Liberty Bowl is interested in Missisippi State; here's how the selection process works
Dec. 2—STARKVILLE — The bowl selection process becomes quite simple once the New Year's Six games are decided.
For SEC teams and the respective bowls in which they participate, plenty will be determined by Saturday's conference title game between Alabama and Georgia and how that shakes up the College Football Playoff rankings.
The highest non-playoff team will be in the Sugar Bowl. Right now, that's Ole Miss.
If only one of Alabama and Georgia make the playoff, then that could shake things up and push Ole Miss out of the Sugar Bowl.
Any SEC teams remaining in a spot for a New Year's Six will be sorted accordingly. That's why many projections spot Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, with Ole Miss shifting to the Peach Bowl.
The best SEC team not in a New Year's Six game will be in line for a trip to the Citrus Bowl.
From there, various factors determine the following six bowl selections from the SEC: Outback, Gator, Duke's Mayo, Music City, Liberty and Texas.
Each bowl will submit its top-three schools. Each school will submit its top-three bowl games.
The SEC will review these lists and determine the best pairings which will be released Sunday, Dec. 5.
Various projections center around Mississippi State playing in either the Liberty Bowl (Dec. 28, Memphis) or Texas Bowl (Jan. 4, Houston).
Harold Graeter, associate executive director for the Liberty Bowl, told the Daily Journal on Wednesday there is indeed interest from the folks in Memphis to bring Mississippi State back for the first time since 2013 — a 44-7 win against Rice.
"It's been eight years since we've had Mississippi State, and they're certainly a team that we have great interest in," Graeter said. "We'll await the conference office's decision and how they assign the teams on Sunday."
Mississippi State has never played in the Texas Bowl.