Huge Week 9 College Football Handicapping Key

by: Evan Altemus

One of the most under used keys in college football handicapping is motivational angles.  Let down, look ahead, and bounce back games are some of the most profitable situations year after year in college football, yet most people don't look at them, especially with the less popular teams.  Mediocre to below average BCS conference teams are very capable of having huge swings in performance.  These teams have the talent capable of either winning a game in a blowout or getting blown out themselves against teams with a similar talent level.  Here are some of the potential look ahead and letdown spots in this week's college football action.

Iowa State - The Cyclones are coming off of what is arguably their best performance in several years with their road at Nebraska.  It's going to be interesting to see if they bring a strong effort this week.  They are at least a touchdown underdog at Texas A&M, so that number might be strong enough for them to manage.

TCU - They are coming off of an emotional blowout road win at BYU, and now some people are saying that this team is destined to head to a BCS bowl game.  However, the Horned Frogs have been installed as a five touchdown home favorite to UNLV, who is coming off of a good win at New Mexico.  However, the Rebels might just be bad enough to get crushed with a half hearted effort by TCU.

Iowa/Michigan State - These teams had what was probably the most exciting ending to any game last week.  The game was low scoring until the 4th quarter, when each team starting matching each other score for score.  However, Iowa got a touchdown pass as the game expired to get the win.  It is very likely that both of these teams will come out flat this week.  However, they get to face two of the weaker Big 10 teams in Minnesota and Indiana, so the letdown spot might not matter.

Ohio State/Penn State - These two teams will face each other next week in one of the biggest games in the Big 10 this season.  Each team has games against cupcake teams this week though, with Ohio State facing New Mexico State and Penn State facing Northwestern on the road.  The Nittany Lions are also coming off of a big road win at Michigan last week, so this week is a tough sandwich spot for them.  However, Northwestern is nowhere near the talent and skill level of Penn State, so the letdown spot might not even matter.

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