SEC bowl projections, Week 2
Week 2 brought more upsets in the SEC.
Ole Miss beating Kentucky on the road is a mild upset, perhaps. But the bigger one was Arkansas finally (finally!) beating an SEC opponent for the first time since 2017, snapping a 20-game skid in the league by knocking off 16th-ranked Mississippi State.
Mind you, that was the same MSU team that stunned defending national champion LSU last week.
The top 3 ranked teams in the league — Alabama, Florida and Georgia — looked like the title contenders that they were expected to be. The Gators were not overwhelming against South Carolina. but it never looked like they might lose, either. The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs were very convincing in beating highly-ranked foes Texas A&M and Auburn, respectively.
For now, ‘Bama, UF and UGA are still our three teams in the New Year’s Day 6 bowl projections, with two making the College Football Playoff. That’s still Alabama and Georgia. At this rate, the Georgia-Florida rivalry game on Nov. 7 will have massive stakes. But before that, the Dawgs have to deal with Alabama (and the Tide has to deal with the Dawgs) on Oct. 17.
The teams in the next tier in the conference could yet push their way into the NYD6 picture, but they will have to prove it by beating one of the three teams at the top.
Mississippi still does not make our projections yet, but that win in Lexington makes the Rebels worth watching in their first season under Lane Kiffin. But in the brutal SEC West, and again repeating that nobody here gets any nonconference wins to help boost their bowl resumes, Ole Miss will also have to prove it.
Arkansas does not rate bowl consideration yet, either. But hey, the Razorbacks should still enjoy the heck out of this one. They are .500 in the SEC for at least a week.
Now let’s look at this week’s projections: