How To Make Money Betting On First Weeks Of 2017 College Football

If you’re a college football betting enthusiast that wants to get off to a good start over the first three weeks of each and every season, then you need to know that early season college football betting is a bit different from the betting opportunities that take place thereafter. You see, over the first three weeks of the college football season, there are a ton of matchups that feature elite Division-I programs squaring off against their far smaller – and lesser talented – lower division or mid-major counterparts. While these matchups often produce some insane point spreads that often reach four and five touchdowns, you should know that there are a few methods you can use to help increase your chances of cashing in on the crazy odds you often see over the first three weeks of the season.

How To Make Money Betting On First Weeks Of 2017 College Football

   

Watch those Insane Spreads

It’s difficult knowing when to back a big favorite in the first few weeks of the regular season, which is what makes betting on college football early on so difficult. For instance, let’s look at the defending national champion Clemson Tigers ‘Week 2 and 3 matchups from last season. Deshaun Watson and the Tigers were whopping 34.5-point home favorites against Troy in Week 2 but never came close to covering the spread in their narrow 30-24 victory over the Trojans and actually had to put 17 fourth quarter points on the board to escape with the win. Clemson struggled with its offense and miscues early on and nearly had their chance to reach consecutive CFB playoffs ruined in Week 1 because of it. “Seventeen points by the offense in the fourth quarter was huge,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said at the time. “We had three straight scoring drives. Hopefully we can pick up there next week.” Well, pick it up they did as Clemson rolled all over tiny South Carolina State 59-0 in Week 3 to easily cash in as a mind-boggling 53.5-point home fave as Watson tossed three TD passes and a pair of backups each tossed one touchdown pass. So, how could Clemson cover the spread in week 3 as insane 53.5-point favorites when they couldn’t cover the spread as 34.5-point home faves the week before? Well, you need to take into consideration their opponents. Troy finished the 2016 campaign with a solid 10-3 record while finishing third in the Sun Belt conference, though they did tie for the most victories. However, Troy was set for a much better campaign in Year 2 of the Neal Brown era after going 4-8 in Brown’s first season in 2015. In Week 3, Clemson was basically playing a bunch of high schoolers when they faced a South Carolina State team that was nowhere near the caliber of team that Troy was one week earlier. The bottom line is that, if you’re betting on college football in the first three weeks, you need to be really cautious while doing all of the prerequisite ‘homework’ on the smaller team that is going up against the title-contending powerhouse.

Identify Legitimate Upset Contests

Just like Troy did against Clemson last year, there are a number of smaller schools that will face – and easily cover the spread – against their perennial powerhouse opponents over the first three weeks of the regular season. You need to identify all of the smaller programs that have a lot of positives going for them heading into a new season and look at all of the reasons they could cover or even win outright and place your wagers accordingly. Of course, identifying these teams is easier said than done, but it’s not impossible and only requires some extra research.

Play the Total

One of the best ways to make money in the first few weeks of the regular season is to simply play the Over/Under Total. For example, Clemson went 0-4 O/U last season in their first four games while facing three totals of at least 62 points and a third of 58 points. While the Tigers got a ton of attention for their prolific offense, college football bettors that knew better and bet on the Tigers’ underrated defense to put the clamps on Auburn, Troy, South Carolina State and Georgia Tech walked away with a month long of winning total wagers. If the point spread looks to insane early on, simply play the total!