How will the SEC Bowl tie-ins look for the 2024-2025 season with Texas and Oklahoma joining the conference? And how will the Pac-12’s dissolution and the introduction of the newly expanded 12-team College Football playoff impact the schedule?
What Bowls Are Tied In With the SEC?
- Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
- Duke’s Mayo Bowl
- SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
- AutoZone Liberty Bowl
- ReliaQuest Bowl
- TaxAct Texas Bowl
- TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
- TransPerfect Music City Bowl
- Birmingham Bowl
- Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl
Bowl Selection Process
The Citrus Bowl (vs. the top Big Ten team) chooses the top SEC team outside the College Football Playoff bracket, which will now feature 12 programs.
After the Citrus Bowl selects a team, the conference, alongside the institutions and the bowls, will assign eligible SEC programs to the Liberty (vs. Big 12), ReliaQuest (Big Ten or ACC), Texas (Big 12), Gator (ACC), Music City (Big Ten), and Las Vegas/Duke’s Mayo Bowls.
The SEC and Big Ten alternate between the Las Vegas Bowl and Duke’s Mayo Bowl, with the conference sending a team to Sin City this year. The Las Vegas Bowl usually pits the SEC or Big Ten against the Pac-12, but what will happen in 2024 and beyond with the Pac-12 ceasing to exist in June?
According to the Action Network’s Brett McMurphy, Pac-12 schools “likely will still play in Pac-12-affiliated bowls … and not in bowl tie-ins with their new conferences” for at least the next two seasons.
Lastly, ESPN Events will select the teams to participate in the Birmingham and Gasparilla Bowls after the Citrus Bowl and the “Pool of Six.”
The Birmingham Bowl pits the SEC vs. the AAC, although if either conference does not fulfill their bowl commitments, a bowl-eligible team from C-USA or the MAC will take their place. Meanwhile, the Gasparilla Bowl could feature teams from seven different conferences (plus the remnants of the Pac-12): ACC, Big 12, SEC, AAC, C-USA, MAC, and the Mountain West.
College Football Playoff and the SEC
The new 12-team College Football Playoff format will feature five automatic bids for the highest-ranked conference champions and the seven highest-ranked teams remaining. The top four programs will receive a first-round bye to the quarterfinals.
In this format, the SEC would’ve had four schools (Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, and Ole Miss) in the CFP last season. And with Texas and Oklahoma joining the fray, it’s not impossible the conference sends five to the dance this year. Likely? No. Pasuabile? Yes.
KEEP READING: 2024 SEC Strength of Schedule
Since 2015, the SEC has averaged six teams in the top 25 each season, with nearly four cracking the top 12. With the addition of the two Big 12 powerhouses, it’s safe to presume the league sends three to four programs to CFP in any given year.
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