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.