No one will know anything for sure about bowl destinations until Sunday, but if Alabama does what it is expected to do and walks over Florida, then it appears Auburn is headed to the Big Easy and the Sugar Bowl.
Win or lose, the Tide will be on the way to their rightful designation: a spot in the College Football Playoff.
After ESPN announces the final four football teams Sunday, the bowls will come into focus, but it appears the loss to Missouri knocked Arkansas not only out of a Florida game but also out of Tennessee, too.
The Music City Bowl in Nashville is not going to miss a chance to grab the Tennessee Volunteers if it can, and the Liberty Bowl in Memphis prefers not to have the same team two years in a row.
Here's one guess at how the bowl picture will shape up with Bama in the playoffs and Auburn in New Orleans, meaning the SEC West gets the premier games:
Citrus Bowl: Florida, but only because the Gators managed to beat LSU.
Outback Bowl: LSU, which will have a large following with Ed Orgeron as the new head coach.
Music City Bowl: Tennessee, and the Vols will grin and bear it but won't be thrilled.
TaxSlayer Bowl: Kentucky, because it beat Louisville.
Liberty Bowl: Vanderbilt, and the Commodores will consider it a great honor.
Texas Bowl: Texas A&M, which is a short drive and will put lots of behinds in the seats.
Belk Bowl: Georgia, and the Bulldogs Nation will not be thrilled.
Birmingham Bowl: Arkansas, and that's because of Missouri.
Independence Bowl: South Carolina, and its fans should be thrilled.
Last, but not least, Mississippi State, 5-7, will be the 12th SEC team in a bowl thanks to its strong graduation rate.
Oaklawn Park and the Cooperative Christian Ministries and Clinic were read into the Congressional Record this week when U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman took the floor and sang the praises of Oaklawn's support of the organization that is fighting poverty in Garland County through job training.
The organization, supported heavily by Oaklawn, provides job training for Garland County residents, and Westerman, of Hot Springs, cited numerous successful cases.
As we go into the Christmas season of giving, it is good to see a business involved year-round with making a difference in Arkansas lives.
Michael Carter, president of the Arkansas Football Coaches Association and head football coach at Conway Christian, has announced the first ever Arkansas High School Recruiting Expo, and every college coach in America is invited to the War Memorial Stadium Letterman's Club on Monday to meet with high school coaches about players.
The idea is to let colleges know about potential recruits who might be flying under the radar.
The expo will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Last week was the final predictions for this football season, and with nine games yours truly missed three. Arkansas and Arkansas State were upset, but the big one was Louisville, who was beaten by Kentucky.
The Cardinals led 24-14 late in the second quarter and were then outscored 27-14.
The final record for the season was 89-27.
In today's football climate, when it seems fans clamor for coaches to be fired on a regular basis, maybe they should consider this. Georgia fired Mark Richt last year, and under new Coach Kirby Smart went 7-5 overall.
Richt, who was 8-4 at Miami this season, was at Georgia 15 years and only once won fewer than eight games. He was 145-51 overall, including 10-5 in bowl games.
Sports on 12/02/2016