Betting Trends for College Football Independents

The 2016 college football regular season is just over a month from starting and bookmakers are busy putting together their numbers for opening week.

This season with UMass leaving the Mid American Conference, the number of FBS independent teams in college football has increased to four.

Navy is now a part of the American Athletic Conference and former independents New Mexico State and Idaho are for now a part of the Sun Belt, the Independent field has changed quite a bit of recent.

The four teams that make up the independents in college football are BYU, Army, Notre Dame and UMass.

BYU has a new head coach in Kalani Sitake while the other three teams have the same coaches as last season. The other three have something in common as coaches of independent schools.

Data collected shows that the other three are a combined 2-32 straight up and 11-22-1 against the spread with their teams versus quality opponents.

Even worse, playing from the fourth game of the season forward the three are 0-27 SU while 6-20-1 ATS.

Tread carefully when choosing an independent versus quality opponents.

Every season one or two of the independent teams earn bids to play in the bowl season. When they are dogs in those games by 7 points or more they are good buys.

Independent dogs in bowl games of 7.5 points or more since 1980 are 13-5 ATS, which includes of run of 12-2 ATS when playing an opponent in their bowl game that gave up more than 12 points per game during the regular season.

Army since 2011 is 1-24 SU while 4-20 ATS over their last 25 road games.

BYU is 8-0 ATS while a road dog against opponents with a record higher than .750.

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has a record of 21-5-2 ATS when his team is a dog of 12 points or less versus teams that have less than a .900 record.

The UMass Minutemen have a record of 1-9 SU in games determined by one-possession (8 points or less) under head coach Mark Whipple.