The SEC is headed back to the national championship. With Alabama and Georgia both winning on Saturday, the winner of the SEC championship game is headed to Miami for the Discover BCS National Championship.
And now that the regular season is over, we also know the SEC has nine teams that are bowl eligible.
Florida's win against Florida State means the Gators (fourth in the BCS standings) finished the season 11-1 and will be ranked within the top four of the BCS standings after the SEC championship. With the SEC champ heading to South Beach, the Gators will be heading to New Orleans for the Allstate Sugar Bowl, unless the loser in Atlanta somehow doesn't drop below the Gators. But it'll be hard for a one-loss Florida team with four wins over top-10 opponents to stay behind a two-loss SEC runner-up.
With the SEC having two BCS-bound teams and only one team available for BBVA Compass Bowl and AutoZone Liberty Bowl spots, the Compass Bowl will get the remaining SEC team, meaning the Liberty Bowl will get to make an at-large selection.
When it comes to the last few bowls, Vanderbilt becomes an interesting team. The Commodores are one of the hottest teams in the SEC and they could be up for the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Why? Well, the Chick-fil-A Bowl might not want another South Carolina-Clemson matchup. That means the Gamecocks could slip to the Gator Bowl. Also, could the Music City Bowl find itself in a position to take a 6-6 Ole Miss team over an 8-4 Mississippi State team after the Rebels blew the Bulldogs out? It's possible. …
The bowl picture is still cloudy, but here's our best shot:
Discover BCS National Championship Game, Jan. 7: Alabama
Allstate Sugar Bowl, Jan. 2: Florida
Capital One Bowl, Jan. 1: Georgia
AT&T Cotton Bowl, Jan. 4: Texas A&M
Outback Bowl, Jan. 1: LSU
Chick-fil-A Bowl, Dec. 31: Vanderbilt
Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl, Jan. 1: South Carolina
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, Dec. 31: Mississippi State
BBVA Compass Bowl, Jan. 5: Ole Miss