Southeastern Conference Bowl Props: Over-Under 5.5 Wins

While the Southeastern Conference won’t have two teams in the College Football Playoff for the second straight season or third time overall, the SEC has a whopping 11 schools playing in bowl games overall, the most of any conference. No other league has more than nine.

The only SEC programs not to make a postseason game were Vanderbilt (5-7), Auburn (5-7) and Texas A&M (5-7), with the Aggies one of the most disappointing schools in the country. Auburn already has made a coaching change. That trio all fell one win short of bowl eligibility.

While Georgia beat Alabama in the national title game last season, the SEC as whole was moderately disappointing in the 2021 postseason with a 6-8 overall record. It still tied the Big Ten for the most bowl wins overall. For this year, the SEC is even money to record the most bowl wins.

Bowl Will Go On Despite Leach’s Death

Mississippi State coach Mike Leach confers with quarterback Will Rogers (2) during the first half of the team’s NCAA college football game against Mississippi in Oxford, Miss., Thursday, Nov. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Defending national champion and No. 1 Georgia leads the bowl contingent as it will face No. 4 Ohio State in the Peach Bowl national semifinals on New Year’s Eve with the Dawgs as 6.5-point favorites to advance and face either No. 2 Michigan or No. 3 TCU in the title game. UGA is the -135 favorite to win it again. An SEC school has won the championship in each of the past three seasons and five times overall in the College Football Playoff era.

The SEC is given an over-under of 5.5 bowl victories with the first school taking the field being unranked Florida against No. 14 Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday. The Gators are 10-point underdogs because they lost star quarterback Anthony Richardson and few other starters to opt outs.

UF is the biggest SEC underdog in the postseason. No. 17 LSU is the biggest SEC favorite at -10.5 for the Jan. 2 Citrus Bowl against unranked Purdue of the Big Ten.

The Dec. 31 Music City Bowl from Nashville featuring Kentucky of the SEC and Iowa of the Big Ten is the +800 favorite to be the lowest scoring of any bowl game on the schedule. Both teams are rather conservative offensively, and the Hawkeyes allow just 14.4 points per game on defense and the Wildcats 19.1.

Unfortunately, the biggest story in college football as of this writing was the shocking death of Mississippi State coach Mike Leach at age 61 of a heart attack on Monday. His No. 22 Bulldogs are 2-point underdogs against unranked Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Jan. 2. Defensive coordinator Zach Arnett is the MSU interim coach and the game will still be played.