Ultimately, 13 SEC teams ended up being bowl-eligible. There are nine SEC bowl tie-ins. That means that if four SEC teams make the College Football Playoff, all SEC teams will end up in an SEC bowl. That became more likely after Miami's loss to Syracuse.

Each of Vanderbilt football's first three seasons under Clark Lea ended with a loss to Tennessee that wasn't particularly close. The 2024 season won't end that way, even as the Commodores once again got boatraced by their rival yet again.

That leaves just the conference championship games left to settle who plays where and when in the College Football Playoff and the rest of the bowl games -- and there's still plenty to be settled. Other than the 18 teams playing for their league title,