My Latest SEC Bowl Projections Sure To Come True
posted by Scott Hood, Sunday, November 29, 2009
Oh yeah, the next seven days are going to be fun trying to figure out the different bowl scenarios and who is going where.
No question, Saturday’s somewhat surprising results changed the landscape of where certain teams will go for the holidays.
The 41-27 loss incurred by Ole Miss to Egg Bowl rival Miss. State might have been the biggest shock of the day followed closely behind by Georgia’s upset of Peach State rival Georgia Tech on Saturday night in Atlanta.
Besides USC thumping Clemson, Tennessee outlasted Kentucky in OT (30-24), while LSU did the same to Arkansas in Baton Rouge (33-30) when the Razorbacks kicker missed a makeable field goal in the extra session.
Only three teams will finish with nine or more wins, a testament to the league’s parity and the main reason it’s regarded by most college football pundits as the top conference in the country.
Based on Saturday’s results, here’s how I believe the SEC wins ladder will look following Saturday’s SEC Championship game in Atlanta:
13 Wins: Alabama (SEC Champions)
12 Wins: Florida
10 Wins: None
9 Wins: LSU
8 Wins: Ole Miss
7 Wins: USC, Auburn, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee;
6 Wins: None
Eliminated: Mississippi State, Vanderbilt.
Alabama will probably face Texas in the national championship game, while Florida will have to settle for the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
The loss by Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl should cost the Rebels dearly. A win over Miss. State could have locked up a berth in the Capital One Bowl, but now it looks like LSU will take that spot since they have one more win. Their Big 10 opponent could be Penn State.
Ole Miss should be destined for a second consecutive trip to the Cotton Bowl. This time, though, they get to play in the Cowboys’ new $1.5 billion stadium.
I predicted last week that the winner of the Tennessee-Kentucky game would wind up as the SEC representative in the Outback Bowl and I’ll stand by that. The Vols and their large fan base go to Tampa.
The first five spots are fairly easy to fill. After that, it gets more perplexing.
The next bowl to pick (No. 5 in the SEC pecking order) is the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta. At this point, the following teams are left: USC, Georgia, Kentucky, Auburn and Arkansas.
Prior to Saturday night’s upset of Georgia Tech, Georgia was thought to be headed to one of the lower tiered bowl games with a 6-6 record. But the Bulldogs salvaged their season with the 30-24 win over the Yellow Jackets.
Local politics being what they are, you know Chick-fil-A Bowl officials will be under enormous pressure to take the home state team. Will they succumb to the pressure? Yes. They can argue that Georgia is the most worthy team because they beat USC, Auburn and Arkansas in head-to-head matchups this season.
Which ACC team will they face? Possibly Clemson if the Tigers fall to Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship game. Virginia Tech is a possibility as well, though UGA and VT met in the Chick-fil-A Bowl a couple of years ago.
With so many seven-win teams, is there a chance USC might not see a significant – if any – upgrade in their bowl prospects? Yes. However, as a result of their huge win over Clemson, the Gamecocks should be considered one of the front-runners for the Music City Bowl, which picks next along with the Liberty Bowl in Memphis.
The biggest drawback about playing in Nashville is the date of the game. The MCB is set for Dec. 27 – only two days after Christmas - in prime time (8:15 p.m. ET kickoff). Yes, it will be cold. Will thousands of Gamecock fans travel to Nashville since it falls so closely behind arguably the biggest holiday of the year?
I say yes if the opponent is attractive - either North Carolina (8-4) or possibly Miami (9-3). Would playing Boston College (8-4) get USC fans excited? Hardly.
But USC fans shouldn't take anything for granted with so many 7-win SEC teams available. The Gamecocks could just as easily fall to Shreveport or Birmingham based on the financial whims of bowl officials or how the all-important political winds are blowing.
The Liberty Bowl would love to have Arkansas in their game. The city of Memphis borders the Razorback State, so they’re hoping thousands of Arky fans stream across the state line to spend a few days in Tennessee.
If, as I predict, USC lands in Nashville against a favorable ACC opponent, that leaves two teams for the Independence and Papajohn.com Bowls – Auburn and Kentucky. The choice for bowl officials in Shreveport is easy – Auburn.
The biggest loser from Saturday? Kentucky. The Wildcats could have secured a spot in the Outback Bowl with a win over Tennessee but lost in overtime to the Vols for the second straight time in Lexington. Now they’re relegated to the bottom bowl on the SEC tier. Kentucky fans will, I’m sure, have loads of fun in Birmingham.
Right now, here’s how I project bowl season lining up for the SEC:
BCS Championship Game: Alabama
Sugar (BCS): Florida
Capital One: LSU
Outback: Tennessee
Cotton: Ole Miss
Chick-Fil-A: Georgia
Music City: USC (v. North Carolina?)
