Ad Disclosure
Bowl games are often unpredictable, but that doesn’t stop people — and analytics — from trying to guess winners every year.
S&P+, the numbers system devised and updated by SB Nation’s Bill Connelly, took a stab at that this week, making projections for all 39 bowl games. The analytics system measures a team’s efficiency and explosiveness while adjusting for opponents, and it has a strong track record against Vegas.
The SEC sent 11 teams to bowl games this year, giving the conference a representative in nearly one-third of those contests. S&P+ predicts that the SEC will go 8-3 in bowls this season, though the favorites will have a hard time covering the spreads.
We’ve pulled the S&P+ assessments of just the SEC bowl games, which you can view below.
- Orange Bowl: No. 1 Alabama 40, No. 4 Oklahoma (+14) 33
- Sugar Bowl: No. 5 Georgia (-10.5) 40, No. 15 Texas 22
- Peach Bowl: No. 7 Michigan (-6) 29.6, No. 10 Florida 23.5
- Fiesta Bowl: No. 8 UCF (+8) 31, No. 11 LSU 26
- Citrus Bowl: No. 12 Penn State (-7) 28, No. 14 Kentucky 19
- Outback Bowl: No. 18 Mississippi State 26, Iowa (+6.5) 21
- Gator Bowl: No. 19 Texas A&M 32, North Carolina State (+7) 29
- Liberty Bowl: No. 23 Missouri 35, Oklahoma State (+7.5) 31
- Music City Bowl: Auburn (-3) 32, Purdue 26
- Belk Bowl: South Carolina 30, Virginia (+6) 27
- Texas Bowl: Vanderbilt (-1) 32, Baylor 29
Marcus covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
