2021-22 SEC bowl tie-ins, affiliations

Nick Gray, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read
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It's bowl season, y'all.

The projections are everywhere you look, but what bowls can SEC teams make? How does the process work?

Take a look below.

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2021-22 SEC bowl tie-ins, affiliations

College Football Playoff, if applicable

1. Sugar Bowl vs. Big 12

Any at-large New Year's Six berths can come after the Sugar Bowl slot is filled.

2. Citrus Bowl vs. Big Ten

The next six bowls have no selection order; teams are selected based on proximity, matchups and other factors.

  • Outback Bowl vs. Big Ten

  • Gator Bowl vs. ACC

  • Duke's Mayo Bowl vs. ACC

  • Music City Bowl vs. Big Ten

  • Liberty Bowl vs. Big 12

  • Texas Bowl vs. Big 12

The next tier of games will be picked after the tier above. They have no selection order; teams are selected based on proximity, matchups and other factors.

  • Birmingham Bowl vs. AAC

  • Gasparilla Bowl vs. ACC, AAC or PAC-12

The SEC has 13 bowl-eligible teams. What if there's not enough spots?

There are a couple factors here. First, LSU and Florida are both searching for a new head coach. Does that impact whether or not they would accept a bid to one of the lower-tier bowls? Neither school has announced either way if they would accept such a bid, and both schools reached 6 wins on Saturday.

Also, any projection assumes Georgia as a CFP team, Alabama as either a CFP or New Year's Six participant and Ole Miss as a New Year's Six bowl team, either in the Sugar or as an at-large. As of Sunday morning after the regular season, that all seems safe to assume.

So let's count. That leaves nine affiliated bowls for 10 teams. There are five 6-6 teams: Missouri, South Carolina, Florida, LSU and Auburn. Of those, it's likely one will have to be linked up outside of the affiliated bowls. ESPN Events runs a majority of the lower-tier bowls on the schedule, and it makes sense that they would find a place for an SEC team in lieu of a Group of 5 program.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: 2021-22 SEC football bowl tie-ins, affiliations