Week 11 SEC Bowl Projections

by Alex Scutchfield on Nov 9, 2011 2:25 PM EST in College Football

Hey Joe- Where was this face when something more than a game was at stake?

We are finally getting down to the nitty gritty and the SEC Bowl picture is taking shape, as are the conference races. An All-SEC National Championship game is still very much in play, and we'll talk more about that after Oregon v. Stanford this Saturday. Since the SEC can only have 2 team in BCS bowls regardless, that doesn't have any impact on where the other teams end up. I've seen a couple of national sites botch the SEC picks recently. So first, I'll go over the rules. Since the SEC is a lead pipe cinch to get 2 teams into BCS bowls, the rest of it breaks down like this. Unless otherwise noted, the bowls can pick any 6-6 or better SEC team they wish.

1. The Capital One Bowl get the first pick after the BCS. It must select either the remaining team with the best overall record, or a team within one game of the best overall record.

2. The Cotton and Outback Bowls pick next and in conjunction. Both are free to pick a team from either division, but the Cotton gets dibs on its preferred team from the SEC West and the Outback preference for an Eastern team. In other words, if both pick the same team that team's division is the deciding factor.

3. The Chick-Fil-A Bowl picks next, then the Gator.

4. The Liberty and Music City Bowls pick simultaneously. If both pick the same team, that team decides which bid to accept, and the other makes its next choice.

5.The BBVA Compass Bowl picks last.

6. Any SEC team at 6-6 or better that is not picked for an SEC bowl may accept a bid from another bowl whose conference tie-ins cannot fill their allotment. This hasn't happened in the SEC in my memory, but it was a distinct possibility at some point last year and still mathematically possible now.

In any event:

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

LSU Tigers v. Oklahoma St. Cowboys

Sugar Bowl

Alabama Crimson Tide v. Boise St. Broncos

Capital One Bowl

Arkansas Razorbacks v. Wisconsin Badgers

Cotton Bowl

Georgia Bulldogs v. Texas Longhorns

Outback Bowl

South Carolina Gamecocks v. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Chick-Fil-A

Auburn Tigers v. Georgia Tech Ramblin' Wreck

Gator

Florida Gators v. Penn St. Cowardly Lions

Music City Bowl

Vanderbilt Commodores v. Virginia Cavaliers

Liberty Bowl

Mississippi St. Bulldogs v. Houston Cougars

BBVA Compass Bowl

No SEC team available.

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Comments

If the Cats manage to fill that last slot,

we will know that God is truly the leader of the Big Blue Nation!!!!

I am now and shall forever be the Cat in The Hat, The Artist Formerly Known As ABC!!!

by Greg Alan Edwards on Nov 9, 2011 2:41 PM EST reply actions

Alex, the all SEC national Championship possibility

Came up in the LSU/Bama game thread. We (Eagle and I) were not sure how that can happen. I tried to search for your earlier post here about it and couldn’t find it. We both remembered you talking about it. I know we are looking forward to you explaining the math to us. ;-)

Blue... there is no other color to Bleed !!!

by a2d2 on Nov 9, 2011 2:54 PM EST reply actions

At this point, only 4 things have to happen.

1. LSU and Alabama need to win out.
2. Oklahoma State loses (most likely to Oklahoma Dec. 3)
3. Stanford loses (most likely to Oregon this week)
Alabama is already ahead of everyone else except Oklahoma State in the BCS rankings, including Boise State and Houston, the only other undefeated teams. Stanford could pull ahead with a win over Oregon. I don’t think anyone else could catch them as long as they won out.
If OkSt. wins out, they’re in. If OkSt. and Stanford both lose, I think the BCS screws over Boise St. in a heartbeat. Certainly, no other one loss team is going to make the NC over Alabama. The best question will be is Stanford wins out. It will have beaten Oregon and won the PAC 10 Championship. Alabama has wins at Happy Valley and against Arkansas, and will have to finish with a win at Auburn. But, of course, it will have a loss. Stanford will argue that beating all comers trumps a better schedule. Alabama will argue that Stanford didn’t have to play LSU, and that no one really believes that such a game would be better than what we saw in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. In all, it will probably come down to whether the human voters think Stanford deserves a shot.

ALS

by Alex Scutchfield on Nov 9, 2011 3:20 PM EST up reply actions

Thanks a lot Alex! I appreciate it.

Blue... there is no other color to Bleed !!!

by a2d2 on Nov 9, 2011 3:46 PM EST up reply actions

I think many

College football fans would love to see that rematch.

Blue... there is no other color to Bleed !!!

by a2d2 on Nov 9, 2011 3:49 PM EST up reply actions

Thanks for the memory refresh...

If your wings don't sweep....

by EagleTDL on Nov 9, 2011 3:51 PM EST up reply actions

I wouldnt see it as "screwing Boise St" if OK St and Stanford lose....

and Bama moves into that 2nd spot. If Bama and LSU are the 2 best teams via the computers and the pollsters then it is what it is. Not a screw over job on Boise. They key would be the voters and if the voters feel Alabama is better than Boise then so be it.

I don’t see it happening but there could be way that Oregon wins out (and other things fall in place) and they could be right back in the BCS championship picture. That would be a rematch with LSU as well. Would anyone have a problem with a rematch there?

Slower Traffic Keep Right!

by SevenRings on Nov 9, 2011 7:03 PM EST up reply actions

I'm not a fan of rematches in the NC

I’m also not a huge SEC homer because I grew up in California. I would prefer to see a matchup of teams that have not played yet this season. I didn’t want it when they talked about it with Oh. St. and Mich. and I don’t want it know. Stanford, Ok. St., and Boise St. would all make me more excited than a Bama rematch.

by KDH2011 on Nov 9, 2011 4:24 PM EST up reply actions