Football is one of the favorite sports to bet on in America. One reason is because the 3 main types of bets you can make are easy and simple to understand. The first is the point spread otherwise known as the "line", the second is total otherwise known as "over/under" and the third type is the money line. Here are some public tools for live odds College Football Lines and NFL Lines. Our members area provides an enhanced version.
The point spread or "line" is the amount that the sportsbook thinks the public feels will be the winning margin. If you pick the winning team but they do no win by the proper point margin you lose also if you pick the losing team but they do not lose by as much as the point spread you win. The point spread is not about what the sportsbook think will be the outcome. It is about what sportsbooks thinks the public thinks.
The second common type of football bet is the total or "over/under." The total is a number of how many points will be scored by both teams during the game. If two high scoring college teams play and the total is 14, it would be safe to take that bet because it is very likely more than 14 points will be the combined score. If the total is 50 and they are playing football in a a blizzard, then you probably want to take the under since they will not probably combine to score 50 points.
The third common type is the money line bet. Very simply you pick the winner. This is different from point spreads since the score does not matter at all. However the odds are different. If a team is heavily favored to win you will have to bet much more than $100 to win $100. If a team is favored to lose then you can bet much less than $100 for a chance to win a $100. The money line always revolves around 100.