Liberty: Arkansas
Independence: Auburn
Papajohns.com: Kentucky
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With six seven-win teams, the degree of difficulty of solving the SEC bowl picture might be exceeded only by the quest for peace in the Middle East.
Oh yeah, the next seven days are going to be fun trying to figure out the different bowl scenarios and who is going where.
No question, Saturday’s somewhat surprising results changed the landscape of where certain teams will go for the holidays.
The 41-27 loss incurred by Ole Miss to Egg Bowl rival Miss. State might have been the biggest shock of the day followed closely behind by Georgia’s upset of Peach State rival Georgia Tech on Saturday night in Atlanta.
Besides USC thumping Clemson, Tennessee outlasted Kentucky in OT (30-24), while LSU did the same to Arkansas in Baton Rouge (33-30) when the Razorbacks kicker missed a makeable field goal in the extra session.
Only three teams will finish with nine or more wins, a testament to the league’s parity and the main reason it’s regarded by most college football pundits as the top conference in the country.
Based on Saturday’s results, here’s how I believe the SEC wins ladder will look following Saturday’s SEC Championship game in Atlanta:
13 Wins: Alabama (SEC Champions)
12 Wins: Florida
10 Wins: None
9 Wins: LSU
8 Wins: Ole Miss
7 Wins: USC, Auburn, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee;
6 Wins: None
Eliminated: Mississippi State, Vanderbilt.
Alabama will probably face Texas in the national championship game, while Florida will have to settle for the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
The loss by Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl should cost the Rebels dearly. A win over Miss. State could have locked up a berth in the Capital One Bowl, but now it looks like LSU will take that spot since they have one more win. Their Big 10 opponent could be Penn State.
Ole Miss should be destined for a second consecutive trip to the Cotton Bowl. This time, though, they get to play in the Cowboys’ new $1.5 billion stadium.
I predicted last week that the winner of the Tennessee-Kentucky game would wind up as the SEC representative in the Outback Bowl and I’ll stand by that. The Vols and their large fan base go to Tampa.
The first five spots are fairly easy to fill. After that, it gets more perplexing.
The next bowl to pick (No. 5 in the SEC pecking order) is the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta. At this point, the following teams are left: USC, Georgia, Kentucky, Auburn and Arkansas.
Prior to Saturday night’s upset of Georgia Tech, Georgia was thought to be headed to one of the lower tiered bowl games with a 6-6 record. But the Bulldogs salvaged their season with the 30-24 win over the Yellow Jackets.
Local politics being what they are, you know Chick-fil-A Bowl officials will be under enormous pressure to take the home state team. Will they succumb to the pressure? Yes. They can argue that Georgia is the most worthy team because they beat USC, Auburn and Arkansas in head-to-head matchups this season.
Which ACC team will they face? Possibly Clemson if the Tigers fall to Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship game. Virginia Tech is a possibility as well, though UGA and VT met in the Chick-fil-A Bowl a couple of years ago.
With so many seven-win teams, is there a chance USC might not see a significant – if any – upgrade in their bowl prospects? Yes. However, as a result of their huge win over Clemson, the Gamecocks should be considered one of the front-runners for the Music City Bowl, which picks next along with the Liberty Bowl in Memphis.
The biggest drawback about playing in Nashville is the date of the game. The MCB is set for Dec. 27 – only two days after Christmas - in prime time (8:15 p.m. ET kickoff). Yes, it will be cold. Will thousands of Gamecock fans travel to Nashville since it falls so closely behind arguably the biggest holiday of the year?
I say yes if the opponent is attractive - either North Carolina (8-4) or possibly Miami (9-3). Would playing Boston College (8-4) get USC fans excited? Hardly.
But USC fans shouldn't take anything for granted with so many 7-win SEC teams available. The Gamecocks could just as easily fall to Shreveport or Birmingham based on the financial whims of bowl officials or how the all-important political winds are blowing.
The Liberty Bowl would love to have Arkansas in their game. The city of Memphis borders the Razorback State, so they’re hoping thousands of Arky fans stream across the state line to spend a few days in Tennessee.
If, as I predict, USC lands in Nashville against a favorable ACC opponent, that leaves two teams for the Independence and Papajohn.com Bowls – Auburn and Kentucky. The choice for bowl officials in Shreveport is easy – Auburn.
The biggest loser from Saturday? Kentucky. The Wildcats could have secured a spot in the Outback Bowl with a win over Tennessee but lost in overtime to the Vols for the second straight time in Lexington. Now they’re relegated to the bottom bowl on the SEC tier. Kentucky fans will, I’m sure, have loads of fun in Birmingham.
Right now, here’s how I project bowl season lining up for the SEC:
BCS Championship Game: Alabama
Sugar (BCS): Florida
Capital One: LSU
Outback: Tennessee
Cotton: Ole Miss
Chick-Fil-A: Georgia
Music City: USC (v. North Carolina?)
Liberty: Arkansas
Independence: Auburn
Papajohns.com: Kentucky
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.