SEC ROOTING GUIDE

In which we tell you which teams you should root against in the upcoming week.

If you’re looking for a potential upset-filled weekend that single-handedly cripples a conference’s chances at the College Football Playoff, Week 6 presents a strong opportunity.

Florida State and Clemson are the only two unbeaten ACC teams. The Seminoles and Tigers face each other in early November with conference supremacy at stake. Due to a weak conference schedule, right now the feeling is that only one ACC team has a real chance to make the College Football Playoff — the winner of that game.

But what if both teams enter that weekend with one loss? The ACC very well could feature a one-loss champion that gets left out of the playoff. And this weekend could be the cause.

Here are the teams that SEC fans should root against in Week 6.

Georgia Tech at Clemson (3:30 p.m. ET, Saturday): The season hasn’t gone as planned for the Yellow Jackets. But this is a program that was ranked just two weeks ago, and at one point in September slotted at No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25. Georgia Tech’s offense is scoring 41.4 points per game, as the team still is effective with the triple-option. A one-touchdown underdog on the road, the Yellow Jackets have an opportunity to send the ACC into a tizzy by handing Clemson its first loss.

TCU at Kansas State (7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday): The Wildcats aren’t built in a way that would suggest them as the team to take down the Horned Frogs. TCU’s offense, one figures, is going to score in bunches against everyone. So a more likely upset candidate is a team like Texas Tech, whose weakness doesn’t mean much against TCU (again, that team is going to score anyway) and who can fight back and get into a shootout. Still, Kansas State allows just 18.0 points per game and always is a solid, well-coached team. If the Horned Frogs fail to play at least a B+ game, expect this one to come down to a fourth-quarter possession or two.

Miami at Florida State (8 p.m. ET, Saturday): How huge would it be for the SEC, and the other power conferences, if the only two ACC teams even registering on the national radar each lost on Saturday? Before playing each other (Nov. 7)? It’s an unlikely yet plausible scenario. Florida State’s best offensive player, Dalvin Cook, is dealing with a hamstring injury. Much-maligned coach Al Golden is trying to fight his way out of a potential end-of-season firing. FSU hasn’t played anyone decent to this point and still has struggled. So perhaps Miami can take down one of the ACC’s frontrunners.

Cal at Utah (10 p.m. ET, Saturday): The Pac-12 round robin continues this week with a huge game in Salt Lake City, Utah. After thrashing Oregon, the Utes are the highest-ranked team in the conference and thus far in the mix for College Football Playoff contention. Utah is most effective running the ball, while Jared Goff and Cal unleash one of the most potent pass offenses in college football. Don’t be shocked if we get one of those dramatic, late-night Pac-12 finishes here. But the SEC would like to see Utah fall and more churning within the already-chaotic Pac-12.