The Southeastern Conference has won three consecutive national championships, and its long-term television hook-ups with CBS and ESPN are the envy of every conference in college football. So how much better could it get?
You should find out when the bowl bids are announced this December.
As successful as the conference has been recently, it hasn't been filling its bowl quota. That could change this season.
In fact, 10 of the SEC's 12 teams could qualify for bowls. And such a scenario wouldn't require a miraculous November. It would simply required favored teams prevailing.
The conference has tie-ins with nine bowls. It gets a 10th bid if a second conference team qualifies for a BCS bowl. Unless either No. 1-ranked Florida or No. 2-ranked Alabama collapses down the stretch, a second BCS bid is virtually assured.
If Alabama and Florida win out, they would play for the SEC championship in Atlanta. The winner of that game would qualify for the national championship game Jan. 7 in Pasadena, Calif., and the loser would go to the Sugar Bowl.
In a less-favorable scenario for the conference, suppose LSU upsets Alabama in a couple of weeks and wins the West. If Alabama won the rest of the games, it would be 11-1 and still worthy of a BCS bid.
Putting two teams in BCS bowls has become routine for the SEC. Where it's gaining ground is on the bottom end.
Vanderbilt (2-6) and Mississippi State (3-5) are the only conference teams that have little chance of a bowl bid.
The Commodores would have to win out against a schedule that includes Georgia Tech and Florida. Although Mississippi State has improved under first-year coach Dan Mullen, it probably scheduled itself out of the bowl picture with non-conference games against nationally ranked Georgia Tech and Houston the first two weeks of October. It would have to win three of its last four games against Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas and Ole Miss to be bowl-eligible.
Four SEC teams -- Alabama, Florida, LSU and South Carolina -- already have won the necessary six games to qualify for a bowl. Two other teams are a victory shy of being bowl-eligible, and four others have a good shot at bowls.
-- Auburn (5-3): So what if the Tigers are on a three game-losing streak and have to play Ole Miss, Georgia and Alabama. All they need for a bowl bid is a victory over Furman on Nov. 7
-- Ole Miss (5-2): It could lose its last four games against FBS teams and qualify for a bowl with a victory over Northern Arizona.
-- Kentucky (4-3): The Wildcats don't have it quite as easy as the Tigers and Rebels, but a bowl bid is still favorable. Beating Eastern Kentucky and either Vanderbilt or Mississippi State, who have a combined record of 5-11, would be sufficient.
-- Georgia (4-3): As badly as the Bulldogs have played at times, they're still a good bet to make a bowl. Beating Tennessee Tech and either Auburn or Kentucky would give it the necessary six victories.
-- Arkansas (3-4): Don't be misled by the record. The Razorbacks still have non-conference games remaining against Eastern Michigan and Troy, and they get Mississippi State at home.
-- Tennessee (3-4): The Vols don't have to beat nationally ranked South Carolina and Ole Miss. They just have to beat Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Memphis. And history is on their side. The Vols have won 24 consecutive games against Kentucky, 25 of their last 26 against Vanderbilt and 20 of 21 against Memphis.
(Contact Knoxville News-Sentinel sports editor John Adams at adamsj(at)knoxnews.com.)
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