FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas' 28-24 loss at Missouri last week not only prevented the Razorbacks from improving their regular-season record for a third consecutive season but it also lessened the Hogs' leverage for bowl placement on Sunday.
Arkansas could have ended the season on an upswing, evened its SEC record and joined the four eight-victory teams in the SEC behind No. 1 Alabama (12-0). The Razorbacks (7-5, 3-5 SEC) did not join Auburn, Florida, Tennessee and Texas A&M with eight victories and stayed arranged with Georgia, Kentucky and LSU at seven victories among the 11 bowl-eligible SEC programs. LSU has played one fewer game than the other teams and is 7-4 overall, 5-3 in the SEC.
South Carolina and Vanderbilt are both 6-6, and 5-7 Mississippi State could land in an open bowl spot because of its APR ranking.
Industry analysts believe the Razorbacks are most likely to be slotted in one of four bowls -- the Belk, Liberty, Music City or TaxSlayer -- with lesser chances at the Texas, Birmingham and Independence bowls.
Arkansas has won bowl games the past two seasons under fourth-year Coach Bret Bielema, defeating Texas 31-7 in the 2014 Texas Bowl and downing Kansas State 45-23 in last season's Liberty Bowl.
Bielema has agreed to join the set of SEC Nation on the SEC Network's pregame show leading up to the SEC Championship Game between Alabama and Florida on Saturday. The Razorbacks are one of four teams to have played both Alabama and Florida this season. Arkansas lost to Alabama 49-30 and defeated Florida 31-10, with both games being played in Fayetteville.
Bielema, who will work on the pregame show in Atlanta for the second consecutive year, will be on the set with host Maria Taylor and analysts Marcus Spears, Tim Tebow and Paul Finebaum between noon and 3 p.m.
The next day, Arkansas will learn its postseason destination.
CBSSports.com's Jerry Palm picked Arkansas to face Miami of the ACC in the Belk Bowl on Dec. 29 in Charlotte, N.C. Stewart Mandel of FoxSports.com also projects a Belk Bowl appearance for the Hogs, but against Virginia Tech.
SI.com and CollegeFootballTalk are also predicting an Arkansas-Miami game, but in the TaxSlayer Bowl on Dec. 31 in Jacksonville, Fla. College Football News projected Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 30 without naming an opponent from the Big 12.
Because the SEC prefers to not send teams to the same bowl in consecutive years, Arkansas' probability of returning to the Liberty Bowl in Memphis is lessened. However, because the Liberty Bowl is geographically closer to much of the SEC West, Arkansas is still in the mix because the other four bowl-eligible teams in the West seem destined for other bowl slots.
Alabama is virtually assured of returning to Atlanta for a spot in the Peach Bowl, one of the two College Football Playoff semifinal games.
The Sugar Bowl is guaranteed to land the highest-ranked SEC team after the playoff. If Florida upsets Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, the Gators likely would earn the Sugar Bowl spot, but it will probably go to Auburn if Florida loses to Alabama.
The Citrus Bowl gets the next pick, and that would likely be either Florida -- which played there last year -- or LSU.
The Pool of Six bowls -- the Outback, Belk, Liberty, Music City, TaxSlayer and Texas -- come next. The Outback Bowl typically lands the next choice, which would be either Florida or LSU.
The SEC office makes the arrangements for the Pool of Six in consultation with the bowls and the teams, and here is where it gets tricky.
Because Texas A&M has played east of the Mississippi River the past two years in the Liberty and Music City bowls, the Texas Bowl in nearby Houston is seen as eager to snag the Aggies to pair against a Big 12 opponent.
The Tennessean in Nashville, Tenn., reported the most likely candidates for the Music City Bowl are Kentucky and Tennessee, and the Volunteers are probably the front runner because they played in the TaxSlayer Bowl in 2014 and are not likely to return within two years. The Tennessean also reported Arkansas and Georgia are in the mix but are less likely picks for the Music City Bowl.
The Independence Bowl, which picks last behind the Birmingham Bowl for the final two spots, cannot be ruled out for the Razorbacks because of their proximity to the bowl in Shreveport. Arkansas has not played in the Independence Bowl since defeating Missouri 27-14 on Dec. 31, 2003.
The Birmingham and Independence bowls would seem the logical choices for South Carolina and Vanderbilt, but the SEC is not confined to slotting teams based on their victory totals as had been the case prior to the creation of the CFP. The Razorbacks have the same 3-5 conference record as South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
SEC bowl tie-ins All times Central
DATE GAME TIME/TV
Dec. 26 Independence Bowl, Shreveport, ACC vs. SEC 4 p.m. ESPN
Dec. 28 Texas Bowl, Houston, Big 12 vs. SEC 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec. 29 Birmingham (Ala.) Bowl, AAC vs. SEC 1 p.m. ESPN
Dec. 29 Belk Bowl, Charlotte, N.C., ACC vs. SEC 4:30 p.m. ESPN
Dec. 30 Liberty Bowl, Memphis, Big 12 vs. SEC 11 a.m. ESPN
Dec. 30 Music City Bowl, Nashville, SEC vs. Big Ten or ACC 2:30 p.m. ESPN
Dec. 31 Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Fla., SEC vs. Big Ten or ACC 10 a.m. ABC
Dec. 31 TaxSlayer Bowl, Jacksonville, Fla., SEC vs. Big Ten/ACC 10 a.m. ESPN
Jan. 2 Outback Bowl, Tampa, Big Ten vs. SEC noon ABC
Sports on 11/30/2016