Alabama’s dramatic road win against Ole Miss kept it firmly in College Football Playoff territory, and the experts seem split between Texas A&M and Ole Miss going to the Sugar Bowl.
After that, there’s a wide range of potential bowl destinations for a bunch of SEC teams. Georgia, Florida and Tennessee are all listed as Orange Bowl contenders, while 3-0 Arkansas is projected to wind up anywhere from the Citrus Bowl to the Music City Bowl.
SEC Country has compiled expert predictions made by multiple media outlets, including ESPN (Mark Schlabach and Brett McMurphy), CBS Sports, SB Nation, 247Sports and our own set of projections.
Through three weeks, here’s where various SEC squads could be headed in the postseason:
Alabama (3-0, 1-0 SEC)
SEC Country: Peach Bowl vs. Stanford (CFP)
ESPN’s Schlabach: Peach Bowl vs. Michigan (CFP)
ESPN’s McMurphy: Fiesta Bowl vs. Ohio State (CFP)
CBS: Peach Bowl vs. Stanford (CFP)
SB Nation: Peach Bowl vs. Stanford (CFP)
247Sports: Peach Bowl vs. Stanford (CFP)
Stanford might not be the most compelling playoff pick, but the Cardinal are safe bets, and the Big 12 looks like it’ll left out in the cold again.
Texas A&M (3-0, 1-0 SEC)
SEC Country: Sugar Bowl vs. Baylor (NY6)
ESPN’s Schlabach: Sugar Bowl vs. Oklahoma State (NY6)
ESPN’s McMurphy: Sugar Bowl vs. Baylor (NY6)
CBS: Liberty Bowl vs. West Virginia
SB Nation: Belk Bowl vs. Virginia Tech
247Sports: Cotton Bowl vs. Houston
Are the Aggies for real? They beat Auburn by a larger margin than Clemson, and did so without Gus Malzahn employing that bizarre quarterback rotation. Playing Arkansas this Saturday in Arlington, Texas, should be another big test.
Tennessee (3-0)
SEC Country: Outback Bowl vs. Nebraska
ESPN’s Schlabach: Citrus Bowl vs. Michigan State
ESPN’s McMurphy: Belk Bowl vs. Miami
CBS: Citrus Bowl vs. Iowa
SB Nation: Orange Bowl vs. Florida State (NY6)
247Sports: Citrus Bowl vs. Iowa
The highs are high (Orange Bowl), and the lows … well, if the Vols wind up playing Miami in the Belk Bowl, the Paul Finebaum call-in show will be blowing up with irate Tennessee fans.
Florida (3-0, 1-0 SEC)
SEC Country: Orange Bowl vs. Clemson (NY6)
ESPN’s Schlabach: Outback Bowl vs. Wisconsin
ESPN’s McMurphy: Outback Bowl vs. Nebraska
CBS: Music City Bowl vs. Nebraska
SB Nation: Citrus Bowl vs. Michigan State
247Sports: TaxSlayer Bowl vs. Miami
With guys such as
Jalen
Teez Tabor, Marcus Maye, Quincy Wilson, Jarrad Davis and Jabari Zuniga manning that defense, call me a Gators believer.
Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC)
SEC Country: TaxSlayer Bowl vs. Miami
ESPN’s Schlabach: Orange Bowl vs. Clemson (NY6)
ESPN’s McMurphy: Music City Bowl vs. Maryland
CBS: Orange Bowl vs. Louisville (NY6)
SB Nation: Outback Bowl vs. Wisconsin
247Sports: Orange Bowl vs. Louisville (NY6)
If Drew Lock passed for 376 yards against Georgia, I shudder to think what Lamar Jackson would do. The Bulldogs are still growing under Kirby Smart, as was clearly evident this past Saturday.
Ole Miss (1-2, 0-1 SEC)
SEC Country: Citrus Bowl vs. Michigan
ESPN’s Schlabach: Music City Bowl vs. Miami
ESPN’s McMurphy: Texas Bowl vs. TCU
CBS: Sugar Bowl vs. TCU (NY6)
SB Nation: Sugar Bowl vs. Baylor (NY6)
247Sports: Sugar Bowl vs. Baylor (NY6)
The Rebels have an offense that can hang with anybody, but until they start hanging onto leads and Chad Kelly stops making mistakes, it’s wait and see with this team.
Arkansas (3-0)
SEC Country: Music City Bowl vs. Wisconsin
ESPN’s Schlabach: Texas Bowl vs. Baylor
ESPN’s McMurphy: Citrus Bowl vs. Iowa
CBS: Outback Bowl vs. Michigan
SB Nation: Music City Bowl vs. Penn State
247Sports: Outback Bowl vs. Michigan State
Either the Hogs are surprisingly good, or TCU was surprisingly bad. I reckon we’re about to find out.
LSU (2-1, 1-0 SEC)
SEC Country: Texas Bowl vs. Texas
ESPN’s Schlabach: TaxSlayer Bowl vs. Iowa
ESPN’s McMurphy: TaxSlayer Bowl vs. Notre Dame
CBS: TaxSlayer Bowl vs. Miami
SB Nation: Liberty Bowl vs. Oklahoma State
247Sports: Music City Bowl vs. Nebraska
These are not the bowl games you’re looking for, Les.
Auburn (1-2, 0-1 SEC)
SEC Country: Belk Bowl vs. Virginia Tech
ESPN’s Schlabach: Liberty Bowl vs. TCU
ESPN’s McMurphy: Independence Bowl vs. Georgia Tech
CBS: Belk Bowl vs. Virginia Tech
SB Nation: No bowl game
247Sports: Liberty Bowl vs. West Virginia
Auburn bowl season hopes are on the brink, and so is Gus Malzahn’s job security.
Missouri (1-2, 0-1 SEC)
SEC Country: Liberty Bowl vs. Oklahoma State
ESPN’s Schlabach: Belk Bowl vs. UNC
ESPN’s McMurphy: No bowl game
CBS: Texas Bowl vs. Oklahoma State
SB Nation: Texas Bowl vs. TCU
247Sports: Texas Bowl vs. Oklahoma State
The Tigers came one point away from upsetting a Georgia team that three sets of projections have in the Orange Bowl. The new Josh Heupel offense is off to a hot start, and most of the SEC East is not.
Others
ESPN’s McMurphy: South Carolina in Liberty Bowl vs. Oklahoma State
247Sports: South Carolina in Belk Bowl vs. Virginia Tech
The post SEC bowl projections roundup: Jury still out on several teams after Week 3 appeared first on SEC Country.