SEC Bowl Grades: How Every Team Performed
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It’s been popular to dunk on the SEC during this bowl season, and there’s a reason for that.
The SEC was awful.
The excuses and explanations were all over the place – yes, everyone was missing players, and no, you can’t say the bowls didn’t mean much in the Just Means More conference – but …
It’s a blip. No, of course this wasn’t the doom-and-gloom demise of the SEC. A few things went the wrong way, but the fundamentals are still strong.
Here are our bowl grades for every SEC team that played in the postseason.
Grading Every SEC Team’s Bowl Game Performance
Ole Miss Bowl Grade
There’s no complaining about rolling Tulane, getting revenge on Georgia, and finishing among the top four teams in the country. It gave Miami a fight to the finish, and all of this with the Lane Kiffin stuff taking over the narrative for stretches. Forget the rest of the SEC, Ole Miss was one of the big national winners this bowl season.
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
Miami vs Ole Miss
Final Score: Miami 31, Ole Miss 27
Line: Miami -3, o/u: 52.5
Grade: A
Texas Bowl Grade
Arch Manning showed up big for a team that missed way too many key players. It was a fight against a game Michigan team, but the Longhorns closed the season strong.
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
Michigan vs Texas
Final Score: Texas 41, Michigan 27
Line: Texas -4.5, o/u: 50.5
Grade: A
LSU Bowl Grade
The Tigers always want to win no matter what, duh, but considering the loss of talent and non-stop talk about what’s coming next under the new guy, it wasn’t a bad performance in the loss.
Kinder’s Texas Bowl
LSU vs Houston
Final Score: Houston 38, LSU 35
Line: Houston -1.5, o/u: 41.5
Grade: B
Vanderbilt Bowl Grade
Diego Pavia gave it a run, but considering that some tried to sell the idea that Vandy deserved a CFP spot, the air went out of that balloon in a big way. The loss didn’t define the season, but it didn’t help.
ReliaQuest Bowl
Iowa vs Vanderbilt
Final Score: Iowa 34, Vanderbilt 27
Line: Vanderbilt -5.5, o/u: 46.5
Grade: B
Mississippi State Bowl Grade
Give the Bulldogs credit for showing up. They weren’t supposed to be in a bowl, but they were competitive. Even so, they were favored and lost by two touchdowns.
Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Wake Forest vs Mississippi State
Final Score: Wake Forest 43, Mississippi State 29
Line: Mississippi State -3, o/u: 52.5
Grade: B
Alabama Bowl Grade
Indiana is amazing and all, but seriously, Alabama? To not have any answers – you know, maybe use that massive line and run more than 17 times? – and to play like that was inexcusable. However, it made it to the Quarterfinals with the win over Oklahoma, calming down the CFP controversy just a wee bit.
Rose Bowl Presented by Prudential
Alabama vs Indiana
Final Score: Indiana 34, Alabama 3
Line: Indiana -7.5, o/u: 46.5
Grade: B-
Tennessee Bowl Grade
It was a good performance in an even game, but the Vols were favored and couldn’t do anything offensively, with the final score saved by a big late return.
Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl
Illinois vs Tennessee
Final Score: Illinois 30, Tennessee 28
Line: Tennessee -2.5, o/u: 61.5
Grade: B-
Missouri Bowl Grade
It was a good fight, and it would’ve been nice if the finish wasn’t so controversial, but … you’re Missouri. You should’ve scored more than seven points.
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
Missouri vs Virginia
Final Score: Virginia 13, Missouri 7
Line: Missouri -4, o/u: 43.5
Grade: B-
Georgia Bowl Grade
Georgia was the SEC Champion. It was rested, it was supposed to be ready, and for a second straight CFP season, the team failed to take even a single step forward.
Allstate Sugar Bowl
Ole Miss vs Georgia
Final Score: Ole Miss 39, Georgia 34
Line: Georgia -6.5, o/u: 55.5
Grade: C
Texas A&M Bowl Grade
Bottom line, Miami might have been fantastic, but Texas A&M had a home game in the first round, and it failed to survive and advance.
College Football Playoff First Round
Miami at Texas A&M
Final Score: Miami 10, Texas A&M 3
Line: Texas A&M -2.5, o/u: 47.5
Grade: C+
Oklahoma Bowl Grade
Alabama wasn’t that great, Oklahoma was rested, and home, and it took just three plays for it all to crash into the abyss. The Sooners looked totally lost as they gacked away a 17-0 lead.
College Football Playoff First Round
Alabama at Oklahoma
Final Score: Alabama 34, Oklahoma 24
Line: Oklahoma -1.5, o/u: 40.5
Grade: D+
Related: Sun Belt Bowl Grades: How Every Team Performed
This story was originally published by College Football News on Jan 18, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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