"Down in the tunnels, trying to make it play
He got the action, he got the motion... Yeah the boy can play
Dedication devotion...
There's just a song in all the trouble and the strife
You do the walk, you do the walk of life."

Like a racehorse, you can tell the makeup of a college football team by the size of its heart. And no, it needn't be 'Secretariat-like'. Just one that is alive and pumping blood. For without the presence of either, you can put a nail in them. In other words, they're as good as dead.

Because we're handicappers, and not heart surgeons, a good barometer in gauging a team's pulse is to identify how they respond in a game after having been run over by an opponent. Often times the worse the result, the better the gauge. That's because most teams who have been – or are being – embarrassed beyond imagination tend to fold like a lawn-sale accordion. It's the ones who refuse to have their 'last rites' read to them that is of primary interest to us.

Surprisingly, one of the quickest measures in responding to devastating defeats happens early in the season. Especially with teams who have opened the season on the heels of back-to-back double-digit losses. Suddenly, teams in Game Three of the campaign are now in dire straits, as this contest becomes Critical – with a capital C.

Last year, no less than four teams played in a 'lined' Game Three scenario off back-to-back double-digit defeats. Namely they were Eastern Michigan, Florida Atlantic, North Texas and Notre Dame. Collectively they combined to go 2-2 ATS. The two spread losers, North Texas and Notre Dame, proceeded to bottom out by season's end, finishing the season with 2-10 and 3-9 records respectively. The two covering teams managed to finish with a combined record of 12-13. Thus, the sudden importance in these Game Three tilts.

Upon further examination, we found that whenever our captious crew was seeking revenge in these critical Game Three matchups they responded with aplomb. Thus, entering this season, if we were to –

PLAY ON any college football team with revenge in Game Three off back-to-back double digit losses
we would own a resuscitating 58-31 ATS mark since 1980. To further enhance our chance of recovery, we can dramatically increase our critical numbers simply by pitting our revenging team against an opponent that lost its previous game. By re-qualifying these teams we are left with a palpable 25-10 ATS record. Bring us in off a game in which we scored less than 17 points and the blood pressure rises to a 19-5 ATS level. Two well-rested teams qualify on this week’s card, namely Army and UTEP.

And if your heart can take it, a 16-1 ATS result occurs when our 19-5 ATS qualified Game Three revenger takes on a foe off a loss that won 7 or fewer games last season. Once again, Army and UTEP look to be brought back to life this weekend.

There you have it, a season-saving formula designed to keep you, and your favorite team, in the game all season long. Enjoy the walk of life...

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