Tennessee is no longer No. 1. Georgia made that very clear on Saturday night.
The Bulldogs are 9-0 and unlikely to end the regular season 12-0. As long as the Bulldogs can get to Atlanta 12-0, they’ve secured their ticket to the College Football Playoffs.
The Vols lost their ability to control their destiny on this front, but still received a lot of help that should allay the fears of Vols fans. Losses at Clemson and Alabama kept the Vols in contention.
The dreams of 3 SEC teams making the playoff field are over with LSU’s victory over the Crimson Tide, now on a collision course with the Citrus Bowl. LSU making its way into the 4-team field is a steep climb, but a six in the New Year should be within reach for the likely West champions.
Florida all but ensured Texas A&M (now 3-6) will miss this year’s bowl season with a 41-24 win over the Aggies, who still have to play Auburn and LSU. In the same shot, the Gators put themselves in a good position to go for 6 or 7 wins. South Carolina qualified by beating Vanderbilt on Saturday night.
Arkansas is completely heading in the wrong direction. The Razorbacks will be happy to finish .500 after losing to Hugh Freeze’s Liberty Flames, 21-19.
The SEC bowl roster is similar to last season. The Las Vegas Bowl will replace the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in its rotation between B1G and SEC. If the ReliaQuest Bowl sounds unfamiliar, that’s because it changed its branding from the Outback Bowl.
As usual, the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl have a connection to the SEC since they are not hosting this season’s college football playoffs. These awards go to the Peach Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl.
Here it is in all its glory: SEC Bowl Predictions after the Week 9 action.
SEC college football bowl projections after week 10
Peach Bowl (Playoff Semifinals): Tennessee versus Georgia
Fiesta Bowl (Playoff Semifinals): Ohio State vs. TCU
sugar bowl: LSU vs. Kansas State
citrus: Alabama vs. Penn State
ReliaQuest: Ole Miss vs NC State
music city: Kentucky vs. Illinois
Alligator: State of Mississippi vs. State of Florida
Freedom: Florida vs. Oklahoma
Las Vegas: Arkansas vs. Washington
Texas: South Carolina vs. Baylor
Birmingham: Mizzou vs. Coastal Carolina