We are all familiar with the phrase “Home field advantage.” It’s important in all of sports, particularly college football. For some NCAA teams, it means six or seven points to them just by being at home.

Being at home means you don’t have to travel. Your facilities are usually far superior than visiting teams’. You know every nook and cranny of the field and any tough sun or lighting angles.

Obviously when playing within the conference, all the teams are accustomed to the weather. But this time of the year with nonconference matchups, this may even be a factor. Without a doubt, the biggest advantage is playing in front of a friendly crowd chanting your name and noise levels not affecting your offense at the line. Some stadiums have 80,000, 90,000 and even over 100,000 screaming fans shaking the very foundation.

With the current health crisis, some teams will not have any fans in attendance, some will be allowed as few as 1%, and some will have as many as 15,000 to 20,000. This can change from week to week. So you must be aware of which teams will have more friendly faces in the stands, as it will affect the lines and the outcomes.

One thing for sure, I would watch some of these home teams that are still going to receive padded lines by the oddsmakers. Maybe home field advantage isn’t worth what it normally is this season.