Sunday, November 1, 2009

Looking at the bowl possibilities

Bowl eligible
No. 1 Florida, 8-0
Remaining schedule: vs. Vanderbilt, at South Carolina, vs. Florida International, vs. Florida State
Best-case scenario: Florida runs the table, beats Alabama in the SEC Championship Game and goes to the BCS National Championship Game.
Worst-case scenario: Florida flops at South Carolina and loses to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. The Gators would still probably go to the Sugar Bowl.
Prediction: 12-1, Sugar Bowl

No. 3 Alabama, 8-0
Remaining schedule: vs. No. 9 LSU, at Mississippi State, vs. Tennessee-Chattanooga, at Auburn
Best-case scenario: The Crimson Tide runs the table, beats Florida in the SEC Championship Game and goes to the BCS National Championship Game.
Worst-case scenario: Alabama drops games to LSU and either Mississippi State or Auburn and doesn’t qualify for the SEC Championship Game, landing instead in the Capital One Bowl.
Prediction: 13-0, BCS National Championship Game

No. 9 LSU, 7-1
Remaining schedule: at No. 3 Alabama, vs. Louisiana Tech, at Ole Miss, vs. Arkansas
Best-case scenario: LSU finds more stability from the offense and runs the table, starting with an upset win at Alabama. A 4-0 finish would put LSU in the SEC Championship Game. LSU then gets a BCS bid.
Worst-case scenario: QB Jordan Jefferson returns to erratic form and LSU can’t get any more production out of its run game. The Tigers lose three of their last four and fall to Cotton Bowl.
Prediction: 9-3, Capital One Bowl

Auburn, 6-3
Remaining schedule: vs. Furman, at Georgia, bye, vs. Alabama
Best-case scenario: Auburn’s defense plays like it did against Ole Miss, QB Chris Todd keeps defenses honest and the Tigers find a way to win out. That situation would put Auburn in the Cotton Bowl, maybe even the Capital One Bowl.
Worst-case scenario: The Tigers drop both remaining SEC games and end the season 7-5. Auburn then goes to the Gaylords Hotel Bowl.
Prediction: 8-4, Cotton Bowl

South Carolina, 6-3
Remaining schedule: at Arkansas, vs. No. 1 Florida, vs. Clemson
Best-case scenario: South Carolina finds a way to sneak out of Arkansas and beats Clemson in a rivalry game to finish 8-4. That would put the Gamecocks back in Tampa for the Outback Bowl.
Worst-case scenario: The Gamecocks drop all three games and barely qualify for a bowl game. That would put South Carolina up for possibly the Independence Bowl or the Papajohns.com Bowl.
Prediction: 7-5, Liberty Bowl

Work to do
Ole Miss, 5-3*
*-Since Ole Miss has two Division I-AA teams on its schedule, only one of those wins will count toward its bowl eligibility. That means the Rebels need to get to seven wins to become bowl eligible.
Remaining schedule: vs. Northern Arizona, vs. Tennessee, vs. No. 9 LSU, at Mississippi State
Best-case scenario: Ole Miss gets more consistent play out of QB Jevan Snead and wins out to put itself in great bowl position.
Worst-case scenario: The Rebels manage to beat only Northern Arizona and miss out on a bowl game altogether.
Prediction: 7-5, Gaylords Hotel Bowl

Georgia, 4-4
Remaining schedule: vs. Tennessee Tech, vs. Auburn, vs. Kentucky, at No. 10 Georgia Tech
Best-case scenario: The Bulldogs continue their dominance over both Auburn and Kentucky and pull off an upset against Georgia Tech to finish the season 8-4.
Worst-case scenario: Georgia drops home games to both Auburn and Kentucky, loses to Georgia Tech and misses a bowl game altogether.
Prediction: 7-5, Chick-fil-A Bowl

Tennessee, 4-4
Remaining schedule: vs. Memphis, at Ole Miss, vs. Vanderbilt, at Kentucky
Best-case scenario: QB Jonathan Crompton continues his strong play and the UT defense only grows stronger. The Volunteers win out.
Worst-case scenario: Tennessee loses its two road games and finishes 6-6, going to the Liberty Bowl.
Prediction: 7-5, Outback Bowl

Kentucky, 4-4
Remaining schedule: vs. Eastern Kentucky, at Vanderbilt, at Georgia, vs. Tennessee
Best-case scenario: The Wildcats find stability from one of their two quarterbacks and find ways to upset both Georgia and Tennessee. That could result in Kentucky going to the Outback Bowl or at least the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
Worst-case scenario: Kentucky loses its last two games and finishes the season 6-6, landing in the Papajohns.com Bowl.
Prediction: 6-6, Papajohns.com Bowl

Arkansas, 4-4
Remaining schedule: vs. South Carolina, vs. Troy, vs. Mississippi State, at No. 9 LSU
Best-case scenario: The Razorbacks defense plays like it did against Auburn and Florida, lending enough support to a potent offense to help Arkansas win out and go to the Cotton Bowl.
Worst-case scenario: Arkansas drops a game it shouldn’t and finishes the season 6-6 and playing in the Liberty Bowl.
Prediction: 7-5, Liberty Bowl

Tough road ahead
Mississippi State, 4-5
Remaining schedule: bye, vs. No. 3 Alabama, at Arkansas, vs. Ole Miss
Best-case scenario: The Bulldogs steal two wins and play in the Papajohns.com Bowl.
Worst-case scenario: State loses out and finishes 4-8.
Prediction: 4-8

No comments: