Best College Football betting sites in Ohio

Ohio’s imprint on college football is immense with the likes of Ohio State consistently in the National Championship picture and Ohio colleges in general play a big role in the college football landscape, such as several schools from the Mid-American (MAC) conference making up the league. 

If you are new to betting on college football, keep reading to learn more about what sportsbooks have to offer college football bettors as well as how to make smart decisions when wagering this fall!

Best college football betting sites in Ohio

DraftKings Sportsbook 

DraftKings is live in Ohio with an expansive menu to choose from when it comes to betting on college football, including point spreads, over/under, first half markets and more. 

For more high profile college football games, DK has as many player props markets as any other competitor. 

DraftKings typically has weekly promotions and odds boosts that can be readily accessed at the top of the app. 

DraftKings will match 20% of your deposit amount up to $1,000 total for new customers only.

BetMGM

BetMGM has a robust promotion model, including a $1,000 welcome bonus using the promo code PLAY1000

BetMGM offers all point spread, over/under and first and second half markets while plenty of live bet options throughout the game.

BetMGM offers prop markets such as “race to,” “alternate spread” and “alternate points.” 

FanDuel Sportsbook 

FanDuel has Same Game Parlay features on college football, including point spreads on the first and second half as well as over/under for each half and quarter. 

FanDuel offers player props on certain marquee matchups

FanDuel offers new users a $200 bonus for betting $20 when they open a new account. 

Caesars Sportsbook

Caesars offers plenty of promotions and odds boosts weekly with rewards points accumulated through betting on the app. 

Reward points can be used on travel for hotel credits as well.

Caesars offers all major markets, including but not limited to point spreads, over/under, first and second half and quarters. 

Get your first bet with Caesars Sportsbook refunded up to $1,250

Bet365

Bet365 offers all major markets on college football, but does not include player props into its menu of games just yet. 

The sportsbook offers point spreads on the first and second half in addition to totals as well. 

Bet365 offers a bet $1 get $200 in bonus bets for depositing

Tips for those new to betting college football

Reading college football odds

One of the most important elements of betting on college football is knowing the terminology. In this section, we’re going to discuss college football odds and different terms that are part of the betting ecosystem. 

Point spread: One team is favored and one team is the underdog, the team with the - sign is favored while the team with + is the underdog. 

For example, if Ohio State is -6.5 against Michigan, the Buckeyes must win by 7 or more to cash your bet

Over/Under: Oddsmakers set a line for each game related to the total combined points scored by both teams and you can bet over or under. If the two teams combine to score more than the total set, the over will win. If it stays below the set total, the under will win. 

For example, if the Ohio State-Michigan over/under is set at 54.5, the two teams must combine to score 55 to go over, or else the under will cash

Moneyline: Similar to a point spread, a moneyline is picking the winner, but not with margin of victory involved. This is simply picking the winner of the game. Like a point spread, the favored team will have a - sign and the underdog will have a + sign. 

The moneyline is a translated percentage of the implied probability of the team to win the game. 

For example, if Ohio State is -200, they are expected to win the game 66.67% of the time. If Michigan is +170, they are expected to win the game 37% of the time. 

Calculating your payouts

It’s imperative to know exactly what you are betting on and what the expected payout is on each bet 

On point spread and over/under bets, there are typically -110 odds on either side, meaning that you are paying the sportsbook a price to place the bet. This is known as the “vig” or the “juice” on any bet. 

It would be standard practice for Ohio State to be -7 with odds of -110 and Michigan to +7 with odds of -110 

To calculate what you would bet with a flat bet of $100 you would do: 

100/110 = $90.09

This is the amount risked divided by the odds * the amount wagered.

There can be different odds on the point spread, but the most common is -110 on each side. 

If you are betting on the favorite (a - sign is next to the odds), you are going to need to put up more money in order to collect, but if you are betting on the underdog (a + sign in next to the odds) you can make more than you are placing on the bet. 

For Example: Ohio State is -200 to beat Michigan, who is a +170 underdog 

If you place $100 on Ohio State at -200 odds, you can profit $50

If you place $100 on Michigan at +170 odds, you can profit $170

Ohio college football betting markets

Spread bets

Oddsmakers set the line for each game on a point spread, and bettors can bet on the favorite to win by a certain amount of points or for the underdog to lose by less than listed the point spread. 

Moneyline bets

Similar to a point spread, there is a favorite and an underdog, but on the moneyline the margin doesn’t matter, it’s simply picking the winner of the game. 

Over/unders

Oddsmakers set a total for each game, allowing bettors to bet over the amount of points set between both teams or under. 

Parlays

Parlays are tying together multiple bets into one, increasing the odds of the initial bet. 

You can parlay many different wagers, and sportsbooks have plenty to choose from, but let’s do a three-team college football parlay as an example. 

Example: 

Ohio State moneyline -200 vs. Michigan

Kent State moneyline -150 vs. Central Michigan

Ohio moneyline -125 vs. Western Michigan

By tying these three outcomes together, all three must win for you to profit, but the payout is much larger, +350, so if you put up $100 you would win $350. 

Parlays are a riskier proposition than a single-game bet because there are more outcomes needed to win your bet, but they also allow you to be involved in more games and enhance your payout.

Teasers

College football teasers are multi-game bets, similar to a parlay, where you can subtract or add typically six points depending on if they are a favorite or an underdog to the two legs. 

For a favorite, you would subtract six points and for an underdog you would add six points

There are other options such as two-team, seven-point teasers and three-team, 10-point teasers as well, but the common teaser is a two-team, six-point teaser

For example, if you think Ohio State is going to beat Michigan as 6.5-point favorites, you can use a teaser to subtract 6 points from the point spread and make them -0.5, meaning they simply need to win the game. 

You can pair that Ohio State teaser “leg” with Kent State, who is a 2.5-point underdog to Central Michigan. However, you get to add six points because they are now +8.5, so they can lose by 8 and you still win that “leg.” 

Make sure to check each sportsbook to find the best odds on teaser bets

Note: Both legs must hit for you to win.

Futures

Future bets in college football are a popular way to make an early bet, either in preseason or in the season, on an outcome that will occur at the end of the year. 

Sportsbooks have vast options when it comes to futures, including but not limited to division winners, conference winners and National Championship odds for most teams in college football.  

In addition, you can bet on the Heisman Trophy winner throughout the season.

There are also exotic futures markets out there now including win total bets that allow you to bet on or against a team seemingly every week as you bet before the season if a team will win a certain amount of games. 

Let’s continue to use Ohio State as an example:

If Ohio State’s win total is set at 10.5 in an 11-game regular season, the Buckeyes must win every single game in the season to go over the win total. By taking the under, you are essentially betting against Ohio State every week for a reduced amount than actually placing a bet weekly. 

Ohio State plays in the Big Ten East, if you are confident that the Buckeyes would advance to the Big Ten Championship, there are markets available to bet on the team to win the division.

Prop Bets

Prop bets in college football are growing rapidly and Ohio sports bettors can get in on the action. 

There are player props such as: 

• Passing yards
• Passing touchdowns
• Rushing yards
• Receptions
• Receiving yards
• Touchdown scorer
• Many more

There are game props such as: 

• Will there be a score in the first six minutes? 
• Will the game end on an odd or even number? 
• Will there be overtime?
• Who will be the leading passer in the game?

This is a growing market in college football betting and there will be plenty more options to bet on in the coming years. 

College football Playoffs betting

The College Football Playoffs will feature 12 teams vying to win the national championship.

The top six ranked conference champions will receive automatic bids to the expanded CFP and then the six highest-ranked at-large teams will receive bids, decided by the CFP committee. 

The top four seeds will receive a first-round bye, meaning there will be four rounds of the new College Football Playoff.

College football live betting

Live betting is a growing market in sports betting and it is no different in college football. 

Once the game starts, the betting doesn’t stop as sportsbooks offer you updated lines, totals and moneyline throughout the game. 

In addition, sportsbooks are beginning to offer results of the next drive, giving you plenty of ability to watch the game and bet throughout it on a micro-scale.

These odds will populate as the game begins and update in real time for you based on every play. 

It’s worth noting that there may be a lag between what you see on the app and what is happening in the game due to a lag in updating the necessary information.

How to watch college football in Ohio

Each conference has negotiated individual television rights for its games, below is the list of which network broadcasts each conference’s games every week. 

• AAC: ESPN
• ACC: ESPN and ACC Network
• Big Ten: FOX, CBS, NBC and Big Ten Network
• Big 12: ESPN
• Conference USA: ESPN, CBS Sports Network, NFL Network, Facebook and Stadium
• MAC: ESPN and CBS Sports Network
• Mountain West: CBS Sports and FOC
• PAC-12: ESPN, FOX and PAC-12 Network
• SEC football: ESPN
• Sun Belt: ESPN

How to listen to college football in Ohio

Similar to television rights, but on a more micro level, each college negotiates its own radio rights. 

The biggest partner in the college football radio broadcast industry, which happens to broadcast most Ohio schools, are Learfield and JMI Sports. Learfield and JMI Sports negotiate with each school and produce games on air in local markets. 

Learfield and JMI Sports have partnered with plenty of schools, including schools located in Ohio such as Akron, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Kent State, Ohio University, Ohio State and Toledo. 

Other schools may deal directly with local radio stations, which broadcast on the radio, whether through an outside station or the school station. 

College football players and coaches in Ohio 

Head coach 

Ohio State has had a storied history of success in the collegiate ranks, winning its first National Championship in 1942 under Paul Brown and going on to win five between 1954 and 1970 under Woody Hayes. 

However, after years of futile efforts, the team found success under Jim Tressel, leading the team to the title in 2002. 

More recently, the team won a National Championship in 2014 under Urban Meyer before Meyer opted to move onto the NFL, paving the way for his offensive coordinator Ryan Day to take over in the 2019 season. 

Day has compiled a 45-6 record at Ohio State since then, leading the team to three College Football Playoff berths in four seasons, and one National Championship runner-up. 

Quarterbacks

Ohio State has had plenty of talented quarterbacks, starting way back in 1941 when Les Horvath took over under center, leading the team to win the schools first National Championship in 1942. 

Since then, there have been countless stars, including Rex Kern and Art Schlichter in the 1960’s through 1980’s. However, since the turn of the century, the program has taken off with elite quarterbacks. 

Terrelle Pryor was one of the most physically imposing quarterbacks in college football history, but didn’t win a Heisman Trophy like Troy Smith did in 2006. He is the only quarterback to beat Michigan three times. 

More recently, the team has had success at quarterback with now-Chicago Bears quarterback and first round pick Justin Fields and No. 2 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft C.J. Stroud, who was a runner up for the Heisman Trophy in back-to-back years. 

Running backs

Ohio State has a history of successful running backs as well, RB Archie Griffin is the lone back-to-back Heisman Trophy winner, winning the award in 1974 and 1975. 

The team has also had stars such as fellow Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George, Heisman Trophy winner Howard “Hopalong” Cassady and Heisman Trophy runner up Keith Byars.

Wide receivers

More recently we have seen a run of standout wide receivers breakout in the NFL by way of Ohio State, with the help of wide receivers coach Brian Hartline. 

In the 2022 NFL Draft, both Garrett Wilson (who went on to win the 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year) and Chris Olave went in the first round and Jaxon Smith-Njigba did the same in 2023. 

The most hyped prospect is currently at Ohio State in Marvin Harrison Jr, who figures to be a top five pick next season after another likely dazzling season in Columbus. 

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Betting online has never been easier in Ohio. With plenty of options, it's key for sports bettors to open accounts with the wide array of sportsbooks and find not only the best odds being offered on a specific bet, but also advantageous promotions that can help you win!

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