Alabama and Texas A&M remain the only bowl eligible teams through seven weeks of the season and with Florida and Tennessee on bye weeks this week, the only SEC team that can punch their bowl ticket this upcoming weekend is Arkansas.
With Vanderbilt winning at Georgia last week, no SEC teams can hit seven losses until November 5 when Missouri and South Carolina could be facing off in a bowl game eliminator--more likely for Missouri as the Gamecocks have an easier route to a win between now and then with UMass visiting the eastern Columbia this weekend.
So let's get started with the projections...
Playoff
This season, the Peach and Fiesta Bowls are the semi-final hosts with Raymond James Stadium in Tampa hosting the Championship Game. After Alabama’s demolition, there was consolidation amongst our ranks that the Tide look to be headed to the Playoff, most likely the Peach Bowl.
| Chris Novak | Alabama |
| Alex Dusza | Alabama |
| Cam Newton | Alabama |
| Will Marshall | Alabama |
| Niesha Middlebrooks | Alabama |
| Jonathan Waldrop | Alabama |
| Tom Stephenson | Alabama |
Sugar, Orange and Cotton Bowls
After any teams chosen for the College Football Playoff, the next highest ranked team in the playoff standings goes to the Sugar Bowl.
An SEC team can go to the Orange or Cotton Bowl(s), but there are no guaranteed SEC spots for these bowls. 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 goes to the Orange Bowl. With Nebraska meeting one of their tougher tests left on the schedule this past weekend at Indiana, it looks to me like either the loser of the Michigan/Ohio State game or Nebraska could fill the Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl slot leaving the SEC on the outside of that placement and most of our contributors agreed with that sentiment.
Likewise, an SEC team can go to the Cotton Bowl, but as an at-large bid based on the playoff rankings.
| Sugar | Orange | Cotton | |
| Chris Novak | Texas A&M | ||
| Alex Dusza | Texas A&M | ||
| Cam Newton | Texas A&M | ||
| Will Marshall | Texas A&M | ||
| Niesha Middlebrooks | Texas A&M | ||
| Jonathan Waldrop | Texas A&M | LSU | |
| Tom Stephenson | Texas A&M |
Citrus Bowl
Last week, we were split between having Ole Miss or Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl. With both teams taking losses last week, the Rebels got solidly bumped down into the Group of Six bowls while the Volunteers were bumped out of an access bowl slot for a date in Orlando.
| Chris Novak | Tennessee |
| Alex Dusza | Tennessee |
| Cam Newton | Tennessee |
| Will Marshall | Tennessee |
| Niesha Middlebrooks | Tennessee |
| Jonathan Waldrop | Tennessee |
| Tom Stephenson | Tennessee |
Group of Six Bowls
There was also some consolidation amongst the TSK staff in regards to placement in the Group of Six games, but these really could be anyone’s guess as to how the bowls, schools and conference agree to pair up.
| Belk | Liberty | Music City | Outback | TaxSlayer (Gator) | Texas | |
| Chris Novak | Georgia | Auburn | Arkansas | Florida | LSU | Ole Miss |
| Alex Dusza | Georgia | Auburn | Arkansas | Florida | LSU | Ole Miss |
| Cam Newton | Georgia | Ole Miss | Auburn | Florida | LSU | Arkansas |
| Will Marshall | Florida | Arkansas | Auburn | Ole Miss | LSU | Mizzou |
| Niesha Middlebrooks | Georgia | Auburn | Arkansas | Florida | LSU | Ole Miss |
| Jonathan Waldrop | Georgia | Arkansas | Auburn | Florida | Ole Miss | Mizzou |
| Tom Stephenson | Georgia | Ole Miss | Arkansas | Florida | LSU | Auburn |
Birmingham and Independence Bowls
Rounding out our bowl projections are the Birmingham and Independence Bowls with the chance to go to Shreveport to win this overly large trophy. Mississippi State and Kentucky face off this weekend, and both have a route to bowl eligibility even with a loss this weekend. Both will, however, face an uphill battle with a loss this weekend, so look for some shakeup here in next week’s picks.
| Birmingham | Independence | |
| Chris Novak | Kentucky | Mississippi State |
| Alex Dusza | Kentucky | Mississippi State |
| Cam Newton | Kentucky | Mississippi State |
| Will Marshall | Kentucky | Mississippi State |
| Niesha Middlebrooks | Kentucky | Mississippi State |
| Jonathan Waldrop | Mississippi State | |
| Tom Stephenson |
So where do you think we’re wrong? Where do you want or see your team going bowling?
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