SEC Bowl Schedule



Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Twelve Southeastern Conference football teams are playing in postseason bowl games. No. 1-ranked Alabama will play No. 4 Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl on the night of January 1 in a semifinal game in the new College Football Playoff structure.

In addition to the debut of the College Football Playoff system, this marks the first year the conference assigned league schools to a "Pool of Six" bowls that include the Outback Bowl in Tampa, the TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville, the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl in Nashville, the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl in Houston, the Belk Bowl in Charlotte and the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis.

The College Football Playoff committee first selected teams for the national semifinal games (Allstate Sugar and Rose presented by Northwestern Mutual) and the Fiesta, Chick-fil-A Peach and Goodyear Cotton Bowls while the Capital One Orange Bowl announced its teams.

From the SEC, Mississippi State will play Georgia Tech in the Capital One Orange Bowl and Ole Miss will face TCU in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

Next, the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl selected Missouri from the SEC before the conference assigned teams to the Pool of Six bowls. The selection process for the Pool of Six bowls was based on preferences expressed by the SEC's bowl eligible schools, input from the SEC's affiliated bowls, travel considerations, attention to previous matchups and other pertinent factors.

"The new Pool of Six bowl process gives us the best opportunity to address several issues that impact SEC fans, including the creation of intriguing matchups, the accommodation of travel for fans and a variety of assignments to help prevent repetitive postseason destinations," said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. "We took into account the preferences expressed to us by the participating teams and had conversations with our bowl partners to create a compelling lineup of bowl games featuring SEC teams."

Auburn will play Big 10 opponent Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl, Tennessee will meet Iowa from the Big 10 in the TaxSlayer Bowl, LSU will play Notre Dame in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, Arkansas will play Big 12 opponent Texas in the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl, Georgia will play Louisville from the ACC in the Belk Bowl and Texas A&M will play West Virginia from the Big 12 in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis.

Following the Pool of Six bowl, the Birmingham Bowl selected Florida and the Duck Commander Independence Bowl in Shreveport chose South Carolina from the SEC.