After all the battles this fall, while the entire SEC field beat up each other with mean left hooks while trying unsuccessfully to get a piece of Alabama, a record-tying 12 of 14 teams are headed to bowl games.

Only Missouri and Ole Miss aren’t bowling, and nobody would have guessed four months ago that if two measly SEC teams fell short of the postseason, the Rebels would be one of them. So while the mighty, proud conference might not have had as many great teams as it usually does, it had plenty of solid to good ones with of course the behemoth from Tuscaloosa looking down at everyone.

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And with that brought the league another milestone: The SEC became the first conference to send 10 or more teams to bowl games in four consecutive seasons. Yes, Mississippi State only got invited at 5-7 because there weren’t enough .500 teams to fill the 80 bowl spots, but its Academic Progress Rate also had to be high enough, so kudos to the Bulldogs for doing their homework, literally, and being rewarded.

Now, while we catch our breath after another breathless regular season, here’s some postseason storylines to chew on before those same Bulldogs start the SEC’s 12-game bowl blitz on the morning after Christmas.

St. Petersburg Bowl — Mississippi State vs. Miami (Ohio), Dec. 26, 11 a.m. (ET): As it turned out, the Egg Bowl was a double whammy for the Bulldogs, who kept Ole Miss from getting the sixth win while getting the fifth victory that ultimately got them to St. Petersburg. The Bulldogs will face a RedHawks team from the Mid-American Conference that became the first team in college football history to go 6-6 after losing its first six games. Miami is bowl eligible for the first time since 2010.

It only seems right that quarterback Nick Fitzgerald gets a taste of the postseason after he helped keep the Bulldogs’ regular season from going under in the wake of Dak Prescott’s absence. Fitzgerald accounted for 35 of Mississippi State’s 46 offensive touchdowns, threw for 2,287 yards and ran for 1,243 more. His bowl counterpart, Gus Ragland, came back from a torn ACL in the offseason and has thrown 15 TDs and zero interceptions during the rousing 6-0 finish to the season.

Independence Bowl — Vanderbilt vs. N.C. State, Dec. 26, 5 p.m. (ET): The Commodores punched their ticket to Shreveport the hard way, winning their final two games at home against Ole Miss and Tennessee to get to six wins after losing five of their first six conference games. But Vanderbilt, led by a stingy defense and Ralph Webb (1,172 yards rushing), showed good signs earlier this season, too, knocking off Georgia in Athens and losing by a touchdown to Florida and Auburn.

The Wolfpack was only 6-6 overall and 3-5 in the ACC, but it was a measly 33-yard field goal away from knocking off Clemson at the other Death Valley. The Pack lost that game in overtime, but it didn’t lose control of its season, beating rival North Carolina on the road in the final game to get to six wins. Quarterback Ryan Finley often gets the headlines for N.C. State, but look out for defensive end Bradley Chubb, the cousin of Georgia star Nick Chubb, who racked up 20.5 tackles for loss and nine sacks.

Texas Bowl — Texas A&M vs. Kansas State, Dec. 28, 9 p.m. (ET): The Aggies get some time to breathe after a nightmarish November took them from No. 4 in the first College Football Playoff rankings to, well, the Texas Bowl. Will Texas A&M be ultra-motivated to get the final word on this season, or will its mind-set go the other way as the Aggies try to get through this matchup against their former Big 12 rival.

These 8-4 teams once faced off in the 1998 Big 12 title game, won by the Aggies 36-33 during Bill Snyder’s first stint as Wildcats coach. Snyder is back, and last month he became only the sixth coach to win 200 games at only one school.

Birmingham Bowl — South Carolina vs. South Florida, Dec. 29, 2 p.m. (ET): The Gamecocks began Will Muschamp’s first season with a last-minute win at Vanderbilt, and they needed that win back on Sept. 1 to ultimately get to six. They exceeded expectations and even found their quarterback of the present and future in true freshman Jake Bentley.

A solid defense that stumbled trying to chase down Deshaun Watson in the season finale will be challenged by another dynamic quarterback in Quinton Flowers, the first 2,000-yard passer and 1,000-yard rusher in Bulls history. Flowers is also 10th in the nation in total offense, averaging 331.3 yards per game.

Nov 26, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; South Florida Bulls quarterback Quinton Flowers (9) stiff arms UCF Knights linebacker Errol Clarke (51) during the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Belk Bowl — Arkansas vs. Virginia Tech, Dec. 29, 5:30 p.m. (ET): The theme here could be the first team to 50 points wins, based on the Hogs’ wild regular season of good offense and bad defense and based on the ACC title game, when the 9-4 Hokies put up 35 points in almost shocking playoff-bound Clemson.

Arkansas will want to rebound from a loss to lowly Missouri to end the season, and to do that prolific quarterback Austin Allen (3,152 yards passing) will need to avoid Hokies star defensive tackle Woody Baron (17.5 tackles for loss) as much as possible.

