Clemson wins) – $5 (North Carolina loses) = $9.00. In this case, the $15 you risked returned $9.00, representing a 60% return on investment ( ($9/$15) * 100).
It’s important to note the smaller wager on North Carolina. At +900, they’re a big underdog. Placing $10 wagers on both Clemson and North Carolina would result in a smaller gain if Clemson won the ACC. In this scenario, the net result would be $14.00 (Clemson wins) – $10 (North Carolina loses) = $4.00. The $20 you risked produced $4, representing a 20% return on investment ( ($4/$20) * 100). Still not bad, but not as profitable as a smaller wager on North Carolina.
However, if North Carolina wins the ACC, your net result would be $45 (North Carolina wins) – $10 (Clemson loses) = $35. Here the $15 you risked returned $35, producing a whopping 233% return ( ($35/$15) * 100). Not bad!
However, if the Louisville Cardinals end up winning the ACC, you’d lose both bets and take net a -$15 loss. If you bet $10 on each team, you’d take a -$20 loss. With multiple teams in the conference, and at least 3-4 likely contenders, futures bets offer the possibility for high returns if you’re willing to take a big risk.
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How to Bet College Football Futures
Time needed: 2 minutes
How to place a College Football Futures bet
- Review odds for College Football’s upcoming events
Review futures odds for college football’s upcoming events. Popular events include the College Football Championship, conference championships, and the Heisman Trophy winner.
- Each outcome has moneyline odds
Each outcome will have moneyline odds at American sports betting sites. Minus values indicate how much you risk to win $100. Plus values indicate how much you win if you risk $100.
- Make your selection and place your bet
Make one or more selections and bet your desired amount.
- You may place one or more futures bets on the same event
You can place multiple bets on the same event at once or at different times. Simply choose a different outcome and place another wager.
- Your bet wins if you picked the correct outcome
Your bet wins if you picked the correct outcome. Review your sportsbook’s rules to see when a futures bet can be cancelled.
College Football Futures Bets
The following are the most popular College football futures bets. These bets are the most commonly placed by recreational and professional bettors alike. Use the odds to guide your handicapping throughout the season.
- College Football Championship
- Heisman Trophy
- American
- ACC
- Big Ten
- Big 12
- C-USA
- MAC
- Mountain West
- SEC
- Sun Belt
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When to Bet College Football Futures
There’s an art and science to betting College football futures. The trick is to properly time your bet. You don’t want to bet too early without knowing much about how your team or player will perform. But you also don’t want to bet so late that your selection is an obvious winner with a small return. Consider the following before placing a futures bet:
- Do I have good data to backup the bet I’m making? – Don’t pick a team to win the national championship or their conference unless they have a winning record and are likely to win throughout the season. Review the team’s recent performances, standings, and stats.
- What does the rest of the schedule look like? – An underdog team that gets off to a surprisingly good start may just have an light early-season schedule. Check the back half of their season. If they’re up against powerhouse opponents, their record will take a quick turn for the worse and they might not be playoff contenders after all. This is particularly common in college football, where many games feature highly mismatched opponents.
- Are key players healthy and will they remain in good health? – Though you can’t predict the future health of a particular player, you do know how they’ve fared in recent matchups. Keep tabs on injury reports, no matter how insignificant. A player that gets injured late in the season will almost certainly fall out of contention for an award, and may impact their team’s chances of progressing through the postseason.
Moderate Your Risk
For every person that wins a big bet on a longshot, there are dozens more that lose. Futures bets are inherently more risky than single-game wagers. Therefore, it’s best to bet on 1-3 selections with a reasonable chance of winning. You may also consider betting small amounts on longshots with higher payouts and larger amounts on likely winners with smaller payouts. This ensures your net result, no matter what happens, will at least produce a breakeven result or a small profit.
College Football Futures FAQs
A futures bet is placed on the outcome of a distant College football event. Your bet wins if you chose the correct outcome. You may bet on more than one outcome at once, however the odds for each outcome will likely differ depending on each selection.
Minus values indicate how much you risk to win $100. Selections with a minus value are considered strong favorites. Plus values indicate how much you win if you risk $100. Selections with plus values are considered underdogs. A selection with the lowest plus odds value among a market with no minus value favorite would be considered a modest underdog to win.
Your futures bet wins if you select the correct outcome. The bet loses if you select the wrong outcome, or if the team, player, or result you selected is no longer eligible for the event.
The most popular college football futures bet is the team to win the National Championship. Odds for each team to win the next college football National Championship will be released shortly after the current year’s winner has been crowned.
There’s an art and science to betting College football futures. The trick is properly timing your bet. You don’t want to bet too early without knowing much about how your team or player will perform. But you also don’t want to bet so late that your selection is an obvious winner with a small return.
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College Football Betting Resources
- College Football Betting Guide – Read up on how to bet your favorite teams this football season, reviewing the most common ways to bet on college football, plus season win totals, standings, and in-depth research.
- College Football Betting Sites – Our top licensed and legal US sports betting sites for college football.
- College Football Odds – Latest point spreads, totals, and moneylines for upcoming college football matchups and more.
- College Football Prop Bets – Prop betting lines and odds for upcoming College football games.
- College Football Futures Odds – Learn more about how to bet on college football futures. Review odds to win the National Championship and key D1 college football conferences like the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, and Big 12, plus odds to win the Heisman Trophy.
- College Football Win Total Odds – Our tutorial explains how to bet on college football win totals, plus links to team win totals grouped by conference.
- Undefeated College Football Teams – See which teams are still undefeated in the current regular season.
- College Football Betting Tips – Quick tips and essential knowledge for those looking to up their college football betting game.
- College Football Overtime Games – We track multiple overtime college football games from 2002 to the current season. See the longest overtime games in NCAA football history.
- College Football Championship Results – Review recent College Football Championship winners, appearances, results, including from the BCS era.
- Can the AP Preseason Poll Predict a Winner? – Our classic case study looks at the AP preseason college football poll’s potential to predict an eventual national champion.