By Chris Marler
I held off on making any bold predictions in this weekly bowl projections column. Not because I don’t think chaos could still happen and change the current rankings entirely. No, I didn’t make any bold predictions because this exercise bends my brain. Don’t get me wrong I love talking about postseason college football. But as someone with crippling ADHD and college degree that took me five years to complete (ok, six), the possibilities swirl around in my mind nearing the point of paralysis.
There has not been a single week where I’ve submitted this to our Hunt Palmer and there has not been a glaring mistake. Hell, a couple weeks ago I had Auburn going to not one but two bowls.
I think all the teams and infomercial companies turned bowl sponsors overstimulate me, and I can’t tell the difference between Birmingham and Gasparilla. Let alone the Liberty and Independence. Anyway, this week we are going big with my bold prediction on how the season plays out.
I think Texas A&M loses to Auburn. I then think they will beat Texas. That should be enough to drop them out of the 12-team playoff. But there’s no way the committee will leave them out. I also think Texas is the least tested team in the conference, and even if they make it to Atlanta, I can see them losing to Alabama. We shall see.
We’ve got a few more weeks to get everything ironed out, but for now here’s where every SEC Team landed after Week 12.
Birmingham Bowl
Birmingham, Ala – Dec. 27
Vanderbilt vs Coastal Carolina
Las Vegas Bowl
Las Vegas, Nev – Dec. 27
Missouri vs Arizona St
Independence Bowl
Memphis, Tenn – Dec. 27
Arkansas vs Kansas St
Music City Bowl
Nashville, Tenn – Dec. 27
Florida vs Michigan
Citrus Bowl
Orlando, Fla – Dec. 31
Tennessee vs Illinois
Reliaquest Bowl
Orlando, Fla – Dec. 31
South Carolina vs Iowa
Texas Bowl
Houston, Tex – Dec. 31
LSU vs TCU
Gator Bowl
Jacksonville, Fla – Jan. 2, 2025
Texas A&M vs SMU
College Football Playoff First Round
No. 5 Oregon vs No. 12 Boise State
No. 6 Georgia vs No. 11 Indiana
No. 7 Texas vs No. 10 Ole Miss
No. 8 Penn State vs No. 9 Notre Dame
College Football Playoff First Round Byes
No.1 Ohio State
No. 2 Miami
No. 3 Alabama
No. 4 Colorado