Liberty Bowl — Georgia vs. TCU, Dec. 30, noon (ET): This is a matchup of teams that didn’t expect to combine for 11 losses this season, but 7-5 Georgia and 6-6 TCU will have one more chance to make this season right in Memphis. The Bulldogs were ranked in the top 10 way back in September and want to end Kirby Smart’s first season on a positive note, and it’ll be good for Jacob Eason to get some more practices under his belt, not to mention his first taste of a bowl atmosphere.

TCU, which also was ranked early this season, lost four of its final six games to barely qualify for a bowl but did beat Texas to end the season, sealing Charlie Strong’s fate.

Music City Bowl — Tennessee vs. Nebraska, Dec. 30, 3:30 p.m. (ET): The 8-4 Vols and 9-3 Cornhuskers mirror each other in a few ways. Both teams started like a ball of fire, building hope among two passionate fans bases who once were spoiled with success in the 1990s and want that consistency back. Both teams cooled off as the temperatures cooled. And both teams are led by athletic quarterbacks in Tennessee’s Joshua Dobbs and Nebraska’s Tommy Armstrong Jr., who both will likely light up the scoreboard and make this about a four-hour game.

Lastly, both teams will just be desperate to end things right. Nebraska lost three of its final five games after a 7-0 start, and Tennessee lost four of its final seven games after a 5-0 start.

Citrus Bowl — LSU vs. Louisville, Dec. 31, 11 a.m. (ET): Orlando is the city where magic happens every day, and New Year’s Eve morning will likely bring a steady stream of magic in a matchup featuring Heisman contender Lamar Jackson (pictured) and the Tigers’ dazzling running duo of Derrius Guice and Leonard Fournette. Clearly, the Tigers (7-4) and Cardinals (9-3) wanted to be in Playoff games on this particular day, not a morning kickoff serving as an appetizer.

Sep 9, 2016; Syracuse, NY, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) leaps over Syracuse Orange defensive back Cordell Hudson (20) during the second quarter at the Carrier Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

But Ed Orgeron will want to get a big bowl win in his first game without the interim tag, and Jackson and Co. won’t want to end such a promising season with three consecutive losses. Remember, these teams were a few plays away from beating Alabama and Clemson, respectively.

TaxSlayer Bowl — Kentucky vs. Georgia Tech, Dec. 31, 11 a.m. (ET): In the same time slot as LSU-Louisville, a few hours east in Jacksonville, the upstart Wildcats (7-5) will look to end a season of rebirth by solving the always-tricky triple option of the Yellow Jackets (8-4). Georgia Tech ended the season with a thrilling win at Georgia, and the Wildcats will have to deal with dynamic quarterback Justin Thomas in his final collegiate game.

The Wildcats won five of their final seven to earn their first bowl bid since 2010 and also do their main business on the ground, with the powerful duo of Stanley Williams (1,135 yards) and Benny Snell Jr. (1,057 yards, 13 touchdowns) becoming the first Wildcat duo to both reach 1,000 in the same season. There shouldn’t be many passing plays in this one.

Peach Bowl — Alabama vs. Washington, Dec. 31, 3 p.m. (ET): The big one. Or if Alabama has its way, the tune-up for the big one. Everybody knows the crucial storyline here: Win and advance, or deal with the sudden misery of falling short. And everybody has heard the theory that having an athletic quarterback is the key to slaying Bama. That idea will be challenged here because the Huskies’ Jake Browning is as dropback a quarterback as it gets.

Browning finished with 42 TD passes and 7 interceptions, but four of those picks came in the final month.

Outback Bowl — Florida vs. Iowa, Jan. 2, 1 p.m. (ET): The Gators were taken apart in the SEC title game and are a four-loss team trying to avoid the same fate as last season, when they also lost to Florida State and Alabama before being crushed by Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. UF hasn’t scored more than 20 points in its past five games now.

Iowa won’t have any sympathy. While UF is limping in, Iowa is surging, having won its final three games, including the signature home win over Michigan and a beatdown of Nebraska. Austin Appleby, who tossed three picks against Alabama, really needs to look out for star cornerback Desmond King, last year’s Jim Thorpe Award winner as the nation’s top defensive back.

Sugar Bowl — Auburn vs. Oklahoma, Jan. 2, 8:30 p.m. (ET): Once upon a time this season, Gus Malzahn was rumored to be on the hot seat. But despite inconsistent quarterback play for most of the season, the Tigers bulled their way to eight wins behind their defense and running backs, running off six straight wins at one point.

They’ll need a healthy Kamryn Pettway (leg) and Sean White (shoulder) to keep up with Baker Mayfield and an Oklahoma offense whose lowest-scoring output is 34 points during its nine-game win streak. Mayfield and top receiver Dede Westbrook are Heisman finalists.

Auburn held Alabama to 30 points in the Iron Bowl and will need a similar performance to have a shot. Of course, the Tigers won’t be facing the Bama defense either.