Notre Dame Football: The Second Half Rooting Guide

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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 29: Head coach P.J. Fleck of the Minnesota Gophers thanks the band and student section after the game against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on August 29, 2018 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Gophers defeated the Jackrabbits 28-21. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Pick your spots rooting for or against…

Minnesota Golden Gophers: PJ Fleck and the Golden Gophers continue to improve every week. They’re quietly undefeated and have some big games left. The odds of Minnesota going to the Playoff are extremely slim, but if they were to be an undefeated Big 10 Champion, they’d be hard to overlook, considering that’d more than likely have to get a huge upset victory over Ohio State

That’s why you should pick your spots. Let them have their wins over Rutgers and Maryland. Personally, I’d love to see College Gameday at Minnesota in a battle of unbeatens against Penn State. The following week, they play at a team mentioned earlier, Iowa. This is a game you’d want to see Iowa win. In the finale, they play Wisconsin, which could be a flip game depending on how the Badgers do the rest of the season.

Arizona State Sun Devils: At 5-1, Arizona State is hot, but you don’t want them getting too hot. With games against Utah, USC, Oregon and Arizona left, it’s hard to see the Sun Devils winning the division at 6-1. But one loss out of that bunch, giving them two losses, would be a good thing. Arizona is probably the game you’d want them to lose. A win over Utah would give the Utes their second loss. A loss to USC may not matter in the long run either, but it’s always fun for Irish fans to see the Trojans lose.

This especially holds true if one of those wins comes against Oregon, giving them their second loss. It’s been proven that the Pac-12 can easily be left out of the College Football Playoff, but Arizona State holds the power to make it a little easier for the selection committee.

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