Vanderbilt (2-10, 0-8) and Mississippi State (5-7, 3-5) are the only Southeastern Conference football teams staying home this postseason. For the rest of the SEC, this week will be when postseason destinations are decided. The SEC’s bowl-eligible teams await the results of various conference championship games to see whom and where they will play. No. 1 Florida (12-0, 8-0) and No. 2 Alabama (12-0, 8-0) meet in the Georgia Dome on Saturday to decide which team will take home the SEC championship and a trip to the BCS national title game. Both teams have undefeated records, and both coaches are seeking their third SEC title. “To finally get our goal was very simple, to get to Atlanta,” Florida coach Urban Meyer said in the SEC Football Championship Game media teleconference. “Now we’ve got to go and play a very good team.”The Crimson Tide’s Heisman Trophy candidate, sophomore running back Mark Ingram, went down with an injury in Alabama’s victory against Auburn last Saturday, but Alabama coach Nick Saban said the running back should be ready for the championship game.”I think he’ll be fine,” Saban said. “We don’t think he has a significant problem. I think those things are a little bit painful, especially when you first get them. And it was late in the game when it happened, and he just never really had an opportunity to go back in.”The loser of the SEC title game is projected to play in the Sugar Bowl. CBSsports.com projects either No. 5 Cincinnati or No. 4 TCU to fill the other spot depending on the outcome of the contest between Cincinnati and No. 15 Pittsburgh, where the Big East title is on the line. Saban said he hasn’t thought about the possibility of not playing a conference title game and having this game simply be the national title game.”It’s not the way it is,” Saban said. “So we kind of need to play this game, and I’m sure they feel the same way about it, to have an opportunity to go on to the next step.”There will be an SEC representative in the Papajohns.com Bowl, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, the AT&T Cotton Bowl, the Capital One Bowl, the Outback Bowl, the Chick-fil-A Bowl, the Independence Bowl and the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl, thanks to the SEC’s bowl tie-ins.Ole Miss has reportedly accepted a bid to play in the Cotton Bowl and will face Oklahoma State on Jan. 2 in Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. CBSsports.com projects Arkansas (7-5, 3-5) to make the journey to Memphis, Tenn., to face the Conference USA champion in the Liberty Bowl. The Razorbacks are coming off of a 33-30 overtime loss against LSU. East Carolina (8-4, 7-1 C-USA) faces No. 21 Houston (10-2, 6-2 C-USA) for the conference title Saturday.CBSsports.com currently has Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl squaring off against Air Force. East Carolina is projected to play in the Liberty Bowl.Tennessee (7-5, 4-4) is projected to play the ACC’s second choice in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. The ACC champion receives an automatic bid to the Orange Bowl. No. 10 Georgia Tech (10-2, 7-1 ACC) meets Clemson (8-4, 6-2 ACC) for the ACC title Saturday. Auburn (7-5, 3-5) is projected to tackle the Big Ten’s third-ranked team, Wisconsin, in the Outback Bowl. South Carolina is projected to matchup with South Florida in the Papajohns.com bowl.LSU is expected to play in the Capital One Bowl on Jan.1 at noon.____Contact Amos Morale at [email protected]
Football: Bowlers wait for decision on opponents, destinations
December 3, 2009