Man, there are going to be some pissed-off SEC bowl partners this year. The league's unimpressive showing leaves the Independence with a riveting showdown between Northern Illinois and Louisiana Tech, which could McEnroe-esque ratings. The Papajohns.com Bowl has a slightly better match-up in N.C. State versus Rutgers, but probably not exactly what the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce was hoping for when the bowl announced an SEC tie-in beginning this year.
The Rip-Off Award goes to ... Missouri. Sure, the Tigers had a disappointing season, but they still went 9-4, and they're headed to the Alamo Bowl? Runner-up: Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl with an 8-4 record.
We fire coaches for that in the SEC. Notre Dame. In the Hawaii bowl. (giggle giggle) RETURN TO GLORY!!!!! At least the Fighting Irish might be able to beat Hawaii. Maybe.
SEC Predictions. If all the SEC teams play their best -- and the last few weeks have given us no reason to believe they will -- I'll say Vanderbilt loses to Boston College in the Music City Bowl, LSU loses to Georgia Tech in the Peach Bowl, South Carolina edges Iowa in the Outback Bowl (though I could go either way on that one), Georgia defeats Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl, Ole Miss loses to Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl, Kentucky defeats East Carolina in the Liberty Bowl, Alabama bests Utah (closer than you think) in the Sugar Bowl and Florida loses to defeats loses to defeats Oklahoma in the BCS National Title Game. Again, the last one could go either way.