Bet on College Football in Michigan

Patrons of the great state of Michigan are now legally able to wager on college football both in person at land based casinos, as well as on the internet via an online sportsbook or apps. Think the Michigan Wolverines have a shot at winning it all this season? Then head on over to your sportsbook of choice or log in online and put your money where your mouth is! Or maybe you prefer the green and white of the Michigan State Spartans. It seriously doesn’t matter which team from the state of Michigan you hold allegiance to — every team can now be readily wagered upon, be it on the point spread, moneyline, futures, or props. That’s good stuff right there, so buckle up your chin strap and get in the game!

Top sportsbooks for college football betting in Michigan

• DraftKings: From odds boosts, to one of the most extensive bet catalogs in the business, to an attractive sign-up bonus, DraftKings has really knocked it out of the park with their offerings!
• FanDuel: Stationed in a two-story sportsbook at the MotorCity Casino, FanDuel Sportsbook has wasted no time dominating in Michigan like it already has in states like New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
• BetRivers: Located in the Little River’s Casino Resort, BetRivers should be up and running soon to cater to all your sports betting needs with razor sharp lines and attractive bonuses.
• Caesars: Though yet to go live, Caesars and its unquestionable reputation within the industry will no doubt make an impact in the Michigan sports betting landscape once it does.
• William Hill: Michigan represents the 11^th state the London-based company offers retail sports betting in. With one in four US bets made through WH, it must be doing something right!

How to bet on college football in Michigan

After the US Supreme Court lifted its nationwide ban on sports betting and Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed HB 4916 — otherwise known as the Lawful Sports Betting Act — betting on all sports in the state of Michigan became legal. With that, fans, alums, students, and the general population can now place wagers on the end results of every college football game dealing with any universities located within the state’s borders, as well as others scattered throughout the country. That means betting lines for the Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, Central Michigan Chippewas, Eastern Michigan Eagles, and Western Michigan Broncos will all be in play for sports bettors over the course of the regular season, bowl season, and College Football Playoffs should any of the five teams be lucky enough to qualify. Simply pay a visit to a sportsbook or log in to your account via the online sportsbook or app to get your action down.

College football betting odds explained

The three most popular wager types when betting on college football deal with the point spread, moneyline, and total. Here’s a breakdown of how each common football bet works:

• Point spread: The point spread is the great equalizer that linemakers use to garner action on both sides of a particular college football matchup. It’s basically a handicap that forces a team to beat another by a certain amount of points to allow for a college football bettor to cash in a winning ticket.

Many get confused about pluses and minuses when it comes to point spread wagers, but don’t overthink it. If a team has a (-) sign next to the number, it means linemakers believe they’re the favored side in the matchup. If a team has a (+) next to them, they’re considered the underdog.

For example, let’s say the Michigan Wolverines are installed 13-point favorites against the Northwestern Wildcats. The betting matchup would read Michigan -13 and Northwestern +13. For the Wolverines to win your bet, they would need to win the game by 14 points or more. For the Wildcats to win the bet, they would have to either win the game outright or lose by 12 or fewer points. If the final margin of the game falls exactly on 13, it would be a push and all money put down on the game would be refunded.

• Moneyline: This wager type deals simply with picking winners of a selected matchup. There is no point spread involved with moneyline wagers. It doesn’t matter how many points the game is won by so long as the team you bet on to win does exactly just that. Just be sure to take it easy when betting money lines. With the point spread taken out of the equation, college football bettors will need to pony up large sums of money to back favorites to earn very little in return.

For example, let’s say the Michigan State Spartans are matched up against the Indiana Hoosiers and they’ve been installed 18-point favorites (-18). That would equate to a moneyline in the -1600 ball park, which means you would need to put down $1600 just to win $100. The return on investment isn’t worth the risk. On the flipside, a $100 wager on the Hoosiers to win outright would earn around $800. Now that’s worth it, but everything would need to go right to cash for that type of ticket. You’re better off betting underdogs on the moneyline if you think there’s a high percentage chance they can win outright, or lessen the burden by installing moneyline favorites into parlays.

• Total: This type of college football bet only deals with the combined amount of points both teams score in a given matchup. If you think points will hit the board with reckless abandon, you would place a totals bet that goes OVER the expected total. If you think defenses will rule the game, then you would place a bet that goes UNDER the expected total. For example, let’s say the Central Michigan Chippewas are squaring off against the Western Michigan Broncos in one of those midweek MACtion tilts that almost always sees a number of points dent the scoreboard. The total has been lined at 66, but you think the teams are good for at least 70 combined points. If you back that prediction up with cold hard cash by hitting the over, both teams would need to combine for at least 67 points to cash the ticket. If 65 or fewer points are scored, the bet would be a loser. If it lands exactly on 66, all bets would be considered no action and the amount wagered would be fully refunded.

Exotic bet types to place on college football

Along with the big three bet types listed above, there are numerous others that can be utilized over the course of a college football betting season. Here’s a breakdown of each option:

• Props: Did you ever want to bet on whether a particular player would score a touchdown in a game? Or how about the amount of passing or rushing yards a player goes for? Well, you can now legally bet on these types of outcomes via proposition, or prop, wagers that are listed for every big conference game. Think a particular Michigan Wolverine QB has a big game? Then bet on the number of touchdowns or passing yards he throws for. Think the Michigan State Spartans defense shuts the opposing running back down? Then bet the under on that particular player’s rushing yards prop!
• Futures: Futures wagers are determined over a prolonged amount of time, hence the term futures bet. These types of betting options deal with teams winning their conference, division, or national championship. Season win totals are another popular form of futures betting that occur before the season kicks off when you can bet over or under the total amount of wins accumulated over the course of a regular season. One of the more popular college football futures bets deals with odds on a player winning the Heisman Trophy. Michigan schools have only seen three Heisman Trophy winners with the Wolverines’ Charles Woodson last pulling off the feat back in 1997.
• Parlays: A parlay is a single wager that groups a selective number of bets together into one in hopes of landing a bigger payout. A two-team parlay that groups two bets together might pay upwards of 2.6 to 1 on your original bet. That means a $100 wager would bring back $260 for a total return of $360. A three-team parlay might pay upwards of 6 to 1 while a four-team parlay might pay upwards of 11 to 1. Every leg of the parlay must come in to cash the ticket; if not, it’s a loser. Should one of the legs push, it would be demoted to the next lowest payout.

