True Maroon

Still at 9, but they're looking for some extra bowls who have the freedom to take an SEC team if they chose. That could leave 5 teams out of bowls, but OM and UK are damn near locks to miss. The winner/losers of the Vandy vs UT, Vandy vs Mizzu, Vandy vs. Wake, UT vs Mizzu, etc... will go a long ways to determining how many teams the East gets in. I think they'll likely finish with 5 bowl eligible teams and the West could finish with 6, which would leave the SEC hunting for two bowls.

There's also been talk of St. Louis adding an SEC vs Big Ten bowl game now. Would be great to sail up the Mississippi River and whip up on the Big Ten again. I doubt they'd be ready by this year, but there are some bowls that would likely drop their current tie ins. For example, all of the military bowls find alternates when a military academy can't attend. Also, I wouldn't be shocked if the New Orleans bowl found a way to wiggle out of their agreement with the Sun Belt vs. C-USA.