BIRMNGHAM, Alabama (December 6, 2015) – Ten Southeastern Conference football teams learned their post-season bowl
destinations on Sunday. No. 2-ranked Alabama will play No. 3 Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl on the night of December 31 in a semifinal game in the College Football Playoff structure.
In addition to the College Football Playoff system, this marks the second year the conference assigned league schools to a “Pool of Six” bowlsthat include the Outback Bowl in Tampa, the TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville, the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl in Nashville, the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl in Houston, the Belk Bowl in Charlotte and the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis.
On Sunday, the College Football Playoff committee first selected teams for the national semifinal games, the Goodyear Cotton and Capital One Orange bowl.
The committee later announced the participants in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Battlefrog Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and Rose Bowl presented by Northwestern Mutual.
From the SEC, Ole Miss will play Oklahoma State in the Allstate Sugar Bowl as it is the highest ranked SEC team in the CFP rankings not included in the national semifinals.
Next, the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl selected Florida from the SEC to play Michigan from the Big 10 before the SEC assigned teams to the Pool of Six bowls. The selection process for the Pool of Six bowls was based on preferences expressed by the SEC’s bowl eligible schools, input from the SEC’s affiliated bowls, travel considerations, attention to previous matchups and additional relevant factors.
“The Pool of Six 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 schools and their fans,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. “This process provides an opportunity to create intriguing matchups, consider potential attendance factors and variations of assignments to help prevent repetitive postseason destinations.”
Tennessee will play Northwestern in the Outback Bowl, Georgia will meet Penn State in the TaxSlayer Bowl, Texas A&M will play Louisville in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, LSU will play Texas Tech in the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl, Mississippi State will play North Carolina State in the Belk Bowl and Arkansas will play Kansas State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis.
Following the Pool of Six bowl, the Birmingham Bowl selected Auburn to play Memphis.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF BOWLS
Goodyear Cotton Bowl (North Texas) – Alabama vs. Michigan State – Dec. 31 – 8 ET / 7 CT – ESPN
Allstate Sugar Bowl (New Orleans) – Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma State – Jan. 1 – 8:30 pm ET / 7:30 pm CT – ESPN
SEC-AFFILIATED BOWLS:
Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl (Orlando) – Florida vs. Michigan – Jan. 1 – 1 pm ET / Noon CT – ABC
Pool of Six Bowls:
AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl (Houston) – LSU vs. Texas Tech – Dec. 29 – 9 pm ET / 8 pm CT – ESPN
Belk Bowl (Charlotte) – Mississippi State vs. North Carolina State – Dec. 30 – 3:30 pm ET / 2:30 pm CT – ESPN
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl (Nashville) – Texas A&M vs. Louisville – Dec. 30 – 7 pm ET / 6 pm CT – ESPN
Outback Bowl (Tampa) – Tennessee vs. Northwestern – Jan. 1 – Noon ET / 11 am CT – ESPN2
TaxSlayer Bowl (Jacksonville) – Georgia vs. Penn State – Jan. 2 – Noon ET / 11 am CT – ESPN
AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Memphis) – Arkansas vs. Kansas State – Jan. 2 – 3:20 pm ET / 2:20 pm CT – ESPN
Additional SEC-Affiliated Bowl:
Birmingham Bowl (Birmingham) – Auburn vs. Memphis – Dec. 30 – 12 pm ET / 11 am CT – ESPN