SEC Off to a Rough Start in the Bowl Season

The SEC is currently winless in the 2021 bowl season this year with an overall record of 0-4 thus far, so what is going on with one of the most prestigious conferences in all of college football?

The SEC is often bragged upon in college football for being the most prestigious conference in the sport as well as one of the more difficult conferences to win in consistently. 

Despite that, the SEC currently stands 0-4 in their bowl games played with the most recent loss coming at the hands of Mississippi State in the Liberty Bowl against Texas Tech by a wide margin. So what is going on with the SEC? 

The Missouri Tigers kicked off the bowl season for the SEC in their matchup against Army in the Armed Forces Bowl. By merely looking at the box score one might find it quite confusing as to how Missouri managed to lose the game considering they outgained Army in total yards, passing yards, and only had 16 fewer rushing yards than Army did. 

Ultimately it all boiled down to Missouri's offense completely stalling out in the second half and only mustering one touchdown with a minute to go in the game while Army scored 14 unanswered points and was able to kick a game-winning field goal as time expired. Despite having a 16-7 lead going into halftime, the Tigers' offense went missing at the worst possible time which resulted in them losing the game. 

Next up were the Florida Gators and their loss to in-state foe UCF in the Gasparilla bowl. Earlier in the season, Florida announced the firing of former head coach Dan Mullen after four seasons. Along with that, Florida experienced a multitude of players opting out of the bowl game along with their starting quarterback, Emory Jones, announcing he would be entering the transfer portal after the bowl game, but still played in the game. 

The Florida football program experienced a lot of turmoil and turnover over the last month which isn't exactly ideal heading into a bowl game. Not to make excuses for the Gators, but when taking into account the events that occurred leading up to the game, it is safe to say that the major focus of the team was centered around what the 2022 season holds as opposed to winning a bowl game that they became eligible for in the last game of the regular season. Nonetheless, another brutal loss for the conference. 

In the most recent action, both the Auburn Tigers and Mississippi State Bulldogs suffered losses in their bowl games on Tuesday. The Tigers were without their starting quarterback, Bo Nix, who announced he would be transferring to the University of Oregon and that absence was very apparent as they only put up 13 total points in the game. Mississippi State on the other hand was outplayed from the first whistle and head coach, Mike Leach, received a 27-point loss from the Texas Tech Raiders, who he formerly coached. 

The conference slogan for the SEC is "It just means more" but clearly that has not been the case thus far in the 2021 bowl season. Regardless of head coaching changes, opt-outs, or transfers, it is apparent that the SEC is not playing up to its typical standard. With four losses already and three of them coming at the hands of teams from the Group of Five it is going to take a serious turn of tides for the conference to finish strong this bowl season. 

As eight teams from the conference are scheduled to play bowl games over the next week, perhaps those teams can back to the SEC's brand of football and better represent the most prestigious conference in the sport. 

You Might Also Like:

• Recruiting Grades: Bulldogs Both Quality and Quantity on Defense
• 2022 Recruiting Grades: Offense Takes Some Risks
• What's Next for The Class of 2022 for Georgia?

Join the community

Follow Brooks Austin on Twitter: @BrooksAustinSI

Subscribe to our YouTube Page HERE

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @BulldogMaven & follow us on Twitter at @BulldogsSI.