SEC bowl projections: College Football Playoff, New Year's Six predictions after Week 12
Only one week remains before championship weekend in the 2023 college footall regular season, and several teams from the SEC look to be strong contendors for not only a New Year's Six bowl, but also the College Football Playoff.
Three teams in the SEC find themselves in the top 10 in the latest set of college football rankings: No. 9 Missouri (9-2, 5-2 in SEC play), No. 8 Alabama (10-1, 7-0) and, of course, No. 1 Georgia (11-0, 8-0). The Tigers have only one more game to make a strong case for a NY6 bowl, while the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs have to traverse Rivalry Week before facing off in what likely will be the conference's lone bid to the CFP.
REQUIRED READING: College football rankings: SEC teams in updated Coaches Poll, AP Top 25 after Week 12
Elsewhere, No. 13 Ole Miss (9-2, 5-2), No. 14 LSU (8-3, 5-2), Tennessee (7-4, 3-4), Texas A&M (7-4, 4-3) and Kentucky (6-5, 3-5), all teams that have already clinched bowl eligibility, look to secure more prestigious bowls heading into Rivalry Week.
Two more teams — South Carolina and Mississipi State — both need a win in Week 13 to secure bowl eligibility. With that, here's where each SEC team is projected to go in the 2023-24 bowl season:
Week 13 college football bowl predictions
All bowl predictions based off Week 12 CFP rankings
College Football Playoff
Sugar Bowl: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 4 Florida State
The one constant throughout the season has been that Georgia, whether ranked No. 1 or No. 2, will play in the Sugar Bowl. With the Bulldogs dominating 38-10 Tennessee in Week 12, that won't change. The bigger question: Who will face the Bulldogs in New Orleans?
The projection remains No. 4 Florida State heading into Rivalry Week, but the Seminoles suffered a tremendous loss in Week 12 after Jordan Travis left the game vs. North Alabama with a horrific leg injury. The team directly behind FSU in the rankings, No. 5 Washington, has had to fight tooth-and-nail to remain undefeated heading into Week 13 (and still has to face off against a dangerous-looking Oregon team in a Pac-12 championship game rematch).
New Year's Six
Cotton Bowl: Alabama vs. Oregon
Peach Bowl: Missouri vs. Penn State
Assuming both Alabama and Oregon are left out of the playoff (both still have a case to make it) then a Cotton Bowl matchup could be one of the most enticing games in all of bowl season. Both teams have overcome losses to look like some of the best contenders in the country. The Crimson Tide would also face off against former Nick Saban assistant/Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning and former Auburn quarterback Bo Nix. The storylines write themselves.
The next team in line for a New Year's Six bowl is Missouri, which held off the upset-minded Gators in Week 12 to set up the possibility of a 10-win regular season. Eliah Drinkwitz and the high-powered Tigers offense — led by quarterback Brady Cook, receiver Luther Burden and running back Cody Schrader — would make a great stylistic contrast to Penn State, which ranks second nationally in total defense (238.7 yards per game) and No. 4 in scoring defense (12.5 points per game).
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Remaining SEC bowl projections
With Missouri moving up to a New Year's Six bowl in the latest rankings, that leaves one fewer Tier I bowl for the SEC to fill with just two weeks remaining (South Carolina and Mississippi State's bowl status notwithstanding).
Here's a look at the rest of SEC bowl projections:
Citrus Bowl: Ole Miss vs. Iowa
The ReliaQuest Bowl: LSU vs. Clemson*
Gator Bowl: Tennessee vs. North Carolina
Texas Bowl: Texas A&M vs. West Virginia
Liberty Bowl: Auburn vs. Iowa State
*The SEC in 2023 is slated to play the Big Ten in the ReliaQuest bowl. If the Big Ten places one of its teams in the Orange Bowl, the SEC will play an ACC team instead.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: SEC bowl predictions, including CFP, New Year's Six after Week 12
