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SEC ROOTING GUIDE
In which we tell you which teams you should root against in the upcoming week.
So close, yet so far.
Doesn’t it feel that way looking at the current College Football Playoff picture? Just three regular-season weeks remain in most power conferences, but there’s so much left undecided.
Six FBS teams remain unbeaten heading into this week’s games. This also is the tricky part of the season where there almost always are unexpected upsets. SEC fans, especially those that root for Alabama, Florida and even LSU, can cheer for those to happen in the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12.
The latter, though, will get the spotlight this week among those hoping for upsets.
Here are the Week 11 teams that SEC fans should root against.
Oregon at Stanford (7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday): The Pac-12’s College Football Playoff hopes could hinge on 1) Stanford winning out, including a game against Notre Dame and the conference title game, or 2) Utah winning out and getting a lot of help. The SEC is a long way from discussing the potential for two teams in this year’s playoff. And a one-loss Alabama — probably even a one-loss Florida — is getting into the playoff ahead of a one-loss Pac-12 champ. A Cardinal loss here in this annually-entertaining matchup would land the Pac-12 on the precipice of playoff exclusion.
Oklahoma at Baylor (8 p.m. ET, Saturday): The November round robin in the Big 12 is just beginning. This game would eliminate Oklahoma in case of a Baylor win, and would make it very, very tough on the Bears in case of a Baylor loss. The Sooners are just a 2.5-point underdog here. Tennessee nearly beat OU at home earlier this season. SEC fans love to see a Bob Stoops-coached team fail, but if the Sooners were to make the playoff, a team like Alabama or Florida would have to feel confident with that matchup.
Minnesota at Iowa (8 p.m. ET, Saturday): The most disrespected, joked-about unbeaten power-conference team in the country, even though they’re ranked ahead of Oklahoma State in the selection committee poll, Iowa nonetheless has wedged itself into the College Football Playoff conversation. Win out and the Hawkeyes are in. An Ohio State-Iowa Big Ten title game, should both teams avoid a stumble, would guarantee the conference entry into the four-team bracket. Those dreams would get bruised if Minnesota, without coach Jerry Kill, could pull off this upset. If that happens, expect a bunch of “Iowa exposed” headlines. No matter: the Hawkeyes are a good football team.
Utah at Arizona (10 p.m. ET, Saturday): The Utes face a ranked UCLA team next week and then host Colorado. But it’s looking more and more likely that this team will represent the Pac-12 South in the championship against Stanford. Still, wouldn’t it be fun to see the Pac-12 implode this weekend and get left without a seat at the table come December? An Arizona win here in #pac12afterdark could help accomplish that dream.
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
