Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (December 7, 2025) – Eleven Southeastern Conference football teams learned their postseason bowl destinations on Sunday, including five schools that will participate in the College Football Playoff.
The SEC leads all conferences in the number of schools in the 12-team CFP.
SEC champion and No. 3-ranked Georgia will play in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day, a quarterfinal game in the Playoff. In first-round College Football Playoff games, No. 6 seed Ole Miss will host No. 11 Tulane, No. 7 seed Texas A&M will host No. 10 Miami and No. 8 seed Oklahoma will host No. 9 Alabama.
On Sunday, the College Football Playoff committee first named the 12 teams to participate in the Playoff.
Next, the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in Orlando selected Texas from the SEC to play Michigan of the Big Ten.
This marks the 12th year the Conference has assigned league schools to an “SEC Bowl Pool” that includes six postseason games. The SEC Bowl Pool includes the Kinder’s Texas Bowl in Houston, the Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl in Nashville, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, the Reliaquest Bowl in Tampa and the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte. In alternating years, the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl replaces the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in the SEC Bowl Pool.
LSU will play in the Kinder’s Texas Bowl in Houston, Missouri will play in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Tennessee will play in the Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl in Nashville, Vanderbilt will play in the Reliaquest Bowl in Tampa and Mississippi State will play in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte.
Mississippi State qualified for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl with a 5-7 record by virtue of how its Academic Progress Rate ranked among other schools with a similar record.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF GAMES
- CFP First Round Game – Alabama at Oklahoma (Norman) – Dec. 19 – 8 pm ET – ESPN & ABC
- CFP First Round Game – Miami at Texas A&M (College Station) – Dec. 20 – Noon ET – ESPN & ABC
- CFP First Round Game– Tulane at Ole Miss (Oxford) – Dec. 20 – 3:30 pm ET – TNT and HBO MAX
- Allstate Sugar Bowl(New Orleans) – Georgia vs. Tulane/Ole Miss winner – Jan. 1 – 8:00 pm ET – ESPN
SEC-AFFILIATED BOWLS:
- TaxSlayer Gator Bowl(Jacksonville) – Missouri vs. ACC – Dec. 27 – 7:30 pm ET – ABC
- Kinder’s Texas Bowl(Houston) – LSU vs. Big 12 – Dec. 27 – 9:15 pm ET – ESPN
- Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl(Nashville) – Tennessee vs. Big Ten – Dec. 30 – 5:30 pm ET – ESPN
- Reliaquest Bowl(Tampa) – Vanderbilt vs. Big Ten – Dec. 31 – Noon ET – ESPN
- Cheez-It Citrus Bowl(Orlando) – Texas vs. Michigan – Dec. 31 – 3 pm ET – ABC
- Duke’s Mayo Bowl(Charlotte) – Mississippi State vs. ACC – Jan. 2 – 8 pm ET – ESPN
The SEC Bowl Pool participants are determined after conversations with bowl partners and discussions with school personnel in order to create a lineup of compelling bowl games. This process, as approved by the institutions of the SEC, provides an opportunity to create intriguing matchups and varying assignments to help prevent repetitive postseason destinations when possible.
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