[VegasDave]

Applies to all sports but I'm focusing on college.

Take for example TCU -14 @ UNLV and Utah -7.5 @ New Mexico.

Quite honestly I think these are great lines as TCU and Utah happen to match up very well against their opponents this week. But next week, Utah and TCU will square off in one of the most important games of their entire season.

So how much weight do you put on teams looking ahead?

[AMBlai01]

Really depends on the team in my case. You have to look at how they did against weak competition earlier in the year before a big game. Also you need to look at the Maturity of the team. Is it a young team? Young teams seem to look ahead a lot more often than teams with a lot of older players on it.

Lastly look at the coach. Is he a hard nosed guy that pounds one game at a time into his players heads? Is he the type of guy that always talks about big picture and winning big games down the road.

I don't know if this helps at all but this is the way I look at teams that have big games coming up on their schedule.

[veto]

yeah also depends how much these kids see themselves on tv and have the sports casters telling them this is an easy game and a blowout and a walk in the park.

hopefully this late in the season teams will have freshly-learned lessons from earlier in the season. I think its big tho, especially towards them covering the spread. they might even feel like its ok to drink a 40 and fight homeless people friday night instead of studying and preparing if they see their opponent as weak and as that game being the last game before a big one or string of big ones.

[Mudcat]

I put zero weight on that. I don't give it a half a second's consideration.

[Beat up the book]

I check it out, sometimes if i am worried about a back door cover on a big line.You know,when a teams up big and they pull thier starters becouse of a big game coming up.

[pags11]

situational handicapping is an important part to handicapping a game although I put at most 20% of my weight on any given play into the situational aspect of a game...what I mean is that I never strictly take a team just because they are in a good spot...I have to like them because they match-up well with their opponent, have good coaching, strong home field, key playmakers, etc...I've learned over the years that when you end up taking some pretty bad football teams in "good spots" and end up losing more than you win...

[veto]

for me, this is pretty much the worst possible day for it to be "the day of the dogs" i need the better teams/favorites/ teams that have been more productive so far this season to not slack.

[krk1030]

I look at teams looking behind more. The game after a big game, not before.

[InTheHole]

ALOT...always look at how easy they had it the week before.