College Football Best Bets

A college football Saturday can put a huge number of games on the board, from top-25 showdowns to small-conference matchups most people never watch. Nobody handicaps all of them well. So we start with the picks of more than 100 paid handicapping services and look for the games where enough of them land on the same side.

Agreement first, then the stars

When the experts pile onto one side, that pick earns a star rating. The ratings run LOCK, Platinum, Diamond, Gold and Silver, and the grade comes from how many experts agree and how lopsided the split is. Every pick lists its for and against counts, so a Silver pick with a close split looks exactly as close as it is.

We keep score in public. The record of the star-rated picks sits on this page: overall, last 7 days, yesterday, and broken out by rating. If you only ever want to bet LOCK and Platinum picks, you can see how that would have gone before you start.

Big spreads, and why the spread is often the bet

College football has mismatches you rarely see in the NFL, and the lines show it. A spread of 20-plus points isn't unusual, and the moneyline on a big favorite can be so steep that it's barely worth betting. On our board everyone can bet moneylines up to -300 (Full Access goes to -1000), so on the most lopsided games the point spread or the total is where a college football prediction usually turns into a bet.

Lines also move between their early-week opening and kickoff, sometimes a lot. Check the current number on the board before you take any pick at the price it was made.

One free pick at a time

Our best college football pick of the day is open to everyone, labeled "Free pick of the day". When that game kicks off, the next pick in line becomes the free one, which on a full Saturday means a fresh free pick as the day goes on. The sides of the other picks and the names of the experts who made them are part of Full Access. Anyone can see every side 10 minutes after a game starts.

From a pick to a free bet

New players get a Free Bet Balance, so you can back any of these picks without a deposit. Head to the college football odds board for the spread, moneyline and total on each game, plus first-quarter, first-half and team total lines. Second-half lines show up at halftime and close after a short countdown. Free bets aren't real money; the balance refills once it runs out and your bets are graded, and every $100.00 converts to $1.00 of Paid balance ($2.00 with Full Access).

For a shot at actual cash, the Streak Contest asks you to pick one game at a time and string wins together, and the Monthly Contest leaderboard pays out too. Both pay real cash prizes by PayPal.

Two other free looks at each game

Our college football consensus picks show how the betting public is splitting its bets and money on every game. The NCAAF computer picks come from a model that takes a side against the spread and on the total for every game, star-rated, with a free record. A game where the experts and the model agree but the public is on the other side is one we'd look at twice.

Questions and answers