It was not the best of starts for the SEC when it came to positive bowl results, but, thankfully, bowl season ended on a high note.
The LSU Tigers put a cap on bowl season with a 63-7 beatdown of Big Ten West champion Purdue in the Citrus Bowl on Tuesday. Before that, Mississippi State earned an emotional win over Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa. The game was Mississippi State’s first since the passing of head coach, Mike Leach.
The conference began on a sour note, as Florida and Missouri opened bowl season with losses to Oregon State and Wake Forest respectively. The conference’s first win came in the Liberty Bowl when Arkansas defeated Kansas in three overtimes, 55-53.
The most exciting game of bowl season took place on New Year’s Eve when Georgia knocked off Ohio State to earn a trip to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. The Bulldogs erased two different 14-point deficits to win the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Georgia will face TCU at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Monday, Jan. 9 for a chance to win its second national championship in as many years.
The SEC finishes bowl season with a record of 6-5, with one game remaining. Here’s a look back at how the SEC performed during bowl season.