The SEC continues to be the top conference in college football. We knew going in to the game that the SEC would celebrate a sixth national championship in football under unique circumstances, but once again the SEC came to play in bowl action against the other power conferences, clinching winning records against the Big Ten, ACC and Big 12.
Here is a run down for the SEC's bowl performances this season.
Best Win: Alabama, BCS Championship
Without question the best win the SEC had this bowl season came at the expense of one of their own, but Alabama's performance on all sides of the football would have been worthy of a championship no matter who the opponent was. Alabama held LSU to under 100 yards of offense and earned the first shutout in BCS Championship Game history. The Crimson Tide's victory officially marked the sixth consecutive BCS championship won by an SEC school, and was the second in three years for Nick Saban and the Tide.
Honorable Mention: South Carolina, Capital One Bowl
The Gamecocks took on the Big Ten's newest member, Nebraska, and worked their way to a 17-point victory despite losing their leading receiver following a fight on the field.
Worst Loss: LSU, BCS Championship?
It was almost as if the top-ranked team in the country forgot there was a game to be played. While LSU's defense gets credit for managing to keep the BCS championship game within reach despite being run around from the start by Alabama's offense, the LSU offense was non-existent until it was too late. We have seen some poor performances in BCS title games before, but LSU was the first team to be shutout in the BCS title game, and that has to pour salt on the open wound after losing to a division rival under unique circumstances.
Dishonorable Mention: Georgia, Outback Bowl
The Bulldogs looked like they were going to cruise to victory against Big Ten runner-up Michigan State, who for a half looked like the same Spartans team that was roughed up by Alabama last season, but Georgia coughed up a lead with some questionable decision-making and allowed Michigan State to take the win in overtime.
The Biggest Game: Arkansas, Cotton Bowl (W)
For the purposes of this category we looked past the obvious BCS Championship largely because it involved two SEC teams. Looking at bowl games against non-conference opponents it is hard to ignore Arkansas and the job they did against decent Kansas State team in the Cotton Bowl at Cowboys Stadium. The Razorbacks jumped out to a 19-0 lead before the Wildcats could make a dent on the scoreboard, doing so with a safety. Despite a good effort in coming from behind, Kansas State just did not have the firepower needed to upset Bobby Petrino's team, who is starting to really enjoy playing in Cowboys Stadium lately.
Results
BCS Championship: Alabama 21, LSU 0
Cotton Bowl: Arkansas 29, Kansas State 16
Outback Bowl: Michigan State 33, Georgia 30
Gator Bowl: Florida 24, Ohio State 17
Chick-fil-A Bowl: Auburn 43, Virginia 24
Liberty Bowl: Cincinnati 31, Vanderbilt 24
Music City Bowl: Mississippi State 23, Wake Forest 17
Conference-By-Conference Breakdown
- 2-0 vs. ACC
- 0-1 vs. Big East
- 2-1 vs. Big Ten
- 1-0 vs. Big 12
- 1-1 vs. SEC
Worth Noting
Independence Bowl: Missouri 41, North Carolina 24
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas: Texas A&M 33, Northwestern 22
Future SEC members Missouri and Texas A&M picked up one final win as current members of the Big 12. The two schools will move to the SEC in 2012.
Overall Grade: A
Highlighted by a BCS championship, the SEC earns a high mark despite losing bowl games to the Big East and Big Ten. You almost have to throw the SEC a bone for having two teams square off against each other in the BCS title game. Having two teams play in the game is a mark for just how strong the conference is. Had Alabama and LSU faced different opponents, it is possible the SEC would have picked up one more win because they certainly were the two best teams in college football despite the outcome of the game.
The Big 12 had the best overall bowl season as far as wins and losses go, but the SEC won their only match-up with the conference.
Kevin McGuire is a national college football writer for Examiner.com and the host of the No 2-Minute Warning podcast. He can be reached at cfbexaminer@gmail.com.
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