Florida State Football Fan Rooting Guide: Conference Championship Week

Every week we take a look at what results from across the country Florida State football fans should be rooting for. After absolutely embarrassing the #EverythingSchool #SafetySchool 27-2 in the Swamp last weekend, the 'Noles have finished the 2015 regular season campaign with a 10-2 record and now will wait to see where they'll end up for bowl season. With it being conference championship week and with Florida State likely headed to a NY6 bowl (if Clemson beats UNC on Saturday, that is), we'll take a look at who Seminole fans should be rooting for this weekend in order to solidify FSU's New Year's bowl destination.

American Athletic Conference Championship: #22 Temple at #19 Houston, 12 p.m., ABC

Houston. In case we get an FSU vs. AAC champion matchup in a NY6 bowl, I feel like a game against Houston would be much more entertaining than a game against Temple, and Houston would also be a higher ranked opponent in that scenario. Maybe that's just a personal preference, but a Peach Bowl against Temple would be ho-hum.

Texas at #12 Baylor, 12 p.m., ESPN

Texas. No, this game isn't the Big XII conference championship game. It's just an ordinary Big XII regular season game because the inaptly-named Big XII only has 10 members and therefore doesn't play a conference championship game. (By the way, the Big XII's slogan is: "We decide our champion on the field." First off, no, you really don't, and second, are you implying that the other major four conferences with championship games somehow don't decide their champion on the field? Help me understand your shenanigans, Big XII!) I have no reason to pull for Texas other than the fact that this game doesn't really matter, I like rooting for underdogs on occasion, and I love watching Art Briles lose. Did anybody else notice those drunk TCU frat guys harass him on the field last week after their loss? It was awesome. I want to see more of that.

Southeastern Conference Championship: #18 Florida vs. #2 Alabama, 4 p.m., CBS

Alabama. I hope Alabama beats Florida 42-7 via six touchdown passes from Jacob Jake Coker and a very average day from Derrick Henry. I also hope UF scores at least 7 points (on its own) against Alabama. I know that's a very specific thing to root for, but there's a method to the madness because: (1) That would make FSU's 27-2 defensive masterpiece last weekend even more impressive; (2) It would make FSU alumnus Jake Coker look impressive throttling the Gators; (3) It would mean that Derrick Henry won't run wild against UF like Dalvin did last weekend, indirectly helping Dalvin's Heisman chances; and (4) Best of all, it would mean we get to enjoy watching the Gators get embarrassed again in front of the entire country. I know an Alabama loss would probably mean the SEC would get left out of the playoffs, but we wouldn't want to deal with Paul Finebaum and Todd McShay whining about having a conference champion who should've lost to Florida Atlantic getting left out of the playoff.

Enjoy getting your teeth kicked in this weekend, Gators, and good luck in the Citrus Bowl.

Pac-12 Conference Championship: #20 USC vs. #7 Stanford, 7:45 p.m., ESPN

USC. A Trojan win could help FSU creep up ever-closer to the Top 5 because Stanford is ranked two spots ahead of FSU in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. Furthermore, some people apparently believe that Christian McCaffrey is Heisman competition for Dalvin, so a Stanford loss would certainly be helpful to the 'Noles for those reasons.

Big Ten Conference Championship: #5 Michigan State vs. #4 Iowa, 8 p.m., FOX

This one is a toss up to me personally, and it really doesn't affect FSU's NY6 chances (although it might potentially affect FSU's NY6 opponent depending on whether the loser of this game falls behind Ohio State in the CFP rankings). A second loss for Michigan State could potentially knock them behind FSU in the rankings, although the committee wasn't too keen last year on punishing teams for losing conference championship games. Iowa just beat FSU in basketball on Wednesday night, and it would be a shame for Sparty's kicker's awesome celebration after putting the dagger in Urban to go to waste, so I'll pull for Michigan State.  Feel free to tell me otherwise in the comments below.

Atlantic Coast Conference Championship: #10 North Carolina vs. #1 Clemson, 8 p.m., ABC

Clemson. FSU's NY6 bowl hopes ride almost entirely on a Clemson win Saturday night in Charlotte. A North Carolina upset would probably send FSU to the Russell Athletic or TaxSlayer Bowl due to the conference tie-ins and at-large bids associated with the bowls. I think UNC will give Clemson a close game for a half, maybe three quarters, but I expect Clemson to pull it out.

Finally, don't say goodbye to the rooting guides quite yet...we'll do at least one more for bowl season. Go 'Noles!