Legal sports betting in Illinois is a booming industry as bettors within the Prairie State can place bets via online sportsbooks and apps. You can bet on everything from NFL games to MLB series to collegiate sports. The only restriction is you can’t bet on Illinois collegiate teams on your mobile device.

With that said, you can now do so at retail sportsbooks in person. But the online restriction remains until at least 2023.

There are many other college football teams to wager on, so you may hardly notice the lack of betting on the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Northwestern Wildcats. Betting couldn’t be easier now that the sportsbook apps are online, with an array of games and wager types available.

NCAA Football Live Odds

See below for live NCAAF game lines & futures odds at Illinois online sportsbooks. Click on any odds to jump directly to the sportsbook, claim your bonus bets or bonuses and lock in your NCAA football bet. Use the drop-down menu to navigate between point spreads, moneylines & totals odds.

If you don’t see the team you want to bet on, check the full live odds board under “NCAAF.”

How does college football betting work?

College football’s popularity with sports bettors has never been greater. It’s second only to the NFL in the number of wagers made throughout the year. Each season, there are full slates of games every Saturday, making it easy to stay in the action.

If you are 21 years or older and within state lines, you can legally bet on college football. However, Illinois doesn’t allow mobile wagers on college teams that call the Prairie State home. You can’t legally bet on teams from the following universities:

• Eastern Illinois
• Illinois State
• Northwestern
• Northern Illinois
• Southern Illinois
• University of Illinois
• Western Illinois

Division II teams, such as McKendree and Quincy universities, are also illegal to place mobile bets on in Illinois, as are wagers on any of the 18 Division III schools.

Again, you can bet on all of these teams at retail sportsbooks in person, just not online.

How to read college football odds

You should never, ever place a wager without understanding the basics of college football betting.

While there is a slew of bets you can make for each game on the NCAA football slate, the major bets are the point spreads, moneylines and totals, aka the over/under.

When you’re looking at college football odds, you’ll see similar information for each contest. This usually includes the game’s date and time, the teams playing, the point spread, the moneyline and the total. Here’s an example:

Team	Point Spread	Moneyline	Total
Ohio State	-7.5	-300	43
Michigan	+7.5	+150	43

 

In this example, Ohio State is favored to win by 7.5 points, the moneyline wager is at -300 and the over/under is at 43.

If you were to place a bet on the Buckeyes for the point spread, they would have to win their game by eight points or more, e.g., 35-21. Any score that is fewer points, like 35-28, would be a losing wager.

You could also make a moneyline bet on which team will win. If you bet $100 on Ohio State and the Buckeyes won, you’d get $133.33 back — your $100 stake, plus $33.33 in winnings. If you make the same wager on Michigan, you’d get $250 — your $100 stake, plus $150 in winnings.

If you decide to go with the over/under bet, you’d have to choose if the game’s two teams would score more or less than the total points of 43.

So, if the game is a 21-20 barnburner, then the under wager would win. If it went 24-20, then the over would win. If by chance, the game ended up 22-21, then it would be a “push.” Neither side would be a winner or a loser, and the sportsbook would refund your wager.

How to shop for the best lines at IL sportsbooks

What’s the secret to being the best bettor you can be? Homework and lots of it.

Not just on stats, but knowing various aspects of a team can give you an advantage. Shopping for the best lines is a significant part of your regular betting strategy.

Each sportsbook sets its lines. For example, suppose the Florida State Seminoles are playing Georgia. You did your research and decided that FSU is going to take the win. A sportsbook, such as FanDuel, could have the moneyline set at -120 for Georgia and +135 for Florida State.

But after shopping around, you might discover that Caesars Sportsbook has the same game with Georgia at -120 and Florida at +150. Because the return on investment is greater at Caesars, you will want to wager on a Seminoles’ victory and maximize your profit.

Sometimes you will see the line move at the same sportsbook you previously researched. For example, the college football betting lines for the Georgia and Florida State game were -120 and +135, respectively, at FanDuel. But later, say after news broke that Georgia’s starting quarterback was injured at practice, the line could move to Georgia at -110 and FSU at +120.

Why the change? Typically, it means that oddsmakers decided the game is going to be closer than initially thought. Sure, they still think Georgia is going to win but aren’t quite as sure. Another reason is if public betting favors one team over the other. In that case, the line moves to ensure the sportsbook doesn’t lose money on the game — it is a business, after all.

What’s the difference between betting on college football and NFL?

First and foremost, the game of football doesn’t change much from the collegiate level to the professional ranks. There are slight rule differences, but the gist of the game remains the same. And so does the style of betting.

There are, however, differences in the range of teams between the two levels, as well as media coverage, on-field play and even how sportsbooks determine the odds.

