BIRMNGHAM, Alabama (December 2, 2018) – Eleven Southeastern Conference football teams learned their post-season bowl destinations on Sunday, including No. 1-ranked Alabama which will play No. 4 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl on December 29 in a semifinal game for the College Football Playoff.
On Sunday, the College Football Playoff committee first selected teams for the national semifinal games, the Capital One Orange Bowl and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl. The committee later announced the participants in the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual, Allstate Sugar Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.
Georgia will play in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on January 1 against Texas. In the contracted New Year’s Day game between the SEC and Big 12, the SEC places its conference champion in the Sugar Bowl, or the SEC team that is highest ranked in the CFP standings who is not otherwise selected for the CFP Semifinals.
In other CFP New Year’s Six Games as determined by the CFP Selection Committee, Florida will play Michigan in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and LSU will face Central Florida in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl
Next, the VRBO Citrus Bowl selected Kentucky from the SEC to play Penn State.
This marks the fifth year the conference has assigned league schools to an “SEC Bowl Pool” that includes the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl in Houston, the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl in Nashville, the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville and the Outback Bowl in Tampa.
Vanderbilt will play a Big 12 opponent in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl, Auburn will play a Big Ten opponent in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, South Carolina will play an ACC opponent in the Belk Bowl, Missouri will play a Big 12 opponent in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Texas A&M will play an ACC opponent in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl and Mississippi State will play a Big Ten opponent in the Outback Bowl.
“The SEC Bowl Pool participants are determined after conversations with bowl partners and discussions with school personnel in order to create a lineup of compelling bowl games for our teams and their fans,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. “This process, as approved by the institutions of the SEC, provides an opportunity to create intriguing matchups and varying assignments to help prevent repetitive postseason destinations.”
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF BOWLS
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Atlanta) – Florida vs. Michigan – Dec. 29 – Noon ET / 11 am CT – ESPN
Capital One Orange Bowl (Miami) – Alabama vs. Oklahoma – Dec. 29 – 8 pm ET / 7 pm CT – ESPN
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl (Phoenix) – LSU vs. Central Florida – Jan. 1 – 1 pm ET / Noon CT – ESPN
Allstate Sugar Bowl (New Orleans) – Georgia vs. Texas – Jan. 1 – 8:45 pm ET / 7:45 pm CT – ESPN
SEC-AFFILIATED BOWLS:
VRBO Citrus Bowl (Orlando) – Kentucky vs. Penn State – Jan. 1 – 1 pm ET / Noon CT – ABC
SEC Bowl Pool:
Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl (Houston) – Vanderbilt vs. Big 12 – Dec. 27 – 9 pm ET / 8 pm CT – ESPN
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl (Nashville) – Auburn vs. Big Ten – Dec. 28 – 1:30 pm ET / 12:30 pm CT – ESPN
Belk Bowl (Charlotte) – South Carolina vs. ACC – Dec. 29 – Noon ET / 11 am CT – ABC
AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Memphis) – Missouri vs. Big 12 – Dec. 31 – 3:45 pm ET / 2:45 pm CT – ESPN
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl (Jacksonville) – Texas A&M vs. ACC – Dec. 31 – 7:30 pm ET / 6:30 pm CT – ESPN
Outback Bowl (Tampa) – Mississippi State vs. Big Ten – Jan. 1 – Noon ET / 11 am CT – ESPN2
