Bowl season is right around the corner, and, as per usual, the SEC will fill a number of different bowl slots. Ten SEC teams became bowl-eligible this season, including the entire SEC West along with Florida, Tennessee and Georgia.
Barring an upset this weekend, Alabama looks as if it will be returning to the college football playoff, likely as the two or three seed playing in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
The SEC will get a second team into an access bowl this year, and it will either be Florida or Ole Miss. It could potentially get a little bit complicated depending on what happens with the rankings set tomorrow night. Whichever team is ranked higher come Sunday will be in line to fill the access slot in The Sugar Bowl, and with Florida coming off of a loss to Florida State and Ole Miss drubbing Mississippi State this weekend, many think that the Rebels will jump the Gators in this week’s rankings. Though this outcome is not guaranteed, Florida losing to Alabama this weekend would also help the Rebels’ chances of heading to New Orleans on New Year’s Eve. The alternative would be a berth in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. While this process is somewhat complicated, Ole Miss is either heading to New Orleans or Orlando.
Looking further down the line, Georgia looks pretty set for a date with a Big Ten team in the Music City Bowl. Penn State looks like the Bulldogs’ most likely opponent.
LSU and Mississippi State appear to be in a toss up between the TaxSlayer Bowl and Belk Bowl, and based on the way each team is trending, I would give the nod to LSU for the TaxSlayer Bowl and the Bulldogs for the Belk Bowl spot. Arkansas is also a possible candidate for the Belk Bowl. If Arkansas gets the invitation, Mississippi State would end up in the Liberty Bowl against a Big 12 team— likely Texas Tech or Kansas State.
Texas A&M will likely end up in the Texas Bowl against whichever Big 12 team doesn’t play in the Liberty Bowl. Tennessee will be heading to the Outback Bowl and will most likely be playing Northwestern. At 6-6, Auburn looks like a lock for a Birmingham Bowl match up against Memphis to round out the SEC teams that are bowl eligible.
It’s been a strange year in college football, and with so many bowls and not enough teams eligible to fill the slots, you could potentially see some five-win teams accept a bowl bid. The only SEC team this would apply to is Missouri, who would likely land in the Independence Bowl, giving the SEC’s 11 teams playing in bowl games.
Given these projections, here are some things to look for this bowl season.
Biggest storyline: I think nationwide, it has to be the SEC. After a poor bowl showing last season, the SEC’s ego took a hit, so to speak, and is no longer viewed as the far and away toughest conference in college football. Does the SEC rebound this year, and reclaim its place as the best conference in America? Or does it stumble and continue to prove that parody in college football is more evident now than ever before?
Biggest mismatch: If these projections hold true, it’s got to be Auburn against Memphis. The Tigers have struggled this year after being the preseason favorite to win SEC, and a matchup against Paxton Lynch and the explosive offense of Memphis could send them into the offseason with a 6-7 record.
Best Matchup: TCU beat Baylor this past weekend, and should get the nod over the Bears to play in the Sugar Bowl. If everything goes accordingly in the SEC, you could potentially see a New Year’s Eve rematch between Ole Miss and TCU. Trevone Boykin will have a month to get healthy and face a revenge-seeking Ole Miss defense. This potential matchup could have the making for an outstanding football game.
Predictions
College Football Playoff: Alabama
Sugar Bowl: Ole Miss
Citrus Bowl: Florida
Outback Bowl: Tennessee
Gator Bowl: LSU
Music City Bowl: Georgia
Belk Bowl: Arkansas
Liberty Bowl: Mississippi State
Texas Bowl: Texas A&M
BBVA Compass Bowl: Auburn
