SEC Bowl Projections: Entering the Back Stretch

Alabama and Texas A&M have punched their bowl tickets and Tennessee could join them this weekend be gaining bowl eligibility. And for at least two more weeks, every other SEC team has a possibility of getting to six wins.

So the question becomes, who goes where? Unlike the weekly power poll which is based on what a team has done, our bowl projections also factor in what we think a team will do.

As a reminder, here is the SEC bowl selection process:

Playoff

This season, the Peach and Fiesta Bowls are the semi-final hosts with Raymond James Stadium in Tampa hosting the Championship Game.

Sugar Bowl

After any teams chosen for the College Football Playoff, the next highest ranked team in the playoff standings goes to the Sugar Bowl.

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Orange Bowl

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An SEC team can go to the Orange Bowl as the next highest ranked SEC or Big Ten team after the Playoff, Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl have their picks of SEC and Big Ten teams. For example, Ohio State wins the Big Ten and goes to the Playoff, Michigan finishes 11-1 but loses to Ohio State and goes to the Rose Bowl, then likely no other Big Ten team would finish ahead of the next ranked SEC team after the Playoff and Sugar Bowl get their picks and an SEC team would be headed to Miami.

Citrus Bowl

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After the Playoff and access bowls get their picks, the Citrus Bowl can select the next best available team.

Pool of Six

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After the Citrus Bowl, the next group of six games is assigned by the SEC office in consultation with the schools and bowls.

Birmingham and Independence Bowls

Following the group of six games, the Birmingham then Independence Bowl get their picks. Any other bowl eligible teams can get a bowl berth from another conference that does not fill their slots, but none of our projectors thought that would be needed.

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