Here we are - Halfway through the season, sitting in the Top 16 at 5-1 and nearly controlling our own destiny for a national championship. There are some big games this week, so I thought it was time to break out the SPS Official Cheering Guide, a little early.
What I am going for here is an SEC West Championship. Once you get there, the path is easy. That loss to LSU hurts, but not as bad as you might think. At this point, we need any LSU loss (and they still have plenty of possibilities) to be in the Control Our Own Destiny category. But this cheering guide is playing it safe. Let's forget about LSU for a second and play the what if:
What if:
We beat Kentucky, Auburn and ETSU
and win 2 of 3 against Alabama, Georgia and Ole Miss.
Obviously, beating Alabama and Ole Miss would be the best route to get to Atlanta, but its not the only one. Here's a handy guide to this week's games that would help give us more options.
Tennessee over Alabama
We don't play Tennessee, so a Vol win doesn't hurt us at all. An Alabama loss helps us tremendously. "But 615, we play Alabama next week we don't want them to be mad." Horseshit. Alabama losing helps us way more.
Auburn over Ole Miss
Another obvious one. We can still take care of business against Auburn. Ole Miss needs to go ahead and drop a game. There are some trends that favor Ole Miss if we were to get into a three way tiebreak situation.
Florida over LSU
We could go ahead and get the LSU situation fixed this weekend. LSU is talented enough to challenge other teams in upcoming weeks. It would be nice to go ahead and have them lose again so we can cheer for them if we need them in the future.
Combined with a State win over Kentucky, those three results would have us in first place in the SEC West, controlling our own destiny headed into the final five games of the season.
If national rankings are important to you, here are some national games that could help us rise next week:
North Carolina State v. Syracuse
NC State is 15, Undefeated Syracuse is 17. We are 16 Conventional wisdom says this game really doesn't matter. If Syracuse wins, they might jump us, but we won't pass NC State if the Pack wins. Cheer for the Orange
TCU vs. Oklahoma State
Battle of Big XII unbeaten. Cheer for the Pokes.
Oregon vs. UCLA
The reverse of NC State-Syracuse. No matter who wins this game, we will jump the loser.
Michigan vs. Penn State
A Michigan win will drop the Nittany Lions from the unbeatens. And we should be able to climb ahead.
Get an Auburn win over Ole Miss and we could climb 4-5 spots this week.
What I am going for here is an SEC West Championship. Once you get there, the path is easy. That loss to LSU hurts, but not as bad as you might think. At this point, we need any LSU loss (and they still have plenty of possibilities) to be in the Control Our Own Destiny category. But this cheering guide is playing it safe. Let's forget about LSU for a second and play the what if:
What if:
We beat Kentucky, Auburn and ETSU
and win 2 of 3 against Alabama, Georgia and Ole Miss.
Obviously, beating Alabama and Ole Miss would be the best route to get to Atlanta, but its not the only one. Here's a handy guide to this week's games that would help give us more options.
Tennessee over Alabama
We don't play Tennessee, so a Vol win doesn't hurt us at all. An Alabama loss helps us tremendously. "But 615, we play Alabama next week we don't want them to be mad." Horseshit. Alabama losing helps us way more.
Auburn over Ole Miss
Another obvious one. We can still take care of business against Auburn. Ole Miss needs to go ahead and drop a game. There are some trends that favor Ole Miss if we were to get into a three way tiebreak situation.
Florida over LSU
We could go ahead and get the LSU situation fixed this weekend. LSU is talented enough to challenge other teams in upcoming weeks. It would be nice to go ahead and have them lose again so we can cheer for them if we need them in the future.
Combined with a State win over Kentucky, those three results would have us in first place in the SEC West, controlling our own destiny headed into the final five games of the season.
If national rankings are important to you, here are some national games that could help us rise next week:
North Carolina State v. Syracuse
NC State is 15, Undefeated Syracuse is 17. We are 16 Conventional wisdom says this game really doesn't matter. If Syracuse wins, they might jump us, but we won't pass NC State if the Pack wins. Cheer for the Orange
TCU vs. Oklahoma State
Battle of Big XII unbeaten. Cheer for the Pokes.
Oregon vs. UCLA
The reverse of NC State-Syracuse. No matter who wins this game, we will jump the loser.
Michigan vs. Penn State
A Michigan win will drop the Nittany Lions from the unbeatens. And we should be able to climb ahead.
Get an Auburn win over Ole Miss and we could climb 4-5 spots this week.
