Saturday marks the first day of the SEC’s bowl season as South Carolina takes on Miami in the 2014 Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.
In honor of the beginning of the SEC’s 12-bowl spree over the next eight days, SDS has ranked the top three bowls based within a number of different criteria. Take a look:
MOST MEANINGFUL GAMES
3. TaxSlayer Bowl — Tennessee vs. Iowa:
2. Orange Bowl — Mississippi State vs. Georgia Tech:
1. Sugar Bowl — Alabama vs. Ohio State:
This was the easiest of the criteria by which to rank games. The Sugar Bowl is an obvious choice at No. 1 as it is a playoff game that will decide half of this year’s national championship showdown. The stakes don’t get much higher than that. … Slotting the Orange Bowl at No. 2 was also an easy selection, as Mississippi State will aim to win 11 games for the first time in school history in a high-profile New Year’s Six bowl game. Not only will MSU bring a huge payout to the SEC, but it will have a chance to establish itself among the nation’s top programs with a strong showing on New Year’s Eve. … No. 3 is a bit unorthodox, but the little-spoken of TaxSlayer Bowl is incredibly meaningful to a Tennessee program continuing to progress through its rebuilding process. A Volunteers victory would mark another huge step toward a return to prominence in the coming years.
MOST FASCINATING MATCHUPS
3. Belk Bowl — Georgia vs. Louisville:
2. Outback Bowl — Auburn vs. Wisconsin:
1. Music City Bowl — LSU vs. Notre Dame:
These might not be the most appealing matchups on paper, but they are some of the most intriguing. LSU’s showdown with Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl pits a young team on the rise against a power program ranked in the top 10 at the midpoint of the season. LSU showed great improvements in the second half of the season, while Notre Dame lost five of its last six games to free fall into a pre-New Year’s bowl. … Auburn’s showdown with Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl will match two of the nation’s best rushing attacks against one another, although those teams take dramatically different approaches to running the football. It will be interesting to see how the Tigers’ spread attack fares against the Badgers and their methodical, downhill rushing attack engineered by the nation’s leading rusher, Melvin Gordon. … Georgia and Louisville both hoped to reach a better bowl game than the Belk Bowl this season, but this game will still feature a matchup between the Mike Bobo-less UGA offense led by Nick Chubb and the nation’s No. 3 run defense from Louisville.
MOST UNHERALDED GAMES
3. Birmingham Bowl — Florida vs. East Carolina:
2. Liberty Bowl — Texas A&M vs. West Virginia:
1. Citrus Bowl — Missouri vs. Minnesota:
This year’s Citrus Bowl is one of just two New Year’s Day games from outside the collection of New Year’s Six bowls, but you’d never know it from the lack of buzz surrounding the matchup. Both teams were ranked for much of the season, and both will be hoping to earn some respect in this showdown. … It’s equally surprising how few people have given the Liberty Bowl the attention it deserves. Texas A&M and West Virginia are two like-minded teams boasting explosive spread offenses and porous defenses. Even without Clint Trickett under center for WVU it will be interesting to see which of these teams can gain an edge. … The Birmingham Bowl is the only game among the SEC’s 12 bowl invites featuring an opponent from outside the power conferences. Florida has been through a lot in the last six weeks — including coaching changes, NFL Draft declarations and more — but it still features one of the most talented secondaries in the FBS. That secondary will be put to the test against an East Carolina offense that threw for more than 4,400 yards this season.
MOST STAR-POWER ON DISPLAY
3. Outback Bowl — Auburn vs. Wisconsin:
2. Peach Bowl — Ole Miss vs. TCU:
1. Sugar Bowl — Alabama vs. Ohio State:
The showdown between Alabama and Ohio State will feature more future NFL stars than perhaps any other bowl game in the nation this season. Alabama has been an NFL factory during the Nick Saban era, and OSU coach Urban Meyer knows a thing or two about getting his players into the league. Both programs have boasted top 5 recruiting classes (according to 247Sports’ composite rankings), indicating there is plenty of talent stockpiled on both sidelines. … The Peach Bowl matchup between Ole Miss and TCU will feature a few explosive playmakers as well. The Rebels and their two All-American defensive backs, Senquez Golson and Cody Prewitt, will be put to the test by Davey O’Brien Award finalist Trevone Boykin and a TCU offense loaded with dynamic athletes. … The Outback Bowl will feature athletic stars like Nick Marshall, Cameron Artis-Payne, Sammie Coates and others, while Wisconsin will feature Gordon, a Heisman finalist, along with one of the sturdiest offensive lines in the country. It’s tough to call an offensive lineman a “star” but Wisconsin has a few “star” linemen on this year’s team.
BEST LOCATIONS
3. Music City Bowl — Nashville:
2. Sugar Bowl — New Orleans:
1. Orange Bowl — Miami:
You simply can’t go wrong with any of the three cities listed above. Miami is one of the most glamorous cities in America, and what better place to usher in the New Year than on a sunny beach in Florida or amidst the exotic nightlife Miami has to offer. … New Orleans is another city that knows how to have a good time, and it is sure to be rocking and rolling this New Year’s as the masses celebrate the beginning of 2015. … And lastly, Nashville remains one of the under-appreciated cities in America. The music scene is fantastic, and the nightlife ain’t too shabby either. Cities like Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville and Atlanta all missed the cut, showing just how competitive this final category was.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
