WESTERN DIVISION
No. 12 Arkansas Razorbacks
Bowl game: Capital One vs. No. 6 Wisconsin, Jan. 1 at noon on ABC The Southeastern Conference Western Division champions accepted an invitation to play in the Capital One Bowl for the second time in the program’s history. Arkansas coach Houston Nutt had to do a little convincing to Capital One Bowl officials after the Razorbacks’ 38-28 loss to the University of Florida in the SEC Championship. “We just wanted to make it clear to Capital One that we’re not turning down bowls,” Arkansas coach Houston Nutt told The Associated Press. “We’re getting a bad rap that we’re turning down bowls. We don’t turn down bowls, especially the Capital One [Bowl].”
No. 10 Auburn Tigers
Bowl game: AT&T Cotton vs. No. 22 Nebraska, Jan 1 at 10:30 a.m. on FOX A 10-win season was not enough to salvage the Tigers’ chances of playing in a BCS bowl game or the Capital One Bowl, which is considered the best non-BCS game. “It has been a tremendous season, and what better way to cap it off than to be playing a very good Nebraska team in one of the original four bowl games?” Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said in a news release. “I look forward to a sea of orange in Dallas on Jan. 1.”
No. 4 LSU Tigers
Bowl game: Allstate Sugar vs. No. 11 Notre Dame, Jan. 3 at 6:30 p.m. on FOX What does third place in the SEC West merit a team? This year – a BCS bowl game. The Tigers will travel one hour down Interstate-10 to play America’s sweetheart, the University of Notre Dame, in the Louisiana Superdome for their 13th Sugar Bowl appearance. “It’s going to be a great event, and we are excited about having the opportunity of bringing LSU football to the wonderful city of New Orleans and to the Louisiana Superdome,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “The idea that we have already sold our allotment of tickets for the Sugar Bowl tells me that our fans are excited about playing there.”
Alabama Crimson Tide
Bowl game: PetroSun Independence vs. Oklahoma State, Dec. 28 at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN Alabama interim coach Joe Kines will get one final chance at saving an average season for the Crimson Tide. “I tell you, I do not know if there has been a time when our group has been more excited about getting to play,” Kines said in a news release. “We could have been through with our season, and now we get one more shot to go play.” The postseason appearance is Alabama’s 54th overall trip to a bowl, which sets the college football record.
EASTERN DIVISION
No. 2 Florida Gators
Bowl game: BCS title game vs. No. 1 Ohio State, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. on FOX For a majority of the regular season, all indications pointed to the University of Florida being the red-headed stepchild of the BCS. But a 38-28 victory against the University of Arkansas in the SEC Championship game and a University of California, Los Angeles, upset of the University of Southern California did just enough to sway voters in the USA Today and Harris Interactive polls to push the Gators into the No. 2 slot. “I really thought after that [SEC championship] game we’d have that opportunity,” Florida coach Urban Meyer told The Gainesville Sun. “I really did after I heard USC lost.”
No. 17 Tennessee Volunteers
Bowl game: Outback vs. Penn State, Jan. 1 at 10 a.m. on ESPN One year after failing to reach the postseason, the Volunteers are back to their winning ways by participating in a New Year’s Day bowl game. But bowl projections had Tennessee making a trip to Orlando, Fla., for the Capital One Bowl. Instead, Tennessee will face Joe Paterno’s Nittany Lions in Tampa, Fla. “I don’t have any disappointment whatsoever about playing against a great Penn State [team] in a New Year’s Day bowl in a great city like Tampa,” Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said. “We’re thrilled for the chance to do that. We’re excited because we haven’t been to the Outback Bowl in some time.”
Kentucky Wildcats
Bowl game: Gaylord Hotels Music City vs. Clemson, Dec. 29 at noon on ESPN The Wildcats will not have to travel far for their 11th ever bowl appearance. The Music City Bowl is located in Nashville, Tenn., which is about a three-hour drive from Lexington, Ky. “I was on the outside of the process looking in, just happy to be there,” Kentucky coach Rich Brooks said in a news release. “I think the Liberty Bowl had shown a lot of interest, and the Music City Bowl, as well as the Independence Bowl. I’m just happy to be going to a bowl game.”
Georgia Bulldogs
Bowl game: Chick-fil-A vs. No. 14 Virginia Tech, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. on ESPN Sitting on a 6-4 record with two games remaining against Auburn University and Georgia Tech, speculation arose as to whether the Bulldogs would even make a postseason appearance. But two upsets later against nationally-ranked opponents has Georgia playing in the Chick-fil-A Bowl in its own backyard in Atlanta. “We started 5-0 and then lost four of five and felt like we lost a lot of respect in the football world,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said in a news release. “To think we even had a shot at the Chick-fil-A Bowl got our guys excited, and we used that as motivation.”
South Carolina Gamecocks
Bowl game: AutoZone Liberty vs. Houston, Dec. 29 at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN Don’t look now, but University of South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is making his imprint on the Gamecocks’ football history. Spurrier is the first South Carolina coach to take his team to two consecutive bowl games in the first two years as coach. “We’ll be blues when we come to Memphis,” Spurrier told The State in Columbia, S.C. “We’ll be a little bit of Elvis fans, too. We’ll try to blend in with the locals.”
—–Contact Kyle Whitfield at [email protected]