Auburn’s Latest Bowl Projections Are Pretty Decent

“Have fun in Birmingham, durr hurr,” says the person who has never left Birmingham their entire life. The fact of the matter is that there are 9 bowl eligible teams in the SEC. Including 1-2 playoff spots, the Peach Bowl (NY6), the Cheez-It (formerly Capital One/Citrus) Bowl, and then the Tier 1 Bowls, there are 9 bowl spots before you get to Tier 2, which includes the Birmingham Bowl and the Gasparilla Bowl.

Had Florida or South Carolina won Saturday and become bowl eligible, the SEC would’ve had to dip into Tier 2.

So no, Auburn is not going to the Birmingham Bowl as much as the life-haters and fans of the team gloating over beating a team they think is going to the Birmingham Bowl by 3 want you to believe it.

Bowl projections are usually just a guess, and once the bowl tie-ins were shifted around a few years ago, the Tier 1 Bowls are all technically on the same level. So it really comes down to location, who they think will travel, etc. Tier 1 bowls are the Liberty Bowl, ReliaQuest (formerly Outback) Bowl, Duke’s Mayo Bowl, Texas Bowl, Gator Bowl, and Music City Bowl.

I will say there are some projections that are typically correct, CBS (Jerry Palm) and Action Network (Brett McMurphy) are usually the best at this. Many of these are probably just copying them.

Here are where various outlets from around the internet think Auburn is destined to play this postseason. I’d take all of them, but Memphis on December 29th doesn’t sound fun.

Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Charlotte, NC) – December 27, 4:30 PM

The Sporting News: vs. Georgia Tech (6-6)

TaxAct Texas Bowl (Houston, TX) – December 27, 8:00 PM

Athlon Sports: vs. Oklahoma State (9-3)

Saturday Blitz: vs. Kansas State (8-4)

AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Memphis, TN) – December 29, 2:30 PM

USA Today: vs Texas Tech (6-6)

College Football News: vs. Iowa State (7-5) – UPDATE: CFN has changed their projection from the Texas Bowl.

TransPerfect Music City Bowl (Nashville, TN) – December 30, 1:00 PM

ESPN (Schlabach): vs. Wisconsin (7-5)

ESPN (Bonagura): vs. Northwestern (7-5)

FOX Sports: vs. Wisconsin (7-5)

Action Network: vs. Wisconsin (7-5) – UPDATE: McMurphy has changed his projection from the Texas Bowl.

CBS Sports: vs. Wisconsin (7-5) – UPDATE: Palm has changed his projection from the Mayo Bowl.

College Football Network: vs. Wisconsin (7-5) – UPDATE: CFN has changed their projection from the Mayo Bowl.

247 Sports: vs. vs. Wisconsin (7-5) – UPDATE: 247 has changed their projection from the Texas Bowl.

We’ll find out who is right Sunday afternoon once the College Football Playoffs are set.