The SEC is looking exciting again. USC has a great team this year; Ohio State looks good on paper but seems to fold when it really counts. Some things stay the same in college football year in and year out. One thing which is also a constant in the sport is that there are big upsets every week, meaning that the only safe bet is that there are no safe bets! You should bet on your hunches; but be ready to be chastised when this backfires on you, as will happen from time to time.

Most of us have our own way to bet on college football. One good thing to remember is that we should expect upsets to happen. Here are a few situations to keep in mind in regard to upsets when you make your picks.

A team just won an important game and will be too relaxed and happy to adequately prepare for the next opponent. An unranked team from within the conference is the opponent. They won’t be mistaken for a BCS Bowl team, but they know the opponent very well. A team is playing on national television, or in a primetime game, with all of the attention on them. Especially true of teams that are not used to the stage. And more! Of course there are more upset situations to pay attention to, but those as good a place as any to start.

There have already been some spectacular upsets this season. USC lost to Oregon State, after everyone considered USC a sure BSC Championship contender. The prediction was that this would be a “let down” game for USC ? and it proved to be accurate, if not in the sense people had intended. Ole Miss took on Florida and won with a few great plays. Anything can happen in the SEC, but what is the common thread between these two games? These were both unranked opponents from within the conference.

Sometimes it’s harder to predict unranked upsets. This is especially true if an unranked team doesn’t play in the Bull Subdivision. In fact, last season, Michigan was beaten by Appalachian State in the “Big House.” Bowl games, too, are protected from upsets. If anyone remembers the incredible game played between Oklahoma and Boise State, that’s one example. That totally debunks the theory that the big program will always win the big game.

With some nontraditional powers in the Top 25, some more of those BCS Bowl game upsets could happen this year too. BYU, Utah and Boise State are all teams that could shock a big power in front of a national audience in a big bowl game. Wake Forest and Connecticut aren’t known for their football programs, but they have enough talent that they could factor into some all-time memorable upsets in a big bowl game as well.

This is my point ? you need to be prepared for upsets. Keep an eye out for the common upset scenarios I described above and never operate on autopilot when placing your bets online. There are no 100% guarantees in life or in college football. Think carefully about the matchup and try to identify likely upsets before the game and you could bring in some serious cash by betting wisely.

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