lets play the "who do we want to win the other PAC games"

[oc_ute]

for purposes of this… assume we beat Cal

UW @ SC – we still play them both so i guess we root for UW since it strengthens our South position?

OSU @ UA – same as above so OSU?

Wazzu @ UO – root for O since it strengthens our resume. this is the only one i’m sure of.

Colo @ ASU – i have no clue on this one. i guess since ASU is next for us, it’s better for us to play a more highly regarded ASU team? i really have a hard time rooting for the forks GAAAG.

• This topic was modified 8 years, 6 months ago by oc_ute.

[GadValleyUte]

I was working on some rules I was going to adopt. Then it got too complicated.
TLDR version:
My rooting order based on results so far goes: Utah >>>>> Stanford > [O, Cal, UW, and OSU in no clear order yet] > USC > ASU > UCLA > UA > CU > WSU

I got there by asking this question
Is it better to have played in and won a clearly dominant south division with all south teams doing really well against the north or to play another contender to play in the NC playoffs in a CCG?

If playing in and winning the clearly better division is more important then we always root for south over north and then expect things to sort themselves in south division play followed by a dominant performance in the CCG.

However it seems more likely Stanford is shaping up as the class of the North and has beaten 2 south division opponents already so the above scenario seems kind of unlikely. And since we don’t play them in regular season play we root for them to win beat everyone else with the hope teams we have played and beat come in 2-5 up north in no real particular order (seems very possible). That way we have played a respectable schedule and even if we drop a game or 2 in conference we play a strong team in the CCG which could boost us into consideration for the NC playoff.

[Texasute]

I go by historical hatred from the 70s. Can never choose either Arizona team.

[AltaUte]

I will be cheering for teams based on how it will help us accomplish the following items:
1- Win the conference (that happens by winning the south so more losses our southern foes is better for us)
2- Stay highly ranked (that happens by higher ranked teams beating lower ranked teams… upsets are not good for the conference as a whole.
3- Make the playoff (This only happens if we have a combined result from 1 & 2)

This week here is who I will want to win:
UW > SC (SC is the strongest competition right now for the south title so rule 1 beats rule 2)
UA > OSU (I don’t think Arizona will contend for the south so rule 2 beats rule 1)
UO > WAZZU (more ranked teams in the conference, and it strengthens our schedule)
Col > ASU (ASU is more of a threat right now for the south title so rule 1 beats rule 2)

[Anonymous]

If Utah wins the PAC12 with one loss they will be in the playoff. Two losses would be NY6 for sure possible playoff maybe depending on things.

I want USC to win everything until Utah plays them. fUCLA won’t make it I believe. I always want Arizona schools to lose.

[RedLine]

If Utah and SC keep winning until our match up I think we’ll get our second ESPN College game day appearance in the same season.

[Matthew Thomas Castleton]

Could be possible. Except it would be at USC obviously. That happens to a lot of teams actually, especially when you’re in a Power Conference. It happens to teams like Alabama all the time.

[jrj84105]

Rules:
1) Out of conference games (USC/Furd vs ND): Root for the PAC school.
2) Cross division games: Root for the the North Division school.
3) North division games: Root for Oregon; they’re our marquis win. The rest are sort of minimally relevant.
4) South division games: Root for the bottom teams in the standings: CU > UA > ASU > UCLA > USC.

[oc_ute]

like your logic. i’m all in except #4. in general, i think it’s correct but…. for example wouldn’t it be better if we beat a USC team on the road that has only one loss going in? would probably put us atop the polls if that means anything at that point.

[leftyjace]

Dude. The thread is about who we want to win in OTHER Pac-12 games… not the ones we play.

By default we want the Utes to win all games.

At least, I sure hope so.

EDIT:
OK, I misread your post.
I see what you’re saying.

I can understand that logic IF and ONLY IF we are reasonably assured a victory (like against Colorado, and even that is sketchy).

• This reply was modified 8 years, 6 months ago by leftyjace.

[FormerUteSax]

I disagree with #2. In cross divisional games I don’t think you should root for Stanford or WSU. We don’t play them this year so them winning does nothing for us.

[Irwin_M_Fletcher]

Stanford beating USC and UCLA definitely helps us, not in the rankings or polls, but helps us to win the south. A nice ranking doesn’t mean as much if we lose out on a south division title by one game. By the same token if WSU can upset UCLA or ASU it again helps us win the south, which I would think would be our main goal at this point.

[leftyjace]

Um, you’re kidding, right?

Any South team that loses a game is a good thing, as it increases our odds of having the best PAC-12 record in the South. In other words, it makes it so we have a higher likelihood of making the PAC-12 championship game at least.

EDIT: I’m a dork and just saw the post above this one. Carry on, carry on…

• This reply was modified 8 years, 6 months ago by leftyjace.

[jrj84105]

I hate to break this news given our recent ascendancy in the polls, but the polls don’t matter anymore- at least not for the PAC.

The CFP selection criteria state that the first criteria for selection is “championships won” and set a very high bar for selecting a non-champion such that a “non-champion or independent is unequivocally one of the four best teams in the country”. That means that 4/5 P5 champs will be in the CFP every year. I think 2014 will be a rare instance where a possibly deserving school (TCU/Baylor) is excluded and where there is some contention around the selection committee poll. This was made possible by having zero upsets in the conference championship games (CCG). Most years, there will be at least one CCG upset which will eliminate one conference in a less controversial fashion. Basically, all we need to do is win the conference to be in.

College football fans are going to have to adjust to watching the conference standings instead of the polls.

[palos_verdes_ute]

Actually, we couldn’t ask for a better played out situation then what really happened; ‘furd beats usc, usc beats asu, asu beats ucla, and arizona falls apart. i don’t think it really matters now. we just need to control what’s on our plate. the gods have been nice.

[jrj84105]

Scheduling a strong OOC opponent really helps too (Baylor knows this). Michigan is doing all the SOS lifting that we need. The PAC has shown well enough OOC (pending the ND games) that it doesn’t matter if USC or ASU or UCLA pick up additional in conference losses. We just need to win the division (still a very tall order) and the rest will take care of itself.