SEC ROOTING GUIDE

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

There aren’t too many games with significant playoff implications this weekend. Starting next week, we’ll see some marquee national matchups every Saturday. But the biggest one this week took place Thursday night (see below). Still, SEC fans can back a few feisty underdogs in hopes of knocking off some power conference elites Saturday.

UCLA at Arizona State: This ship has sailed. UCLA (4-0, 1-0) resembled an explosive Top 10 team for the first time all season. Luckily for SEC fans, the outcome may be favorable, contrary to most logic. Arizona State QB Taylor Kelly missed the game due to injury. UCLA faces an unenviable schedule, including Oregon in two weeks. The Sun Devils also have a tough go, but beating the Bruins would put them on top of the Pac-12 South with a chance to avoid the Ducks until the conference championship game. UCLA may have eliminated ASU from the playoff discussion only to get taken out by Oregon in two weeks.

Florida State at N.C. State: This is a stretch. Yes, the Seminoles lost, 17-16, at North Carolina State in 2012 in a shocker. FSU also lost at N.C. State in 2010. Then there’s the weakened defense and the Seminoles’ relative struggles on offense, particularly with Jameis Winston out last week. But Winston is back, and the Wolfpack, despite entering at 4-0, faced a non-conference schedule of Georgia Southern, Old Dominion, South Florida and Presbyterian. SEC fans would love to see Winston and company topple, but it’s unlikely FSU goes down as a three-score road favorite this weekend.

Stanford at Washington: The Huskies are unbeaten, but have struggled against lesser competition. The Cardinal already have absorbed a loss, but are a perpetual thorn in Oregon’s side. If “West Coast SEC team” Stanford can beat the Ducks for a third consecutive year, it likely would vault David Shaw’s team into immediate College Football Playoff consideration. If Chris Petersen and Washington can preemptively knock out Stanford here, the Cardinal then could take down Oregon with no adverse repercussions for the SEC.

Cincinnati at Ohio State: The Big Ten rallied last week with some impressive wins against other power conference teams. Michigan State, Nebraska and Ohio State are in good position to crawl back into the College Football Playoff discussion late in the year, provided they keep winning. Cincinnati is feisty on offense, especially with QB Gunner Kiel’s long-anticipated college debut. Ohio State’s got a relatively tame schedule the rest of the season with the exception of Nov. 8 at Michigan State. SEC fans would love to see Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes officially eliminated before October.