There are 130 teams at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level alone in NCAA football, and another 127 at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. That doesn’t even begin to count teams at Division II and lower levels. In the NFL, there are currently 32 teams competing.

Simple math dictates that there are more college games weekly, which is why the sport is so popular on legal sportsbook apps and sites. The NFL garners the most attention from bettors and the media. The NCAA isn’t far behind, of course, but the behemoth that is the NFL dominates.

That doesn’t mean there are fewer fans for college football, but there aren’t the same number of fans interested in each team as NFL teams.

Additionally, there tends to be less wagering on college football than its professional counterpart, mostly from the team mismatches, the number of mistakes in a typical contest and the players’ experience on the roster that are a regular part of college football.

It’s a lot easier to make a bet with confidence when there are fewer unknown factors involved. It’s rare for there to be a surprise star of a game at the NFL level, while first-year players can break out at the college level in about any game. Though, teams who return the most experienced players are usually the ones that bettors watch.

In terms of college football betting, it is typical to find larger spreads because of team mismatches. Also, there are often softer betting lines — and potential opportunities —  if you are willing to put in the time to research.

How to bet on college football in Illinois

As more sportsbooks open in Illinois, there will be more places to wager. Remember to shop around for the best lines on the games you intend to wager on and make sure to always research before putting down your money.

So, what kind of bets can you make on college football? We’ll break down the four standard bet types and give you an example for each.

Moneyline

Betting on the moneyline is the most basic, straightforward type of wager. Your only job is to determine which team will win the game. Here’s an example:

Team	Moneyline
South Florida	+540
Memphis	-910

The books seem to expect this one to be lopsided. As you can see, Memphis is a huge favorite. Oddsmakers figure this isn’t even going to be much of a game. To win $100, you would have to bet $910 and get a payout of $1,010, if Memphis does indeed win. If you put $100 on South Florida for the massive upset, you’d take home $640 — your stake, plus $540 in winnings.

Point spread

In this wager type, oddsmakers place a number to indicate which team they think will win and by how much. In order to have a winning bet, you have to pick which team you think will be able to beat the spread. Here’s an example:

College Team	Point Spread
Nebraska	+3.5 (-108)
Wisconsin	-3.5 (-102)

Oddsmakers see this game as being close. They think Wisconsin will to keep it tight but ultimately will top Nebraska by more than 3.5 points. As the bettor, your job is to determine if the game will be closer than that or not. Do you think Wisconsin is going to win by more than 3.5 points? If so, and you make a point spread wager of $100. If you are right, you’d receive $198.04 — a $98.04 profit over your $100 stake. But if Nebraska wins or loses by fewer than 3.5 points, you’d lose the wager and your stake.

Totals

When it comes to totals, aka over/unders, the oddsmakers set a number that they believe will be the final total score of the two teams playing. Your job as the college football sports bettor is to determine if the two teams will score more or fewer points than indicated. Let’s look at an example:

College Team	Over/Under
Wyoming	54 (-110)
Colorado State	54 (-110)

Once you research and determine the strength of each offense and defense, you have to decide if you believe the two teams will put up a combined 54 points. If you think the game will be a defensive struggle, then you’d go with the under. If you think these two teams will have their offenses going full tilt and the defenses will have trouble stopping them, then you may want to go with the over bet. Either way, a winning bet of $100 would bring back $190.91 — your $100 stake, plus $90.91 in profit.

Futures

A futures bet is a wager on something that will happen in the future. Sometimes this could be a national championship or the Heisman Trophy winner. Like any bet, you’ll find NCAA football odds at the sportsbook of your choice, and you’ll make your wager on what you think is going to happen. For our example, let’s check out the 2021 Heisman Trophy odds:

Spencer Rattler (Oklahoma quarterback)	+800
DJ Uiagalelei (Clemson quarterback)	+1100
JT Daniels (Georgia quarterback)	+1200
Bryce Young (Alabama quarterback)	+1200

As you can see, every selection for this futures wager comes with positive odds, though the lower numbers clearly spot the favorites. Futures wagers take a lot of research, though it’s not uncommon for fans to place “gut feeling” bets at the beginning of the season.

The lines move a lot throughout the season on futures bets, and the college football betting odds are usually available for most college football events (like the national championship) nearly immediately after the conclusion of the previous season. Any winning bet on a futures wager must be accurate; if any other player besides the one you choose for the Heisman gets the award, then your bet loses.

Sportsbook rules for betting college football

It is important to keep in mind that each sportsbook will have its own set of house rules for wagers, which is why it is crucial to read the terms and conditions before placing any bets.

Some standard rules when it comes to betting on NCAA football are:

• A football game becomes official after 55 minutes of play. Games that conclude in less than 55 minutes constitute “no action” or a “cancel,” which means books will refund all bets and no winners are paid out.
• Wagering on the point spreads, moneylines or totals include any overtime scoring.
• Halftime (second half) wagering includes any overtime scores. Fourth-quarter wagering does not include OT scores.
• All games must be played on the scheduled date and location.

However, these rules aren’t chiseled in stone, which is why you should take note of any rules individual sportsbooks have in place before wagering.

How to watch or stream NCAAF games in Illinois

The best way to get your live college football fix is to have the right combination of cable channels. However, for most folks, that isn’t possible.

So, how can you go about watching or streaming NCAA football games in Illinois? Here are a few options:

1. Broadcast Television: Simple, but true. There are usually some college football games each week on the major broadcasters, which you can typically pick up for free using a modern TV antenna.
2. Apps: The answer to all your problems are apps, right? Well, if you’re looking to watch college football on your mobile device, then they certainly are. You can get the WatchESPN app for Android, iOS, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and more. With ESPN and its sister channels accounting for over 80% of college football programming, you’ll have access to plenty of options. You can also get specific apps for the ACC, Big Ten, PAC 12 and SEC if you’d like to keep tabs on those specific conferences.
3. College Sports Live: This service, which requires a monthly fee, includes games and events from over 100 schools. You can get college football games, of course, but you can also get all kinds of other sports, too. You can use this service on your computer or via an app for Android, iOS or even Roku.
4. Radio Broadcasts: New technology this is not, but many radio stations now stream online for free, which means you can keep track of the teams you like by tracking down the radio station that is affiliated with and tuning in. There’s still something special about hearing the play-by-play and color commentators over the speakers while you imagine the game playing out.

NCAA football teams in Illinois

Even though it is illegal to bet on college football games online that feature teams from Illinois, it doesn’t mean you can’t be a fan of them — and there are plenty to choose from, too.

Here’s a list of NCAA football teams and the conferences they play in:

Team	Championship Subdivision	Conference
Eastern Illinois Panthers	FCS	Missouri Valley
Illinois Fighting Illini	FBS	Big Ten
Illinois State Redbirds	FCS	Missouri Valley
Northern Illinois Huskies	FBS	MAC
Northwestern Wildcats	FBS	Big Ten
Southern Illinois Salukis	FCS	Missouri Valley
Western Illinois Leathernecks	FCS	Missouri Valley
McKendree Bearcats	DII	Great Lakes Valley
Quincy Hawks	DII	Great Lakes Valley
Augustana Vikings	DIII	CCIW
Aurora Spartans	DIII	Northern
Benedictine Eagles	DIII	Northern
Chicago Maroons	DIII	Midwest
Concordia Cougars	DIII	Northern
Elmhurst Bluejays	DIII	CCIW
Eureka Red Devils	DIII	Northern
Greenville Panthers	DIII	UMAC
Illinois College Blueboys	DIII	Midwest
Illinois Wesleyan Titans	DIII	CCIW
Knox Prairie Fire	DIII	Midwest
Lake Forest Foresters	DIII	Midwest
Millikin Big Blue	DIII	CCIW
Monmouth Fighting Scots	DIII	Midwest
North Central Cardinals	DIII	CCIW
North Park Vikings	DIII	CCIW
Rockford Regents	DIII	Northern
Wheaton Thunder	DIII	CCIW

Biggest rivalries in Illinois college football

Rivalries are part of what makes college football fun, and the state of Illinois has a few that keep fans foaming at the mouth:

• Illinois vs. Northwestern: The series between these two teams began in 1892. The programs have squared off 114 times throughout the years. Illinois leads the series, 55-54-5, and the two teams currently play for the Land of Lincoln Trophy. Though, from 1947-2008, the teams vied for the right to hoist the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk.
• Illinois vs. Purdue: This one dates back to 1890, and since then, the Illini and the Boilermakers have played each other 96 times, with Illinois and Purdue tied at 45-45-6.
• Illinois vs. Ohio State: Since 1902, these two teams have played each other for the right to own the Illibuck Trophy (the second-oldest trophy awarded to a Big Ten rivalry game). Unfortunately for Illini fans, the Buckeyes have controlled this game for the most part, except for a stint in the late 1980s and early ’90s. The record is currently 68-30-4 in Ohio State’s favor.

Is college football betting legal in Illinois?

Betting on college football in Illinois became legal in 2019, following two years of legislation. When all was said and done, Gov. JB Pritzker signed the bill into law.

The first legal, in-person sports wager was made on March 9, 2020, at Rivers Casino Des Plaines. A few months later, the first online app became available on June 18, 2020, from BetRivers Sportsbook Illinois.

As noted, collegiate sports betting is legal, but betting on the various NCAA teams within the state on your mobile device is illegal.