SEC Sports Blog

It began with Nick Saban calling a fake punt deep in his own territory that backfired and ended with Saban’s white Alabama shirt turned pink by the red Gatorade that was dumped on him as his Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Texas Longhorns 37-21. After jumping out to a 24-6 halftime lead on the Longhorns who were without star QB Colt McCoy, Alabama went conservative as Texas cut the Tide’s lead to 24-21 in the 4th quarter. But the Alabama defense stepped it up when they needed to and Heisman Trophy winner had two rushing TDs to lead Alabama to the National Championship.

The Florida Gators debut at #1 in the BCS Top 25 rankings, but Florida had a difficult time with a subpar Arkansas team in the Swamp.  The 6-0 Gators will look to remain undefeated on October 24th as they travel to Mississippi State.  7-0 Alabama comes in at #2 after the Crimson Tide was impressive in their victory over South Carolina.  The Tide will host Tennessee on October 24th before their big test against LSU on November 7th.  The LSU Tigers come in at #9 after a bye week last week.  They come off the break to host Auburn on October 24th.  Steve Spurrier’s South Carolina Gamecocks come in at #24.  The Gamecocks are coming off a tough loss at Alabama and will host Vanderbilt on October 24th. For complete bowl projections for each SEC team check out Football-Bowl.com.

In the SEC it is expected that the conference sends 7-9 teams each year to bowl games while the conference is looked upon as the best in the country. While the SEC Champion Florida Gators will have a chance to prove conference supremacy against the Champions of the upstart Big 12 Conference, 8 teams from the Southeastern Conference are indeed bowling this season. For more on all of these bowl games check out the 2008 college bowl previews provided by College Sports Fans.

Florida Gators - Florida is the headliner of the group having a 12-1 record and #2 ranking in the BCS. The Gators will face the #1 Oklahoma Sooners in the BCS Championship Game on January 8th as Florida looks for a 2nd National Championship in 4 years under Urban Meyer. 2008-2009 BCS Championship preview

Alabama Crimson Tide - The Crimson Tide also finished 12-1 with their lone loss to Florida in the SEC Championship. The loss dropped Alabama to #4 in the nation and set them up for a Sugar Bowl showdown with the #6 Utah Utes who are 12-0 on the year. 2008-2009 Sugar Bowl preview

Georgia Bulldogs - At 9-3 you would think it has been a successful season for the Bulldogs. But Georgia had their eyes on a National Championship and 3 losses look like a losing season to many Georgia fans. The Bulldogs can strengthen the SEC’s dominance over the Big Ten with a win over Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl on New Year’s Day. 2008-2009 Capital One Bowl preview

Mississippi Rebels - Ole Miss came back from a terrible 2007 campaign as Houston Nutt turned the Rebels around and into a 8-4 team in 2008. This season Ole Miss will play on January 2nd against Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl as they look for their 9th win of the season. 2008-2009 Cotton Bowl preview

South Carolina - After a 1-2 start Steve Spurrier’s team bounced back for 4 straight wins, but a 2-3 close to the regular season kept the Gamecocks out of a bigger bowl game. The Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day is quite a nice prize, but South Carolina (7-5) will have their hands full with #20 Iowa. 2008-2009 Outback Bowl preview

LSU Tigers - After a BCS Championship a season ago, Les Miles’ team fell all the way to 7-5, including 3-5 in the SEC in 2008. LSU comes in with a 2-game losing streak after winning 7 of their first 10 games. Their New Year’s Eve match-up with the stellar running attack of #13 Georgia Tech in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl could prove the salvation of their 2008 season. 2008 Chick-Fil-A Bowl preview

Vanderbilt Commodores - The media-darling early in the season after their 5-0 start, Vanderbilt finished the season with 6 losses in 7 games yet they are bowl eligible at 6-6. Vandy matches up with the Music City Bowl which will be an easy travel for their fans. The Commodores will face 9-4 Boston College, the ACC runner-up, a program looking for their 3rd straight 10-win season. 2008 Music City Bowl preview

Kentucky Wildcats - Kentucky was able to be bowl eligible in 2008 thanks to a very weak non-conference schedule where they faced four teams who ended 2008 with losing records. At 2-6 in the SEC it is hard to justify their bowl game, but they should prove a tough match-up for Conference USA Champion East Carolina in the Liberty Bowl. 2008-2009 Liberty Bowl preview