Georgia's Bowl Situation and other Projections

It is not a total lock that Georgia would go to the Capital One Bowl if we lost to Georgia Tech. If South Carolina and Ole Miss close their seasons at 8-4 with a win over a heated rival, that might make them as attractive as a Georgia fan base coming off a loss to the Jackets. However, it does look like a high probability either way that we'll end up in Orlando.

Saturday is a bigger game for Tech's bowl opportunities. A Tech win puts them squarely into Peach or Gator with the obvious shot at the Orange Bowl if they back door the ACC Title game. A Tech loss would devastate their bowl opportunities. Tech will never win an ACC Title game coming off a loss to UGA. Plus, their fans are notoriously weak travelers following a loss to the Dawgs. They could fall to the Champ Sports or Music City Bowl with a loss.

Other Bowl News:

• BCS Bowls: No SEC Championship game loser has ever made a BCS Bowl before. That will change this year unless Florida were to lose to both FSU and Alabama. In that scenario, it is possible that Georgia (if we beat Tech) would make the Sugar Bowl (likely against Utah) over the Gators who would have 3 losses. Most pundits predict Florida in the title game and Bama in the Sugar. The Tide hasn't been to the Sugar Bowl since Jan. 1, 1993.
  
  
• Capital One Bowl - Georgia is most likely destined for Orlando. Oddly, the game to watch for UGA fans is the Oregon State vs. Oregon game. If the Beavers beat the Ducks, Ohio State will likely be bumped from a BCS at-large birth. The Buckeyes would be ranked 9th or 10th and Georgia would likely be ranked 11th or 12th heading into that game. If the Beavers lose, Georgia will likely face Michigan State. One local Spartan newspaper thinks a date with UGA would be bad news for MSU.
  
  
• Outback Bowl - The State in Columbia says that the Gamecocks may be headed to Tampa regardless of the outcome of their date with Clemson. Michigan State and Iowa seem to be front runners for the Big 10 spot. (See Also - Mandel on the Big 10 Bowls)
  
  
• Cotton - the Dallas Morning News would love to see UGA vs. Texas Tech. It ain't gonna happen. They say it's more likely to be Texas Tech vs. Ole Miss in a gross mismatch, but good for the Rebels. If they get Croomed by Mississippi State on Friday, then LSU will slide into this slot.
  
  
• Chick-Fil-A Bowl - If the Atlanta Sports Council finds LSU vs. Florida State under their Christmas Tree, it would be the luckiest break their bowl has caught in a while. Any combo of LSU vs. FSU or Georgia Tech would draw well. Boston College vs anyone would be a ticket fiasco.
  
  
• Music City - The Music City Bowl has stated that it isn't opposed to selecting Vanderbilt. After back to back trips to Nashville by Kentucky, it would seem that Vandy staying local wouldn't be a bad idea. The Music City and Liberty Bowls actually pick at the same time. They both make a list of the teams they want in order 1-3, and the SEC works with those lists (plus the desires of the teams affected) to place the teams. Vandy or UK will end up here barring a combo of UK beating UT and LSU falling to Arkansas. The ACC is too complex to know where anyone will land this far down their pecking order.
  
  
• Liberty - See the comments above. Vanderbilt vs. the Conference USA Champ is my prediction, but UK could end up here as well.
  
  
• Independence - The fellas in Shreveport need Auburn to beat Alabama, Notre Dame to beat Southern Cal (and the Cotton to take ND instead of Ole Miss) or some other calamity in order for the SEC to have enough bowl eligible teams for the Independence Bowl. The Bowl also needs Colorado to beat Nebraska in Lincoln in order to have a Big 12 team for the other slot. A match-up of UL-L vs. Northern Illinois isn't out of the question.
  
  
• PapaJohns.com - There's no SEC team for this bowl. Their best hope is to squeeze Troy into their game vs. a Big East also-ran.

See Also:
-- ESPN's Bowl Projections
-- Sportsline.com Bowl Projections
-- Bowl Tickets to Any Game - Stubhub

PWD