by Kyle Hunter
Thursday, Jun 25, 2026The college football season will be here in two months. It won’t be long! Here are four things I think every bettor should do early in the offseason.
- Handicap the coaching changes- I don’t think there is a sport where the head coach is more important than college football. You have to have a good leader and someone who is great at getting the best assistants to help them in the wild west that is college football today. Every single year we see big turnarounds and teams that drop off hard. There’s nothing more important than evaluating the coaching staff.
- Look for tempo changes- If you are betting totals in college football like I love to do, then looking for tempo changes should be high on your list of things to do in the offseason. Here we are looking for offensive coordinators that have a completely different scheme and game plan than the OC did the previous season. Nearly everyone says they want to play fast, but who will really be committed to that faster pace? Maybe a team is looking to hide their weakness on defense so they are going to run the football and use up the clock. Looking for clues on these tempo and scheme changes is crucial.
- Transfer Portal- I’ll admit the transfer portal is overwhelming, but there is no choice but to try to navigate through the madness that is the portal. Even the coaches who didn’t really want to be heavily involved in the portal now realize they have no choice. Which teams were able to fill their biggest needs? Which teams look thin because of too many guys from the same position area left? The depth of the roster is important to consider.
- Look for Potential Matchup Advantages/Disadvantages- This is where you’ll handicap individual teams to see who they matchup well against which teams could be difficult matchups for them. For example, you might find a team who is great at running the football, but if they are forced to throw against an elite defensive front they are going to struggle badly. You also might find a service academy type defense where they can battle in the trenches, but they are likely to struggle when teams open it up and throw it around on them. Highlight certain matchups as potential bet on or against spots.
