Betting on the College Football Bowls

College Football Bowls

During the NCAA football season and tournaments there will always be a grand finale, which are the college football bowls. As there are so many different conferences and divisions, along with a huge number of college football teams, it is no wonder there are so many different college bowls at the end of the season. Most of these bowls are played between the two best teams of certain divisions, and other bowls are by invitation; teams that perform well, but do not make it to a final are usually the teams they invite. Any sports bettor that enjoys college football should know that these college bowls are a very exciting and highly competitive time for the players. This is why they should know what to expect, what they should take into consideration before placing a bet, and the importance of maintaining good records; these include betting strategies and systems.

 

College Bowl Basics

There are about 35 different bowl games during the BCS Championships. Most of the bowls are invitational, where each conference sends teams with good standings to the bowls to participate. There are, however, 5 BCS Bowl games that have a higher impact than the invitational bowls.

 

Bowl Name

2013 Participants

Payout

Fiesta Bowl Big 12 vs. BCS $18 Million
Orange Bowl ACC vs. BCS $18 Million
Rose Bowl Pac-12 vs. Big Ten (Champions) $18 Million
Sugar Bowl SEC vs. BCS $18 Million
BCS National Championship TBD $18 Million

 

The reason these bowl games have such high prestige compared to the other bowl games, is in part thanks to the amount of money the winning team and university receives; in this case $18 million dollars. The other part making these bowls games such a big hit is the fact that they are played between the best teams of each of the above mentioned conferences. The BCS National Championship is played between the two teams that have the best standings, either after playing in the bowl games or during the regular season.

 

What to Expect

Sports fans and bettors should always come to expect great things from bowl games. There are a few simple reasons as to why bowl games attract so much attention. The incredible athletic prowess of the teams could be reason enough to make the games worth watching and betting on. However, there is also a certain amount of energy coming from the teams, and their fans.

 

Skill and Talent

As the teams that participate are the best in their division or conference, this would mean that they have been able to outmatch their other opponents. When two amazing teams clash, especially during a bowl game, each team will use the full extent of their skills and talent. This is where most of the players want and need to show their true talent, as this could be a stepping stone towards future success.

 

College Energy

Anyone that has ever gone to a college football game can feel the energy that comes from the players and the fans. College is a time of finding ones identity, which is why most college sports have such a large following. The students, alumni, and family members make up what is said to be the 12th man, showing pride and enthusiasm towards these games. This is a very big factor to keep in consideration when wanting to place a bet.

 

Aspects to Consider when Betting

There are several factors that any and all bettors should keep in mind when wanting to place a bet on a college football bowl game. There is the higher tension, the rival condition, and as always, the team and player stats.

 

High Tension

Sports bettors could state that any game during the regular season between two high ranking games are high tension, but what they do not take into consideration is that during the regular season it is not single elimination, best team wins it all. At a bowl game, where the winner will be determined by that one game, has much more tension and pressure to perform. Most athletes, those with bowl experience at least, know how to handle this pressure.

This is the factor that comes into play, the team and player experience playing in college bowl games. If the participating team has many players with past bowl experience, they will be more likely to handle the pressure and perform better than a team whose players have never played in a bowl game before. Experience is always a good indicator of how a team will perform in future and similar situations.

 

The Rival Condition

In college football, rival games and teams have always proven to be a mix of high pressure and high motivation. You could say that during a rival match, the player’s motivation to win is much higher than when they are playing a regular team. This can be affected by past performances, such as if one team lost to their rivals the last time they played, during the next match the team will try to redeem themselves, not only for their own pride, but for the pride of the college and student body. College places a lot more weight upon pride, than in professional football.

So always take into account rival teams and matches. When two rivals meet during a bowl game, you will have to expect the unexpected as there will be sparks flying all over.

 

Team and Player Stats

During bowl games, it is essential to take into consideration the team and player stats, but bettors should not put too much emphasis on how well the team performed during the regular season. They should really only use the team and player performance if they played against top ranking or rival teams during the regular season. Bettors should look to past team performances, but in regards to bowl games. How well the offense or defense has performed from their one or various bowl participation’s. If a certain team, which would involve the players as well, have little to no bowl experience that is when a bettor would have to use their regular season performances, and try to tweak it to fit the information into a bowl game scenario.

 

Maintaining Good Records

This should be at the top of every sports bettors list, keep a good record of what bets they have made, what information they used to base their bet on, and which methods worked best for the bets that won vs. which bets lost. It is very simple to do. Each time a bettor places a wager, they should write down what the wager is, what they are basing the wager on, and how it performed.

 

Wager Type

Based On

Performed

Money Line (-110) Team 1 vs. Team 2 stats Won
Spread Bet (+3.5 +120) Total points for each team Lost
Spread Bet (-2.5 -110) Average Points for each team Won
Money Line (+130) Underdog home performance stats Won
Totals (Un 39.5 -110) Total points for each team Lost
Totals (Ov 39.5 -110) Total average points for each team Won
Money Line (+110) Team 1 vs. Team 2 stats Won

 

Based on the information of a total of 7 bets, the bettor can already start to see a pattern emerge than can help then keep this winning ratio going; 5:2 ratio is excellent. They can get rid of using Total Team points when placing a bet, as this does not seem to be a good enough reason to pick that certain team. However, the bettor should continue to use the Team 1 vs. Team 2 stats, where they compare and contrast the different offensive and defensive stats to determine which team is more likely to win; this has been getting them winning bets even with underdogs. It is still too early to tell if placing bets on the underdogs based on their home-game performance is a good way to determine if they will win or not.

 

A bettor always has to keep up with their records, and more records they keep and analyze the better, as it will give them a more accurate prediction. If a certain betting method proves to have a higher than 50% winning rate, it is a good system to employ; anything below 50% should be avoided.