What bowl games could Oklahoma Sooners play in to close first SEC season in 2024?

For the 26th consecutive season, the Oklahoma Sooners are going bowling. That is the second-longest streak of all time.  On the heels of a 24-3 dominant upset over the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Sooners are excited to head to a bowl game for the third year in a row under Brent Venables.  Which ones could […]

AJ Schulte — College Football Trending News Writer
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Oklahoma Sooners running back Xavier Robinson (21) celebrates after rushing for a touchdown during a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. Oklahoma won 24-3.
BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For the 26th consecutive season, the Oklahoma Sooners are going bowling. That is the second-longest streak of all time. 

On the heels of a 24-3 dominant upset over the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Sooners are excited to head to a bowl game for the third year in a row under Brent Venables. 

Which ones could they play in? That's a little more complicated. 

The SEC has eight tie-in bowls. They are as follows (in chronological order):

  • Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa vs AAC or ACC (Dec. 20, 3:30 PM ET)
  • Birmingham Bowl in Birmingham vs AAC opponent (Dec. 27th, noon or 3:30 PM ET)
  • AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis vs Big 12 opponent (Dec. 27th, 7:00 PM ET)
  • SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl in Las Vegas vs TBD opponent (Dec. 27th, 10:30 PM ET)
  • Transperfect Music City Bowl in Nashville vs Big Ten opponent (Dec. 30th, 2:30 PM ET)
  • Reliaquest Bowl in Tampa vs Big Ten or ACC opponent (Dec. 31st, noon ET)
  • Texas Bowl in Houston vs Big 12 opponent (Dec. 31st, 3:30 PM ET)
  • TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville vs ACC opponent (Jan. 2nd, 7:30 PM ET)

The problem for the Sooners is that there are eight affiliated bowl games and 13 bowl-eligible SEC teams. The math doesn't quite work out easily for them here. They will still be in a bowl game, but figuring out which one is headache-inducing with how much movement there has been this season and will continue happening as we close out the year. 

Fortunately, there are people out there who have these projections down to a science and can make things easier to understand. Here are some bowl projections from across each network after Oklahoma's win over Alabama: 

  • CBS: Frisco Bowl vs Kansas (Dec. 17)
  • CFB Network: Cure Bowl vs Louisiana (Dec. 20)
  • Athlon Sports: Gasparilla Bowl vs North Carolina (Dec. 20)
  • ESPN (Bonagura): Gasparilla Bowl vs Virginia Tech (Dec. 20)
  • Sporting News: Guaranteed Rate Bowl vs Virginia Tech (Dec. 26)
  • ESPN (Schlabach): Independence Bowl vs West Virginia (Dec. 28)

It will be interesting to see how these predictions change if the Sooners can pull off another upset this weekend against the LSU Tigers. Since bowl games can choose who to invite still, one of the bigger bowls might want to capitalize on the Sooners' brand after two major upsets in a row. 

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