It only takes six wins to make a bowl game, and 12 SEC teams already tallied Ws in Week 1.
Every team in the conference except Vanderbilt, which lost to Western Kentucky, and LSU, whose game was cancelled due to lighting in Baton Rouge, got that much closer to postseason play this weekend. Not surprisingly, many of those teams are already being considered in various media outlets’ early bowl projections.
CBS Sports thinks Mississippi State will not make a bowl game after a mediocre Week 1 showing against Southern Miss, while Athlon Sports is one of the only publications that currently projects Kentucky as a bowl team. Vanderbilt is the only SEC team without a single bowl projection.
Let’s run down where the experts think SEC teams will be bowling:
ALABAMA
CBS Sports: Sugar Bowl vs. Baylor
AP: Peach Bowl vs. Clemson
Sports Illustrated: Sugar Bowl vs. TCU
Athlon: Orange Bowl vs. Baylor (playoff semifinal)
SDS: Cotton Bowl vs. TCU (playoff semifinal)
ARKANSAS
CBS Sports: Birmingham Bowl vs. Cincinnati
AP: Outback Bowl vs. Nebraska
Sports Illustrated: Music City Bowl vs. Virginia Tech
Athlon: Outback Bowl vs. Nebraska
SDS: TaxSlayer Bowl vs. Louisville
AUBURN
CBS Sports: Cotton Bowl vs. TCU (playoff semifinal)
AP: Cotton Bowl vs. Notre Dame (playoff semifinal)
Sports Illustrated: Orange Bowl vs. Oregon (playoff semifinal)
Athlon: Cotton Bowl vs. Ohio State (playoff semifinal)
SDS: Sugar Bowl vs. Baylor
LSU
CBS Sports: Outback Bowl vs. Michigan
AP: Citrus Bowl vs. Wisconsin
Sports Illustrated: Citrus Bowl vs. Nebraska
Athlon: Texas Bowl vs. Oklahoma State
SDS: Texas Bowl vs. Oklahoma
MISSISSIPPI STATE
AP: Birmingham Bowl vs. Memphis
Sports Illustrated: Liberty Bowl vs. Kansas State
Athlon: Liberty Bowl vs. Texas
SDS: Birmingham Bowl vs. Memphis
OLE MISS
CBS Sports: TaxSlayer Bowl vs. Nebraska
AP: Liberty Bowl vs. Texas Tech
Sports Illustrated: TaxSlayer Bowl vs. Ole Miss
Athlon: Sugar Bowl vs. TCU
SDS: Liberty Bowl vs. Kansas State
TEXAS A&M
CBS Sports: Texas Bowl vs. Oklahoma State
AP: Texas Bowl vs. Texas
Sports Illustrated: Texas Bowl vs. Oklahoma State
Athlon: TaxSlayer Bowl vs. Clemson
SDS: Outback Bowl vs. Minnesota
FLORIDA
CBS Sports: Independence Bowl vs. Pittsburgh
AP: Independence Bowl vs. Miami
Sports Illustrated: Independence Bowl vs. Duke
Athlon: Belk Bowl vs. North Carolina State
SDS: Independence Bowl vs. North Carolina
GEORGIA
CBS Sports: Citrus Bowl vs. Penn State
AP: Sugar Bowl vs. TCU
Sports Illustrated: Peach Bowl vs. Clemson
Athlon: Peach Bowl vs. Florida State
SDS: Peach Bowl vs. Florida State
KENTUCKY
Athlon: Independence Bowl vs. North Carolina
MISSOURI
CBS Sports: Music City Bowl vs. Louisville
AP: Belk Bowl vs. North Carolina State
Sports Illustrated: Birmingham Bowl vs. Cincinnati
Athlon: Music City Bowl vs. Iowa
SDS: Music City Bowl vs. Georgia Tech
SOUTH CAROLINA
CBS Sports: Pinstripe Bowl vs. Virginia Tech
AP: TaxSlayer Bowl vs. Minnesota
Sports Illustrated: Belk Bowl vs. Pittsburgh
Athlon: Birmingham Bowl vs. Memphis
SDS: Belk Bowl vs. North Carolina State
TENNESSEE
CBS Sports: Belk Bowl vs. Duke
AP: Music City Bowl vs. Georgia Tech
Sports Illustrated: Outback Bowl vs. Penn State
Athlon: Citrus Bowl vs. Wisconsin
SDS: Citrus Bowl vs. Wisconsin
Mike Shaw is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, Missouri, Texas A&M and Arkansas. Follow Mike on Twitter @michaelvshaw
