Below is the Week 11 Bruin Rooting Guide. We will rank the games in order of importance for Bruin fans – from least important to most important to the game of the week. 3 game win streak and there is hope for a bowl. We get a bye before we take on arguably the most complete team in the conference in Salt Lake City. During our break, here are the games to watch.
Byes: Arizona, Utah, Oregon
San Diego St vs Nevada
The Aztecs are coming off a bye and after battling against UNLV, we feel they are a tad bit overrated by the AP voters. Hopefully, they prove us wrong by beating an inconsistent Nevada team who is hungry for bowl eligibility. We expect this to be a close one, but ultimately SDSU will pull it out at home. The more they win this season, the more Bruin fans will forgive Kelly for that loss (I still won’t).
#20 Cincinnati vs UConn
Cincinnati escaped a very pass-happy East Carolina team last Saturday and with SMU losing, they’re now the highest ranked G5 team with a decent shot to make a New Year’s Six Bowl. Tomorrow’s game against UConn should be a nice rest for them.
#9 Oklahoma vs Iowa State
Oklahoma needed a break after their playoff chances took a missile in Manhattan, KS. They got their bye and come back to a feisty Cyclone team which isn’t a layup. We wanted an upset in Week 9 against the Sooners and we got one. Now that Oregon and Utah has leaped OU in the CFP race, we’re switching our rooting interests back to Sooners winning out. Boomer Sooner!
Oregon State vs Washington
Oregon State has exceeded everyone’s expectations to be at .500 in November with a chance at bowl eligibility. Nevertheless, their toughest stretch awaits them as they face a Washington team that has no business being 5-4. To add to it, this game is especially important for OSU HC Smith who was hired away from Seattle. We’re rooting for the Beavers to add on to the Huskies’ losing streak tonight.
Colorado vs Stanford
Two teams that have been victims of our mid-season resurgence will take each on in Folsom. The Buffs are one game away from disqualified from the bowls and Stanford is attempting to salvage their season by at least winning 7 to 8 games. Given it is Tucker’s first year in Colorado and they don’t look good all-around, we’re rooting for Shaw to build on their win against Arizona two weeks ago. Beating a decent Stanford team is better than beating a Colorado team which will lose to Utah anyways and not reach a bowl game.
Cal vs Washington St
In the battle of the .500s, we have two teams that started the season strong only to fall off. Both teams coming off a bye (thanks to better scheduling by the Pac-12), it’ll be interesting to see one the better defenses face off against Leach’s air raid. Cal only loss by 6 points last year against a better Cougar team, but Wazzu should be favored easily unless Garbers miraculously is playing. We’re looking for Cal to win this one at home so they can at least be bowl eligible by the time to come to the Rose Bowl on Week 14.
GOTW: Arizona State vs USC
Game Of The Week includes our rival once for the 2nd time this year. There isn’t a scouting game this week given Utah is also on a bye, so this will serve as such to get an idea of how USC plays a common opponent. ASU has stalled a bit after the whooping they took against Utah and yours truly. Two hungry teams playing for coaches with polar opposite seat temperatures, it’ll it be hilariously ironic if this is the game that ends the Helton era. Cue the Lane Kiffin gif. Oh yeah, if it wasn’t clear, we want the Sun Devils to put the Trojans on the brink.
Order of the games (PST) | Rooting Interest
Our game: Bye
- Arizona St vs USC – 12:30 PM on ABC | ASU W
- Cal vs Washington – 4 PM on P12N | Cal W
- Colorado vs Stanford – 12 PM on P12N | Stanford W
- Oregon St vs Washington – 7:30 PM on ESPN 2 | OSU W
- #9 Oklahoma vs Iowa St – 5 PM on FOX | OU W
- #20 Cincinatti vs UConn – 12:30 PM on CBSSN | Cincy W
- San Diego St vs Nevada – 7:30 PM on ESPN | SDSU W
Byes: Arizona, Utah, Oregon
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