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The bowl season is a time of year that will immortalize several players and teams, but it doles out harsh realities to others.
Here is a look at the best and worst case scenarios for all 10 SEC teams competing in bowl games this season.
Cotton Bowl (CFP) – No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 3 Michigan State
Best Case: A win for Alabama advances the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff title game against the winner between No. 1 Clemson and No. 4 Oklahoma. A victory over Michigan State sets up the Tide to compete for their third championship in the past five years and avenging their CFP loss to Ohio State last year.
Worst Case: An Alabama loss would be its second to a Big Ten school in as many years in the CFP semifinals — and undoubtedly cast a rain of “I told you so’s” out of the conference to the north.
Liberty Bowl – Arkansas vs. Kansas State
Best Case: An Arkansas win over Kansas State would give the Razorbacks their eighth win on the year, one more than last season under head coach Bret Bielema. The win would redeem Arkansas somewhat for losing to out-of-conference teams such as Toledo and Texas Tech.
Worst Case: A loss for Arkansas leaves Bielema’s squad an uninspired 7-6 in consecutive seasons. It would also ruin any momentum the Razorbacks built, winning five of their final six games in the regular season. With the likelihood of Hogs offensive line coach Sam Pittman leaving for Georgia, a loss could put the Bielema era under some scrutiny in Fayetteville.
Birmingham Bowl – Auburn vs. Memphis
Best Case: An Auburn win over Memphis in the Birmingham Bowl would close the 2015 campaign for the Tigers with a 7-6 record – a prospect that didn’t seem possible weeks ago as Auburn lost four of their last six games. It’s been a tough year for Gus Malzahn’s program, but some players that were expected to contribute, such as quarterback Jeremy Johnson, have stepped up of late. A bowl win over a solid Memphis squad would be a major notch in their confidence heading into next season.
Worst Case: A loss sinks the Tigers below .500 for the first time since Gene Chizik’s last season in Auburn in 2012. It would also mark the second-straight year that Auburn has seen its win total decrease under Malzahn, dropping the Tigers from 12 wins and a trip to the BCS title game in 2013 to eight wins last year and just six this season.
Citrus Bowl – No. 19 Florida vs. No. 17 Michigan
Best Case: Florida quiets all doubters who questioned the struggling Gators’ recent lapse in offense. A win over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl affirms that Jim McElwain’s squad deserved the SEC East title in the coach’s first season in Gainesville.
Worst Case: The losing slide extends to three games to close out the year and leaves Jim McElwain’s debut season with a black eye and several questions entering next season — most notably how to recharge the Gators offense. A loss also feeds the frothing Big Ten fan base eager to knock off any SEC foe it can and prove itself the better conference.
TaxSlayer Bowl – Georgia vs. Penn State
Best Case: Georgia is in the midst of a coaching turnover with the departed Mark Richt off to coach Miami. A win over Penn State sends the seniors off on a high note and gives the Bulldogs their fourth 10-win season in the past five years. The win would give Georgia the signature win that the program sorely needed this season, albeit too little and too late.
Worst Case: The Bulldogs see their four-game winning streak come to a halt, putting a final stamp on a season that saw Georgia underachieve in what turned out to be a down year for the SEC East. A loss shouldn’t hurt new head coach Kirby Smart’s recruiting efforts as the Bulldogs begin sculpting their post-Richt image.
Texas Bowl – No. 22 LSU vs. Texas Tech
Best Case: LSU running back Leonard Fournette rushes for a monster game after struggling down the stretch to give LSU its ninth win of the season. The Tigers also rally around Les Miles, whose job is solidified (for now) in Death Valley.
Worst Case: Fournette struggles and the Tigers lose for the fourth time in their final five games to complete a fairly epic tailspin for a team that was once a legitimate College Football Playoff contender.
Belk Bowl – Mississippi State vs. N.C. State
Best Case: Dak Prescott shines in his Mississippi State swan song as the Bulldogs cruise to a win over N.C. State in the Belk Bowl. The most-decorated quarterback in program history adds several more team records to his résumé and walks off into Bulldog lore with a victory.
Worst Case: Prescott’s tenure in Starkville ends with a thud courtesy of losses in three of the Bulldogs’ final four games. Anything short of a debilitating injury doesn’t likely affect Prescott’s marketability as a high draft pick, but a loss could bring home the harsh reality that the quarterback will no longer be there to lean on next year.
Sugar Bowl – No. 16 Ole Miss vs. No. 13 Oklahoma State
Best Case: Ole Miss triumphs in the Sugar Bowl, giving Hugh Freeze and Rebels plenty of ammunition to make a case as one of the top five teams in the nation this season. Chad Kelly is named MVP and Rebels make a strong case to return next year as early-season favorites to once-again compete for the SEC West title.
Worst Case: The strangeness that began with defensive end Robert Nkemdiche jumping out of a window this week casts a shadow over Ole Miss as the Rebels drop their Sugar Bowl contest to Oklahoma State, ending a remarkable season on a painfully sour note.
Outback Bowl – Tennessee vs. No. 12 Northwestern
Best Case: Tennessee rolls to its sixth straight win, even if it’s against their first opponent since Oct. 24 with a winning record. The Volunteers finish with nine wins, two more than Butch Jones had last season, alleviating some of the outrage over the head coach receiving a $500,000 raise this week. A win over a No. 12 Northwestern also somewhat redeems the Vols, who struggled to put away teams such as Oklahoma and Alabama earlier this season.
Worst Case: The Volunteers’ cupcake schedule down the stretch is exposed as Northwestern shuts down quarterback Josh Dobbs and the high-powered Tennessee run game. The season is still a successful one in Tennessee, but a lack of a big win over a major opponent goes down as one of the futilities of this year’s Vols.
Music City Bowl – Texas A&M vs. Louisville
Best Case: The once-promising Texas A&M season ends on a high-note as head coach Kevin Sumlin returns the Aggies to the nine-win mark by winning the fourth bowl game in as many tries during his stint at College Station. The young Aggies get plenty of big game experience, which carries over into next season when Texas A&M finally puts it all together in Sumlin’s fifth season at the helm.
Worst Case: Louisville routs A&M as the Aggies quarterback situation continues its inconsistency. Texas A&M still earns eight wins for the second-straight year — which is admirable, but pales in comparison considering the coach was 20-5 combing in his first two seasons. Whispers could begin to surround Sumlin’s inability to get the Aggies over the hump in the SEC West.
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
