ESPN’s latest bowl projections have a heavy SEC flavor, with 13 league teams showing up in the Week 5 update from Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach.
That leaves only Arkansas, South Carolina and Vanderbilt out of the mix this week.
The top of the SEC picture is especially interesting because Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Texas and Ole Miss all picked up at least one projection into the College Football Playoff. Texas is the only one of that group projected all the way into a quarterfinal by Schlabach.
Here’s how the SEC slate looks in the latest projections:
Alabama is one of the teams drawing national title buzz, with Kalshi listing the Crimson Tide at 12% to win it all.
Auburn is split between the Gasparilla Bowl against South Florida in Bonagura’s projection and the Birmingham Bowl against North Carolina in Schlabach’s.
Florida lands in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Wisconsin in Bonagura’s version, while Schlabach sends the Gators to the Gator Bowl against SMU.
Georgia appears in the projections list without a specific bowl matchup attached in the source.
Kentucky is pegged by Bonagura for the Birmingham Bowl against Tulane and by Schlabach for the Music City Bowl against Minnesota.
LSU shows up in both playoff projections, with Bonagura putting the Tigers in a first-round matchup against No. 7 Alabama and Schlabach slotting them into a first-round game against No. 6 Ohio State.
Mississippi State gets the Music City Bowl against Penn State from Bonagura and the ReliaQuest Bowl against Nebraska from Schlabach.
Mizzou is projected by Bonagura for the Liberty Bowl against Baylor and by Schlabach for the Las Vegas Bowl against USC.
Oklahoma is flipped the other way, with Bonagura sending the Sooners to the Las Vegas Bowl against USC and Schlabach to the Liberty Bowl against Baylor.
Ole Miss is projected by Bonagura for the Gator Bowl against Wake Forest, while Schlabach has the Rebels in the playoff first round against No. 7 Indiana.
Tennessee is matched with Nebraska in Bonagura’s Citrus Bowl projection and with Iowa in Schlabach’s Citrus Bowl pick.
Texas gets one of the biggest spots on the board: Bonagura has the Longhorns in a first-round playoff game against No. 12 Boise State, while Schlabach projects them into the playoff quarterfinals against No. 9 Oregon.
Texas A&M rounds out the SEC group, with both experts sending the Aggies to the Texas Bowl, though Bonagura has them facing Kansas State and Schlabach has them playing Oklahoma State.
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In the hours after the game, the attention moved to Northgate, where a confrontation involving BenDaDonnn and law enforcement ended with his arrest on an evading arrest charge. His bodyguard was also arrested on a charge of interfering with duties, turning what had been a flashy game-day appearance into a messy off-field episode the Aggies surely would have preferred to avoid. [Read more 🡒]
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For Texas A&M, the spotlight falls squarely on the running game, which will be asked to hold up against a Missouri defense that has been stout against the run. The Aggies also have to navigate a series of issues that often show up in games like this, from Missouris history of occasional letdowns after big victories to the broader challenge of matching up with a team that has already proven it can win at a high level. [Read more 🡒]