Let’s use the Wolverines -7 and Spartans +4 as an example for a two-team parlay. Should you put $100 down on a parlay of the two teams, they would earn you $260 instead of just $200 overall had you simply just thrown $100 on each team individually. While parlay bets offer attractive returns on investment, be careful. It’s hard enough to cash a single ticket, let alone one that needs at minimum two to come in to be successful. Advanced sports bettors deem parlay bets fool’s gold for a reason!

• Teasers: A teaser, in essence, is like a parlay in that you must group a number of bets together with each leg needing to cash in to win the wager. The only difference is that you get to manipulate the point spread in your favor. Most sportsbooks offer standard six-point teasers, but you might be able to find seven to as high as 10-point teasers being made readily available. Keep in mind, the more you move a line, the more you end up paying in juice, which limits the rate of return.

A standard six-point teaser might have -120 juice attached to it, while a seven-point teaser might have -140 juice attached to it. You must group at least three bets together for a 10-point teaser that might have -120 juice attached to it.

Here’s a quick example of a 10-point teaser. Let’s say you like Michigan -13, Michigan State PK, and Eastern Michigan +17. Putting those three teams in a three-team 10-point teaser would now read Michigan -3, Michigan State +10, and Eastern Michigan +27. To place the bet, you would need to pony up $120 to win $100. If all three legs cash in on the readjusted betting line, then you would win $220 overall, including the original stake.

Tips for betting on college football

Always make it a point to gauge the weather. Extremely hot weather can make it tough on a defense to perform at a maximum level over the course of a full game. With that, points are more likely to be scored when temperatures get into the upper 80s and 90s. Teams simply just run out of gas, which allows for more points to be scored, giving over bettors an advantage. Windy conditions can also make it extremely tough for offenses to perform efficiently, especially when 15+ miles per hour. Those types of games offer up prime spots to bet on the under, especially if both offenses rely upon their passing attacks to put points on the board.

Betting against the public is normally a wise plan of attack. Let’s face it, public bettors are, more often than not, simply betting on their favorite team or the one expected to win by those setting the lines. You want to be on the side building the gigantic casinos and not the side hoping to prevent expansion. An excellent final outcome predictor of college football games is gauging reverse line movement. Let’s say a 10-point favorite is getting upwards of 80% of the bets but the line falls to -9. That makes no sense right? Well, the 10-point favorite is the public side and the other is the side the sharp money — or wise guys — have targeted instead. Guess which bettor sportsbooks respect more?

Live betting on NCAA football

This newer form of NCAA football betting allows for betting on a game while it’s taking place on the field of play. As the game progresses, the betting lines — point spread, moneyline, and total — all get adjusted according to how the game is playing out. The college football betting  lines fluctuate according to what is actually taking place on the field. For example, let’s say the Michigan Wolverines are hosting the Nebraska Cornhuskers and go into the game installed 10-point favorites. Nebraska gets out to a commanding 21-0 start. Michigan would no longer be considered the favorite to win the game, and the readjusted college football lines would reflect as such. The situation would create an excellent buying opportunity for those who believe the Wolverines still have a shot at winning the game, or at the very least cashing in as an underdog per the readjusted live betting point spread.

How does the college football season work?

The trek towards national championship glory begins in the regular season. Every FBS team in the nation will take on a few teams out of conference before taking on its more grueling conference schedule. The Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans are members of the Big Ten, while the Central Michigan Chippewas, Eastern Michigan Eagles, and Western Michigan Broncos make their home in the MAC.

A bulk of each respective team’s regular season schedule will be comprised of members from their own conference. Should any of those teams tally seven wins over the course of the regular season, they would receive a bid to partake in a bowl game. It really starts getting interesting if a team from a power conference like the Big Ten goes undefeated.

If a team like Michigan or Michigan State does just that, they would be in the running for a bid in the College Football Playoffs where the best four teams in the country combat one another with the national championship on the line. Win the semifinal matchup of the CFP, and it’s off to the national championship game!

College football teams in Michigan

Michigan Wolverines

• Conference: Big Ten
• Stadium: Michigan Stadium
• National championships: nine
• Conference championships: 42
• Bowl record: 21-27

Michigan State Spartans

• Conference: Big Ten
• Stadium: Spartan Stadium
• National championships: three
• Conference championships: nine
• Bowl record: 13-16

Central Michigan Chippewas

• Conference: MAC
• Stadium: Kelly/Shorts Stadium
• National championships: none
• Conference championships: seven
• Bowl record: 3-9

Western Michigan Broncos

• Conference: MAC
• Stadium: Waldo Stadium
• National championships: none
• Conference championships: three
• Bowl record: 1-8

Eastern Michigan Eagles

• Conference: MAC
• Stadium: Rynearson Stadium
• National championships: none
• Conference championships: one
• Bowl record: 1-3