Never underestimate a college football players' motivation when it comes time to represent.
Playing in front of a hometown crowd or against an opponent from your hometown, very big deal indeed.
Consider: SMU's upset over No. 11 Houston was keyed by Houston connections. Quarterback Ben Hicks, from Waco Midway, and running back Braeden West, from Katy, a Houston suburb, are former Houston commits. Both bailed after UH hired Tom Herman, choosing instead to be on the ground floor of Chad Morris' rebuilding project on the Hilltop.
Hicks (228 yards passing/12 rushing) and West (115 rushing/18 receiving) combined for 373 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns.