‘Rivalry Week’ Bowl Projections: SEC

By Brandon Sudge -

We are just over a week away from “Selection Sunday,” but first it’s Rivalry Week. Many SEC teams are locks for a bowl game throughout late December and early January. The SEC certainly brings some of the best teams to bowl season, creating some intriguing matchups. Let’s take a look at each bowl eligible team and where they’re projected to go.

Alabama Crimson Tide (10-1)

ESPN (Mark Schlabach): CFB Playoff at Cotton Bowl vs. Michigan State

CBS (Jerry Palm): CFB Playoff at Cotton Bowl vs. Michigan State

Fox Sports (Stewart Mandel): CFB Playoff at Cotton Bowl vs. Michigan State

Arkansas Razorbacks (6-5)

ESPN (Mark Schlabach): Belk Bowl vs. Duke

CBS (Jerry Palm): AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl vs. West Virginia

Fox Sports (Stewart Mandel): AutoZone Liberty Bowl vs. Kansas State

Auburn Tigers (6-5)

ESPN (Mark Schlabach): Birmingham Bowl vs. Cincinnati

CBS (Jerry Palm): Birmingham Bowl vs. Memphis

Fox Sports (Stewart Mandel): Birmingham Bowl vs. Cincinnati

Florida Gators (10-1)

ESPN (Mark Schlabach): Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl vs. Ohio State

CBS (Jerry Palm): Sugar Bowl vs. Baylor

Fox Sports (Stewart Mandel): Sugar Bowl vs. Baylor

Georgia Bulldogs (8-3)

ESPN (Mark Schlabach): TaxSlayer.com Bowl vs. Penn State

CBS (Jerry Palm): Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl vs. Michigan

Fox Sports (Stewart Mandel): Music City Bowl vs. Penn State

Kentucky Wildcats (5-6)

*Kentucky is playing for bowl eligibility this Saturday against Louisville.

ESPN (Mark Schlabach): Raycom Media Camellia Bowl vs. Akron

CBS (Jerry Palm): Not projected

Fox Sports (Stewart Mandel): Not projected

LSU Tigers (7-3)

ESPN (Mark Schlabach): AutoZone Liberty Bowl vs. Texas Tech

CBS (Jerry Palm): Outback Bowl vs. Northwestern

Fox Sports (Stewart Mandel): TaxSlayer.com Bowl vs. NC State

Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-3)

ESPN (Mark Schlabach): AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl vs. West Virginia

CBS (Jerry Palm): TaxSlayer.com Bowl vs. Pittsburgh

Fox Sports (Stewart Mandel): Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl vs. Ohio State

Ole Miss Rebels (8-3)

ESPN (Mark Schlabach): Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl vs. Ohio State

CBS (Jerry Palm): Music City Bowl vs. Penn State

Fox Sports (Stewart Mandel): Belk Bowl vs. Virginia Tech

Missouri Tigers (5-6)

*Missouri is playing for bowl eligibility this Friday against Arkansas.

ESPN (Mark Schlabach): Quick Lane Bowl vs. Central Michigan

CBS (Jerry Palm): Not projected

Fox Sports (Stewart Mandel): Not projected

Tennessee Volunteers (7-4)

ESPN (Mark Schlabach): Outback Bowl vs. Northwestern

CBS (Jerry Palm): Liberty Bowl vs. Kansas State

Fox Sports (Stewart Mandel): Outback Bowl vs. Northwestern

Texas A&M Aggies (8-3)

ESPN (Mark Schlabach): Music City Bowl vs. Louisville

CBS (Jerry Palm): Belk Bowl vs. Virginia Tech

Fox Sports (Stewart Mandel): AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl vs. Texas Tech

These matchups certainly look intriguing throughout the SEC. Heading into the final week, Alabama looks to be the powerhouse as they’re the only team projected to make the College Football Playoff. However, the non-committee bowl games should turn out to be great ones, giving college football fans a great treat.

The SEC currently has two ineligible teams heading in, Vanderbilt and South Carolina. There could be two more teams falling to bowl ineligibility if Kentucky and Missouri were to lose in the final weekend.

However, if those teams were to lose, there still may be hope. The NCAA may have to include some 5-7 teams if there aren’t enough bowl eligible teams to fill the slots. The NCAA said they aren’t sure how they’ll handle the situation, but a team from the SEC could make it in with seven losses. We shall see after championship week, as final rankings and bowl games will be announced throughout the day on Sunday, Dec. 6.

2015-16 Bowl Schedule

Comments (17)

Too little regard for the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Stanford Cardinal. However, Clemson has everyone appearing to lag farther behind. Watch out for the Big12 champions!

In the near future, I can see the champions of the power five conferences being matched up against the greater at-large teams; however, there shall become necessary to include a sixth, seventh, and eighth contest to create evenness along the playoff path. None of the NCAA championship playoff committee are going to liken unto my additional week playoff venues!

My foresight for an open “true playoff” venue path means four stages where the fourth culminates in the National Championship Game. It may appear timely with the NFL ProBowl? Am I wrong about the championship being pushed back into February? When is the ProBowl? Damn………….