3 Playoff Teams? SEC Bowl Projections after Week 8

By Chris Marler
We are nearing the end of October which means bowl season is starting to take shape, and we are a few weeks from the first edition of this year’s College Football Playoff Rankings. There’s a new No. 1 in the SEC after Georgia went into Austin and beat Texas. However, the biggest change this week is that for the first time this season, we only have three SEC teams projected in the 12-team playoff.
Will the SEC continue to cannibalize itself in the new 16-team league? Or will they sneak four teams in the field like everyone expects? We have six weeks left in the regular season to find out.
But for now, it’s Tuesday which means two things: midweek MACtion and our very own bowl projections.
Here’s where every SEC Team landed after week eight:
Birmingham Bowl
Birmingham, Ala – Dec. 27
Vanderbilt vs Boston College
Las Vegas Bowl
Las Vegas, Nev – Dec. 27
Ole Miss vs Colorado
Liberty Bowl
Memphis, Tenn – Dec. 27
Arkansas vs West Virginia
Music City Bowl
Nashville, Tenn – Dec. 27
South Carolina vs Michigan
Citrus Bowl
Orlando, Fla – Dec. 31
Alabama vs Iowa
Reliaquest Bowl
Orlando, Fla – Dec. 31
Tennessee vs Illinois
Texas Bowl
Houston, Tex – Dec. 31
Missouri vs Texas Tech
Gator Bowl
Jacksonville, Fla – Jan. 2, 2025
Texas A&M vs SMU
College Football Playoff First Round
No. 5 Ohio State vs No. 12 Boise State
No. 6 Texas vs No. 11 Indiana
No. 7 Miami vs No. 10 Notre Dame
No. 8 Penn State vs No. 9 LSU
College Football Playoff First Round Byes
No.1 Georgia
No. 2 Oregon
No. 3 Clemson
No. 4 BYU