[EBone]

My question is: in handicapping, do you account for home field advantage in these games where a team is playing in their home state?

1) Houston-Kansas (played in Fort Worth, TX)
2) Rutgers-Arizona State (played in Phoenix, AZ)
3) Boston College-Boise State (played in Boise, ID)
4) South Florida-NC State (played in Charlotte, NC)
5) Iowa State-TCU (played in Houston, TX)
6) Alabama-Texas Tech (played in Dallas, TX)
7) Iowa-Florida (played in Tampa, FL)
8) West Virginia-Georgia (played in Atlanta, GA)
9) Florida State-Penn State (played in Miami, FL)
10) Texas-USC (played in Pasadena, CA)


I have had a long standing feud with a friend of mine where he says you have to be selective in which games you award home field to and which ones you don't. I, on the other hand, blanket a fixed point advantage to each one of the teams for playing in what I deem to be a home game. Any comments?

E

[clonecat]

The only game I consider to be a true home field advantage is Boise State.

I also take into light consideration Arizona State and Georgia. Arizona State because I don't think Rutgers will travel well and Georgia because they have played in Atlanta recently and is in a dome.

[bigboydan]

i consider USC as home field advantage clonecat.

[Razz]

I agree with your friend, in that there is relatively little home field difference in some games, but much more in others.

In the bigger bowl games, I don't believe home field is relevant at all. Not only because of ticket allocations, but because fans are more apt to travel long distances to see the game. Also, these teams are more adept at playing in tough environments, so having a small fan disadvantage is not harmful. Contrarily, in the smaller bowl games, homefield, and long travel distances are a detriment to some teams.

As clonecat says, Boise St. is in a fabulous position, because of their home dominance, Boston College's travel situation, and BC's mental state.
The other two games with significant HF advantage are Georgia-WVU and Rutgers-Arizona St. While the first breaks my rule of awarding home field credit in a big bowl game, this is the third straight game Georgia is playing in Atlanta, and they should have a pretty good idea of how to handle themselves, and their preparation schedule.
I think the oddsmakers have overestimated the HFA in games 4 and 5.