Getting Ready to Bet College Bowl Season

 

The 2021 college football bowl season kicks off with a full slate of games on Saturday, December 18. It ends with the national championship game on Monday, January 10, 2022. 

Bettors have plenty of unique opportunities with a total of 44 (counting the national championship) bowl games this year. Wagering on bowl games is a bit different than betting on NCAAF regular season games.

There are a number of additional factors that need to be taken into consideration before making sound betting decisions. If you’re searching for success in 2021, here’s how you should be getting ready to bet the college bowl season.

Who’s Playing & Who’s Coaching?

The end of a college football regular season can be pretty wild. There are coaching changes as well as player changes.

Before the close of this season, we saw Lincoln Riley jump ship from Oklahoma to USC. Brian Kelly took the job at LSU and Billy Napier went from Louisiana to Florida. There were plenty more coaching moves and many of those moves prompted players to enter the transfer portal.

Players can hit the transfer portal before the end of the year and wind up in a new program come January. Then, you have players that opt out of bowl games because they are going to prepare for the upcoming NFL draft. Pitt QB Kenny Pickett, for example, will not play against Michigan State in the Peach Bowl.

Bettors should make sure who is coaching and who is playing before wagering blindly on a bowl game. Also, take into account a coach in his first bowl game. A total of 25 head coaches (including interim coaches) will make their bowl debuts this year.

How Motivated Are You?

In the grand scheme of things, motivation matters.

Teams that had a poor record the previous season tend to care more about winning their bowl game. A sharp online sportsbook will know this. Teams that won zero to three games the year prior to going to a bowl game are 27-9 ATS since 2005. Five teams including Baylor fit that mold this year.

Service academies are always motivated. That’s probably why Army, Navy, and Air Force have covered the spread over 70 percent of the time in bowl games over the past 40 years. 

Teams looking to get over .500 also seem highly motivated to win their bowl game. That’s especially true when they enter said bowl game as the underdog. Teams that are 6-6 entering their bowl game as an underdog are 45-25-1 ATS.

Pay Attention to Double-Digit Dogs

In early bowl games, double-digit favorites tend to be better teams. The issue is that they are playing in a lower-tier bowl game and, as a result, the favorite tends to not be as motivated. The results support this.

In non-playoff bowl games since 2005, double-digit underdogs are 41-30 ATS. When you’re looking at college football odds, don’t be afraid to wager on double-digit dogs on the moneyline either. They win enough - 18-52 - to make finding the right one worth your while.

Watch Conference Results

Check out how each conference is doing in early bowl games. One conference that bettors love to fade is the MAC. Smart bettors may want to rethink that strategy.

Over the past two seasons, the MAC is 6-2-1 ATS in bowl games. Even going back to 2015, the MAC is 17-15-1 ATS. Keep an eye on those early results. They may help you win a later bet on a team from the same conference. 

With the football season nearing the end, it’s time to look at betting hockey. Let’s have a look at how to bet NHL underdogs.