Denny Helton
As the summer comes to end and the Major League Baseball season is getting close to playoff time, there is one goal that all professional handicappers set and that is to prepare for football. When the warm weather departs it’s always a bittersweet feeling knowing that summer vacations come to end, however, the football season is upon us and it’s the most opportune time to make money betting college football.
There is no preseason in college football so the month of September is generally a time when teams are still getting accustomed to new players, schemes and coaches. Within the first couple of weeks, the odds are usually set based upon the team’s prior season’s performance. Teams with inexperienced quarterbacks or new head coaches often struggle in September, especially if the team is changing offensive or defensive schemes and systems.
Often times your marquee programs will play “tune up” games vs smaller conference teams within the first month. Often times we will also see tune up games towards the end of the season, sometimes both. Pay particular attention to schools that open up with a mid-major program and enter Week 2 after a blowout. The box score can be misleading at times and the first couple of weeks may not define a program.
Matchups are also important, so pay attention to statistical subsets such as yards per rush and yards per pass on both offense and defense.
There is normally less value with the top teams, so look for reasons to play non-public teams. There are always plenty of teams that play in the mid-major conferences such as AAC, MAC and Mountain West to name a few, that have very good football teams. You will often find valuable positions with the teams flying under the radar.
There are rivalry games that rankings won’t matter, certain teams show up to play vs their rivals. Whether it’s an inter-state rivalry or a historic rivalry, motivation plays a pivotal role in determining the winner. Ohio State vs Michigan, Florida vs Florida State, Oklahoma vs Texas, Alabama vs Auburn — these are all examples of classic rivalry games that are circled on the schedule each year.
There are many handicapping tips that professionals use during their research but the five tips above will give you a head start on the upcoming college football season. Best of luck this season!
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