Could SEC send record number of teams bowling?
With bowl season approaching, could the SEC send a record number of teams into the postseason?
Thirteen teams have met or are within two games of the six-win plateau with at least three contests remaining. That’s a good sign and a testament to how competitive the league’s been this season (especially the West).
Our Week 10 bowl projections include what would be a record-setting 11 SEC teams receiving invites with South Carolina, Arkansas and Vanderbilt being left at home for the holidays. It certainly helps with two newcomers — Mizzou and Texas A&M — joining the conference prior to the 2012 campaign.
The SEC was a nation’s best 7-3 in bowl games last season. Here’s a glance at how many bowl invites the league has received over the last five years:
- 2013: 10
- 2012: 9
- 2011: 9
- 2010: 10
- 2009: 10
The Capital One Bowl, known as the best non-BCS bowl during that era, still has its pick of SEC teams after the College Football Playoff (New Year’s Six) games have made their selections.
2014 SEC bowl tie-ins (10)
- Allstate Sugar Bowl (New Orleans) OR Discover Orange Bowl (Miami)
- Capital One Bowl (Orlando, Fla.) vs. Big Ten/ACC
- Outback Bowl (Tampa, Fla.) vs. Big Ten
- Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, Fla.) vs. ACC/Big Ten
- Music City Bowl (Nashville) vs. ACC/Big Ten
- Liberty Bowl (Memphis, Tenn.) vs. Big 12
- Belk Bowl (Charlotte, N.C.) vs. ACC
- Texas Bowl (Houston) vs. Big 12
- Independence Bowl (Shreveport, La.) vs. ACC
- Birmingham Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.) vs. TBA
SEC bowl records during the BCS era
Rank | School | W | L | Win % | Pts. F | Pts. A | +/- |
1 | Ole Miss | 8 | 1 | 88.89% | 289 | 218 | 71 |
2 | Mississippi St. | 6 | 2 | 75.00% | 220 | 161 | 59 |
3 | Vanderbilt | 3 | 1 | 75.00% | 119 | 93 | 26 |
4 | Georgia | 11 | 5 | 68.75% | 475 | 355 | 120 |
5 | Auburn | 8 | 4 | 66.67% | 279 | 253 | 26 |
6 | LSU | 9 | 5 | 64.29% | 401 | 274 | 127 |
7 | Missouri | 6 | 4 | 60.00% | 311 | 275 | 36 |
8 | South Carolina | 6 | 4 | 60.00% | 261 | 251 | 10 |
9 | Alabama | 7 | 6 | 53.85% | 342 | 292 | 50 |
10 | Florida | 8 | 7 | 53.33% | 464 | 400 | 64 |
11 | Tennessee | 5 | 6 | 45.45% | 237 | 267 | -30 |
12 | Kentucky | 3 | 4 | 42.86% | 138 | 161 | -23 |
13 | Arkansas | 4 | 7 | 36.36% | 212 | 254 | -42 |
14 | Texas A&M | 4 | 8 | 33.33% | 287 | 375 | -88 |
We know eight teams are in and there’s one, Kentucky, just on the bubble. It’ll take a couple strong finishes from Tennessee, South Carolina or Arkansas to hit the record number.