The bowl season, we always hear, is a reward for the players and coaches.

That notion becomes debatable as more players elect to skip the postseason to prepare for the NFL Draft.

But what’s not debatable is that, for a lot of players, the bowls are one last chance to convince their coaches that they should start in 2019, or convince NFL scouts, general managers and the like that they should be drafted in a few months.

As for coaches, bowls present one last chance to take momentum into 2019 or at least cool down their hot seat a little.

Here are 11 players or coaches — one for each bowl-bound team — in the SEC who have something to prove in their bowls.

11. Drew Lock, Missouri

Lock came back for his senior season hoping to lead Mizzou to glory and improve his NFL Draft stock. His results were mixed on both counts and now Lock has one more chance in a Tigers uniform to impress pro scouts when he faces Oklahoma State in the Liberty Bowl. Lock might be one of those guys who impresses at the NFL Combine and boosts his NFL prospects at that venue.

10. Landis Durham and Kingsley Keke, Texas A&M

The two senior defensive ends have had productive seasons. Durham leads the Aggies in sacks at 6.5 and Keke is right behind at 6.0. They are second and third on the team in tackles for loss as well. But A&M is 110th in the country in pass defense and in the Gator Bowl the Aggies are facing an N.C. State team that is sixth in the nation in passing offense. The Aggies catch a break because Wolfpack standout Kelvin Harmon, who led the ACC in receiving yards with 1,186, is sitting out to prepare for the NFL. Still, the Aggies need to bring the heat to slow the N.C. State passing attack, so Durham and Keke are key.

9. Offensive line, Mississippi State

The Bulldogs’ opponent for the Outback Bowl, Iowa, plays a brand of ball pretty similar to Mississippi State. The Hawkeyes love to bring pressure on defense and hold the ball on offense. Iowa is 21st in the country in sacks, third in the Big Ten behind only Penn State and Ohio State. Mississippi State isn’t the most explosive offense around and, for a team that does not throw as often as most, it has allowed 24 sacks. Nick Fitzgerald can buy time but the Bulldogs O-line should not ask him to do so too often.

8. Jake Bentley, South Carolina

Bentley has been a pretty decent quarterback for the Gamecocks amid a season when South Carolina has has a ridiculous number of injuries. Despite all of that, Bentley had a career day in a losing effort against against No. 2 Clemson. He set career highs in passing yards (510) and touchdowns (5) against the Tigers. But the Belk Bowl against Virginia is still a proving ground for Bentley, not in the sense that the junior is expected to pass for 500 yards again. He just has to keep pointed in the right direction for a more consistent performance in the 2019 season.

7. Andy Ludwig, Vanderbilt

The Commodores are facing one of the worst red-zone defenses in the country in the Texas Bowl. Baylor has allowed 30 scores, including 19 touchdowns, on 33 opposing drives that reached the 20-yard line. Vandy’s offensive coordinator will have to prove that his team is more ready to pounce on those opportunities than it was most of this season. Vanderbilt is 124th in the country — only five FBS teams are worse — in red-zone offense, scoring 74.5 percent of the time. Just 27-of-47 red-zone drives have resulted in touchdowns. 

6. Gus Malzahn, Auburn

A large segment of Tigers fans are unhappy about their coach and really unhappy about the $32 million that Auburn owes him on his contract. So why isn’t Malzahn ranked higher on this list heading into the Music City Bowl? Let’s look at a best-case scenario for Malzahn. Let’s say his team blows out Purdue. Will Auburn fans really care? Will that fire them up? Or will they say, “You routed a .500 team from the Big Ten. Wheee. That got you no closer to Georgia or Bama at all.” Thought so.

5. Nick Brossette, LSU

LSU finished the regular season ranked 58th in the country in rushing offense, the first time the Tigers have not been in the top 30 since 2012. Fairly or unfairly, Brossette has been compared to immediate predecessors Leonard Fournette and Derrius Guice, both of whom landed on the top five on LSU’s all-time rushing list, and Brossette’s numbers just don’t match up. Brossette has gained 922 yards on 211 carries — an average of 4.4 yards per attempt — and 14 touchdowns in 2018. But UCF is 118th nationally in rushing defense so the Fiesta Bowl could be fertile ground for Brossette.

4. Terry Wilson, Kentucky

It’s no secret that running back Benny Snell has carried the Wildcats offense pretty much all season. In games when Snell has rushed for 100 or more yards, Kentucky is 7-0. When he doesn’t, the Wildcats are 2-3. Wilson has been a good contributor with his feet too — 518 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns — but  as a passer he has not been so effective. Wilson isn’t in the SEC’s top 10 in any passing category except for completion percentage, where he is third at 67.6 percent. In the Citrus Bowl against Penn State, Wilson faces the No. 71 passing defense in the country.

3. Entire secondary, Alabama

If there is a knock on the undefeated Crimson Tide this season, it’s about their secondary. Of course in this case it’s less “they are no good” and more “well, this unit does not have quite as much future NFL talent as usual at Bama,” but it is a concern nonetheless. Especially with Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray bringing in the highest-scoring team in the country, Oklahoma, for the Orange Bowl. The CFP national semifinal might well hinge on Alabama’s defensive backs making a big stop or two.

2. Kirby Smart, Georgia

The Bulldogs coach is 24-4 in the past two seasons with one SEC title, two division titles and a near-national championship last year. What does he have to prove? Well, this is the first time in that span that Georgia has no clear goal. Sure, beating Texas in the Sugar Bowl would be nice. But is it meaningful? Until now Smart always had a bigger aim — winning the SEC East, beating Georgia Tech to keep state bragging rights, a conference title, a CFP playoff game. Can his team maintain an edge when it doesn’t have that big goal dangling in front of it?

1. Feleipe Franks, Florida

Perhaps no quarterback in the SEC has more reason to look over his shoulder than Franks. The good news is that the sophomore is coming off of back-to-back games with at least 250 yards passing for the first time in his career. The bad new is that in the Peach Bowl he will face the nation’s No. 1 ranked defense in Michigan. Gators coach Dan Mullen has had a full year to test out Franks and measure his strengths and weaknesses. Franks was benched in favor of Kyle Trask in UF’s loss to Missouri but when Trask broke his foot, Franks wound up starting again. A bad day against Michigan might accelerate Mullen’s desire to find another quarterback.