Three crazy days of college football in the SEC and ACC — beginning with Mississippi State’s win over Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl and ending with Texas A&M upsetting SEC West Champion LSU — didn’t do much to keep the focus on the Possible to sharpen TaxSlayer Gator Bowl matchup on December 30th.
The game at TIAA Bank Field (3:30 p.m. ESPN) will be an SEC team versus an ACC team.
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The Gator Bowl appears to be the ACC’s turn to assign the championship game loser between Clemson (10-2) and North Carolina (9-3), Florida State (9-3), NC State (8-4). ) or Notre Dame (8-4) — which falls into the ACC Bowl rotation if it doesn’t make the college football playoff or a game on the sixth day of the new year.
Games at the ACC level of the Gator Bowl are the Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando and the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. Clemson-North Carolina winner goes to the Orange Bowl.
A key question on Tuesday when the new CFP rankings are announced is how high the Seminoles will be bumped for their win over Florida. The ‘Noles, winners of five straight wins, finished 16th in last week’s rankings and will almost certainly overtake Notre Dame (who lost to USC) to become the next best team in the ACC after Clemson.
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl ticket information
Would that open the Cotton Bowl in Dallas to FSU?
Strange things have been happening over the past few weeks.
On the SEC side, LSU (9-3) fell back into the Gator Bowl mix if the Tigers lose the SEC championship game to undefeated and top-ranked Georgia (12-0) thanks to their loss to Texas A&M.
Unless the SEC gets two teams in the CFP (assuming Georgia beats LSU in Saturday’s SEC title game), the Sugar Bowl gets the top-ranked SEC team, either Alabama (10-2) or Tennessee (10-2). ), with a New Year’s Six Bowl like the Cotton lining up for the next SEC team in the rankings and the Citrus Bowl having first pick of the remaining teams.
That could now include South Carolina (8-4), who have back-to-back wins against top-10 teams in Tennessee and Clemson.
“South Carolina is the hottest team in the SEC right now,” said Gator Bowl President Greg McGarity. “Any bowl would love them, but I think they’re the favorite for the citrus bowl now.”
That could leave a pool of teams including LSU, Florida (6-6), Kentucky (7-5), Mississippi State (8-4) and Ole Miss (8-4) for the next tier of SEC bowls, the Gator, Reliaquest Bowl in Tampa, Music City Bowl in Nashville, Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Taxact Texas Bowl in Houston, and Las Vegas Bowl.
“There’s still a lot of momentum,” McGarity said. “This weekend proved that in college football, you better not start inking things until the hay’s in the bar. Put it on a whiteboard that gets erased pretty quickly. This week’s games were college football at its finest.”
McGarity said geography is a key factor in assigning bowls at the conferences, making the SEC’s Florida, South Carolina and Kentucky and the ACC’s Clemson, Florida State and North Carolina all appear prime Gator Bowl opportunities.
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Scenarios
Here are the two most coveted matchups in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl and what should happen. The matchups also assume the two favorites to win in the SEC and ACC conference championship games, Georgia over LSU and Clemson over North Carolina:
South Carolina vs. Florida State
Why the Gator Bowl would want it: They would be the two biggest late-season running teams the game could get. FSU has won its last five and South Carolina has beaten top-10 Tennessee and Clemson back-to-back. FSU hasn’t played in Jacksonville since 2010 and the Gamecocks haven’t been here since 1987. The two fan bases are of course full of energy.
How it might happen: Georgia goes to the CFP, Alabama or Tennessee to the Sugar Bowl, the others to the Cotton or Orange Bowl, and LSU to the Citrus Bowl.
In the ACC scenario, Clemson goes to the Orange Bowl, FSU isn’t ranked high enough to make the Cotton Bowl, and the conference splits Notre Dame and North Carolina to the Cheez-it to boost Gator Bowl attendance and Holiday Bowl and sends the ‘Noles east on I-10.
Florida vs. Notre Dame
Why the Gator Bowl Would Want It: Ticket sales could be strong for Gator fans across the state, and local sales should be very good with the Irish in Jacksonville for the first time since playing Navy in 2016. TV ratings are usually strong for Notre Dame, too, which will please the title sponsor.
How it might happen: Georgia goes to the CFP, Alabama or Tennessee to the Sugar Bowl, the others to the Cotton or Orange Bowl, and South Carolina to the Citrus Bowl. LSU stays close to home at the Houston Bowl. Despite Florida’s 6-6 record, his fanbase could get over the loss of the last two games and the likelihood of quarterback Anthony Richardson missing the Gator Bowl for the bowl game for the first time since 2012.
On the ACC side, Notre Dame is in the conference rotation if it’s ineligible for a New Year’s Six game. Clemson goes to the Orange Bowl, FSU is ranked high enough to get into the Cotton Bowl, and the ACC, keen to protect their loser in the championship game, sends North Carolina to the Cheez-It Bowl and Notre Dame to Jacksonville.
Contact Garry Smits at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @GSmitter