ESPN’s latest bowl projections after Week 4 paint a busy postseason picture for the SEC, with 13 teams still in the mix and only three left out of the field entirely.
South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Arkansas are the lone SEC programs that did not land in either Kyle Bonagura’s or Mark Schlabach’s updated projections. Everyone else from the league shows up somewhere on the board, and for several teams, the road points straight toward the College Football Playoff.
Florida is projected into the playoff by both analysts, though the seeding flips. Bonagura has the Gators facing No.
9 Florida in a first-round matchup with No. 8 BYU, while Schlabach has the same pairing with Florida and BYU swapped in the bracket.
Georgia is also in the playoff picture, with Bonagura slotting the Bulldogs into a quarterfinal against No. 8 BYU as the No. 1 seed. Schlabach did not list a projection for Georgia in the update.
Texas appears in both playoff forecasts as well. Bonagura has the Longhorns meeting Boise State in a first-round game as the No. 5 seed, while Schlabach takes Texas all the way to a quarterfinal matchup as the No. 1 seed against No. 8 Florida.
Ole Miss is another SEC team both analysts pushed into the playoff field. In each projection, the Rebels are slotted as No. 11 and matched up with No. 6 Ohio State in a first-round game.
Beyond the playoff spots, the bowl slate is filled out with familiar SEC names in a range of December destinations. Auburn shows up in two different places: Bonagura has the Tigers in the Gator Bowl against Duke, while Schlabach sends them to the Liberty Bowl against Kansas State.
LSU is projected to the Citrus Bowl in both forecasts, with Penn State on the other side. Kentucky is listed as LSU in the source text, followed by the same Citrus Bowl matchup in both projections.
Mississippi State lands in the postseason either way, though the opponent changes. Bonagura projects the Bulldogs in the Music City Bowl against Iowa, while Schlabach has them in the Gator Bowl against SMU.
Missouri is also in the mix. Bonagura sends Mizzou to the Liberty Bowl to face Houston, while Schlabach places the Tigers in the Las Vegas Bowl against USC.
Oklahoma appears in two different bowls as well. Bonagura has the Sooners in the Las Vegas Bowl against USC, while Schlabach puts them in the Birmingham Bowl against NC State.
Tennessee’s destination depends on which projection you follow. Bonagura has the Vols in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Nebraska, and Schlabach has them in the same bowl against Michigan.
Texas A&M rounds out the SEC group with a pair of Texas Bowl projections. Bonagura has the Aggies facing Cincinnati, while Schlabach sends them there against Oklahoma State.
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