SEC ROOTING GUIDE
In which we tell you which teams you should root against in the upcoming week.
We’ll know the four playoff teams as well as all the bowl pairings on Sunday, but which teams do we want to lose between now and then?
Arizona vs. Oregon: The Wildcats already have soiled the Ducks’ season once this year — in Eugene, Ore., no less. Rich Rodriguez deserves tremendous respect for what he’s accomplished at Arizona, including winning the Pac-12 South this season and back-to-back wins against Oregon. But can RichRod pull off a third consecutive win against Marcus Mariota? Stud freshmen in RB Nick and QB Anu Solomon would be off to a hell of a start if they can outscore an offense that’s been electric in the second half of the season. A Ducks loss probably knocks them out of the College Football Playoff, which eliminates a dangerous team from the SEC’s path.
Georgia Tech vs. Florida State: How anticlimactic would it be if the Seminoles went unbeaten for all of 2013 and 2014, only to fall to the Yellow Jackets in the ACC championship and fail to make the College Football Playoff? It’s a definite possibility, especially if Jameis Winston continues to throw interceptions in bunches. Georgia Tech doesn’t have the same athletes, but when the triple-option offense is executed properly and there isn’t much time to prepare, it’s hard to defend. Alabama wouldn’t mind a matchup with FSU in the semifinals, but playing Ohio State would be even better.
Kansas State at Baylor: To continue that discussion, Alabama would rather face FSU or Ohio State than Baylor, which has the up-tempo, high-flying passing game to exploit the Tide’s defense. Not to say that the Bears would win, but Alabama definitely would prefer to avoid needing to go through two of those teams — say, TCU and Oregon. Not that it’ll make a huge difference in any practical way at this point, but Auburn beat Kansas State on the road. So that’s a better win if KSU finishes with two losses. It doesn’t seem likely that Baylor would leapfrog both TCU and Ohio State simply by beating Kansas State, but that’s at least a possibility.
Wisconsin vs. Ohio State: Yes, J.T. Barrett is out, and he could be a Top 5 finisher in the Heisman Trophy voting. But this Badgers team is pretty limited on offense. If the Buckeyes can hold Melvin Gordon under, say, 150 rushing yards, Wisconsin may not be able to throw the ball effectively enough to score points. The Badgers defensive line is beastly, but the Buckeyes have some terrific skill players. As mentioned previously, Alabama may want Ohio State to win and hope it sneaks into that No. 4 spot.
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.
