#College football betting angles to know ahead of 2021 season

The game changed, and it changed quickly. College football players can get paid now. Well, allow me to rephrase. College football players can now be paid out in the open. What would once get you suspended can now earn you a nice little living.

Oh, and the College Football Playoff is expanding. Not now. Probably not next year. But a bigger bracket is imminent. More meaningful games to wager on. More meaningful matchups between programs that rarely cross paths. More of everything.

For as much as college football is changing, the biggest change 2021 will welcome should be familiar. Fans. Full stadiums. Live mascots. Pageantry. Traditions. Elements that make college football the greatest sport on the planet — to watch and to wager on — are back.

With that, let’s look at some of the biggest storylines entering the season

Home-field advantage is back

Gambling on college football games in largely or completely empty stadiums took some getting used to. I hated it, and I am sure you did too.

It did, however, allow underdogs to have their moments. It made a road trip, in many instances, far less daunting. Playing in an empty Happy Valley last year wasn’t kind to Penn State. The same for Wisconsin in Madison and Ohio State in Columbus. In a limited season, none of the three was over .500 ATS at home.

Barring the unforeseen, college football will completely welcome back fans and home-field advantages in 2021. Normally, this wouldn’t be a story. You handicap matchups with the environment accounted for. This year, those environments will almost certainly be more amped than usual.

A new crop of gifted quarterbacks

Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields and Mac Jones are gone, yet Clemson, Ohio State and Alabama all will be ranked in the top five when the season begins.

We have an idea who some of the next stars will be. D.J. Uiagalelei showed us glimpses last year for Clemson. Spencer Rattler showcased even more for Oklahoma. Sam Howell for North Carolina posted video-game numbers at times, and he likely will again. All three will be among the most popular wagers to win the Heisman.

But there will be fresh faces in meaningful games — faces we learn early on. Who will be the next Zach Wilson or Joe Burrow? If you have an idea, don’t wait long to pounce. There will be money to be made early before the rest catch on.

Can a non-quarterback win the Heisman again?

It seems likely DeVonta Smith’s magnificent triumph in 2020 will be an outlier. That said, we know now a wide receiver is still capable of winning the Heisman.

 Is this finally Georgia’s year?

In a word, maybe. Over the last five years, Georgia has Alabama-ified its roster with five-star recruits. And this fall it welcomes back 20 returning starters.

The offensive line could be the best in the country. The quarterback, JT Daniels, should rapidly develop. The defense should be excellent — perhaps even better than it was a season ago — headlined by a superb line.

Everything is in place for this to finally be the year, including Alabama having to replace so many important pieces at once. But we’ve had this conversation before. Georgia fans know it all too well.

At -400 at BetMGM, there isn’t much value in betting the team to win the SEC East. But I like Georgia to win the SEC at +230. This, to me, is the most gifted and complete football team in the country.