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Home Magazine Issues May 2014 UPSET SPECIAL Give your underdog team a shot with these st…

UPSET SPECIAL Give your underdog team a shot with these strategies.

Nearly every coach has entered a game week knowing that the only people picking his team to win are on his staff or inside his own locker room.These situations can be an opportunity to galvanize a team by instilling an us-against-them world mentality; freeing the underdogs to play loose and pulling off an upset.No one knows that more than George O’Leary, the head coach at the University of Central Florida. The Knights pulled off the biggest upset in BCS history by beating Baylor in last January’s Fiesta Bowl, 52-42. A 17-point underdog, UCF, under QB Blake Bortles, led the entire game to beat the Bears, who had the #1 ranked offense in the nation. “Our win was a great moment for our program, the players, coaches, fans and the school,” said O’Leary. “This kind of national exposure you can’t buy anywhere.”What are the keys to preparing your team to upset a favorite? Are

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