Bowl Grades For Every Team, Conference: How Did Everyone Do? – Page 10

SEC Bowl Grades

SEC Bowl Grade: B-

SEC Straight Up: 7-5
SEC Against The Spread: 5-7

Georgia won the games the SEC really cared about and needed. It was a mixed bag everywhere else.

Alabama flexed its muscle against Kansas State, and Mississippi State pulled off a nice win over Illinois, but Missouri couldn’t keep up with Wake Forest, Florida failed miserably against Oregon State, Ole Miss was weirdly bad against Texas Tech, and Kentucky made the world a sadder place with whatever that was against Iowa.

On the plus side, Tennessee was terrific against ACC Champion Clemson, Arkansas came up with a gut-check win over Kansas in an all-time thriller, South Carolina battled well in a loss to Notre Dame, and …

Oh yeah, Georgia did okay.

Alabama Bowl Grade: A

Allstate Sugar Bowl
Prediction: Alabama 34, Kansas State 20
Line: Alabama -6, o/u: 56
Final Score: Alabama 45, Kansas State 20
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

There’s one problem with Alabama’s 25-point Sugar Bowl win over the Big 12 Champion – where the hell was THAT in every game? It’s not like Texas A&M was all that great, and Arkansas was just okay, and Texas didn’t even get to the Big 12 Championship, and yet Alabama struggled against those three and wasn’t quite its normal dominant self on a regular basis. But when it decided to kick it all in at the end of the first quarter down 10-0, that was the Alabama content we were here for.

Arkansas Bowl Grade: A-

AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Prediction: Arkansas 38, Kansas 34
Line: Arkansas -1.5, o/u: 70.5
Final Score: Arkansas 55, Kansas 53 3OT
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

Everyone is loving on Kansas for the wild comeback – and rightly so – but give Arkansas all the credit in the world for not buckling and getting out with a win. No, it shouldn’t have come down to three overtimes, and yeah, the Hogs should’ve closed it out easier, but that was how you take a momentum punch and keep on going.

Florida Bowl Grade: D-

SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
Prediction: Oregon State 31, Florida 24
Line: Oregon State -8.5, o/u: 52.5
Final Score: Oregon State 30, Florida 3
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

You’re an SEC program, Florida. Act like it.

Yeah, the Gators were missing a whole slew of important parts – like, almost all of them – but they shouldn’t have needed a field goal in the final seconds to have something to show for their total bust of a trip. 219 yards, 11 penalties – this didn’t work. The only reason it’s not an F is because the guys who did play gave it a run, and the defense kept it from getting out of hand, but … no. This wasn’t even close.

Georgia Bowl Grade: A

College Football Playoff: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
Prediction: Georgia 36, Ohio State 30
Line: Georgia -6.5, o/u: 62
Final Score: Georgia 42, Ohio State 41
5 Thoughts on Georgia’s win over Ohio State

College Football Playoff National Championship
Prediction: Georgia 44, TCU 23
Line: Georgia -13, o/u: 62.5
Final Score: Georgia 65, TCU 7
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

The only reason this isn’t an A+ is because Georgia is a side note if Ohio State hits that kick straight.

The Buckeyes have NFL guys, too, and they had it. They had the CFP Semifinal won, but Stetson Bennett led a drive for the ages, the defense held on enough to force a 50-yard field goal try, and then it was on to Los Angeles for the biggest blowout in college football bowl history. The win over TCU was a dominant performance for the ages.

Kentucky Bowl Grade: D-

TransPerfect Music City Bowl
Prediction: Iowa 19, Kentucky 16
Line: Iowa -2.5, o/u: 31
Final Score: Iowa 21, Kentucky 0
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

This should be an F. Iowa’s offense came into this as one of the worst in the country, and it didn’t disappoint. It’s not a fail only because the Kentucky defense dominated – Iowa was 0-of-11 on third downs and gained 206 yards. The UK offense might have been missing its top guys from an attack that wasn’t exactly great, but 185 yards of total offense wasn’t okay.

LSU Bowl Grade: A

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
Prediction: LSU 31, Purdue 20
Line: LSU -14.5, o/u: 56.5
Final Score: LSU 63, Purdue 7
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Purdue was missing half of its team and didn’t have its normal coaches around. LSU did what it was supposed to do and flexed hard in what was the biggest bowl win in college football history before Georgia’s win over TCU.

Considering how gutted last year’s LSU team was in its bowl loss to Kansas State, this was a huge moment reset everything and show that things are rolling under Brian Kelly.

Mississippi State Bowl Grade: A

ReliaQuest Bowl
Prediction: Illinois 20, Mississippi State 19
Line: Mississippi State -1.5, o/u: 46
Final Score: Mississippi State 19, Illinois 10
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

Don’t just blow this off because Illinois doesn’t have the Big Ten brand name of Ohio State or Michigan – that was one nasty team Mississippi State beat. The defense held on time and again, it allowed just three points in the second half, and the offense came up with the big drives it needed to have to pull it off. In a good season on the field and a sad one off of it, this was a terrific way to close.

Missouri Bowl Grade: C

Union Home Gasparilla Bowl
Predictions: Wake Forest 30, Missouri 27
Line: Wake Forest -2.5, o/u: 58.5
Final Score: Wake Forest 27, Missouri 17
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

The Missouri defense did what it could. It kept Sam Hartman and the Wake Forest offense from going off, but the other side of the ball didn’t help in the second half. There were too many miscues, too many stalled drives, and it was too heavy a lift after getting down fast, coming back, and then buckling late. The Tigers needed a one big scoring drive over the final 20 minutes and couldn’t get it.

Ole Miss Bowl Grade: C-

TaxAct Texas Bowl
Prediction: Ole Miss 34, Texas Tech 30
Line: Ole Miss -4.5, o/u: 72.5
Final Score: Texas Tech 42, Ole Miss 25
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

Really? Of course there were missing starters, but the skill guys were in place to do a whole lot more than get down 26-7 at halftime. The Rebels tied it at seven and weren’t in it the rest of the way. They put up a fight and made it a wee bit interesting late, but not really thanks to the five turnovers, eight pentacles, and a painful inability to come up with a fourth down stop.

South Carolina Bowl Grade: B-

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
Prediction: Notre Dame 27, South Carolina 23
Line: Notre Dame -3.5, o/u: 50.5
Final Score: Notre Dame 45, South Carolina 38
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

This is a little generous considering how the Gamecocks biffed a 21-7 first quarter lead, but they were able to keep fighting, the defense came through with a few massive plays to keep it alive, and it was a tie game with two minutes to play. There were enough missing parts to be a problem for both sides, but it was still entertaining – the Gamecocks just couldn’t come up with one more play on D.

Tennessee Bowl Grade: A

Capital One Orange Bowl
Prediction: Clemson 34, Tennessee 30
Line: Clemson -6, o/u: 61
Final Score: Tennessee 31, Clemson 14
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

What more could you have possibly have asked for? The Tennessee defense that was so spotty all season long pitched a gem – it did a lot of bending, but little breaking. Joe Milton showed that he might just be the next superstar Vol QB up, and there wasn’t even a whiff of drama as the team rolled though the ACC champ for the 11th win of the season.

NEXT: Sun Belt Bowl Grades

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