Mississippi State locked up bowl eligibility with a Nov. 5 home win over Auburn.
Nearly a month later, the 25th-ranked Bulldogs (8-4, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) will find out their postseason destination.
With bowl announcements set for Sunday, here’s where MSU might expect to wind up, according to eight experts.
Gator Bowl — 2:30 p.m. Dec. 30, Jacksonville, Fla.
Bowl payout: $5.35 million
By far, the most popular projected bowl destination for Mississippi State is the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville.
Brett McMurphy of the Action Network, Jerry Palm of CBS Sports and Erick Smith of the USA TODAY Network all slotted the Bulldogs into the Dec. 30 contest.
But MSU has been in Jacksonville a lot recently, playing in the Gator Bowls at the conclusions of the 2010, 2012 and 2017 seasons.
The five-year gap means the Bulldogs have a lot of roster turnover since their previous appearance. Wide receiver Austin Williams and linebacker Sherman Timbs are the only players from the 2017 team who are still in Starkville.
The Gator Bowl matches up a Southeastern Conference team with either an ACC team or Notre Dame. Both McMurphy and Palm projected the No. 19-ranked Fighting Irish (8-4) to face the Bulldogs in Jacksonville, a chance for MSU to go up against one of college football’s brand-name programs.
Smith picked MSU to face No. 24 North Carolina (9-3) in the Gator Bowl. The Tar Heels started 9-1 before losing their past two games.
ReliaQuest Bowl — 11 a.m. Jan. 2, Tampa, Fla.
Bowl payout: $6.4 million
Two experts projected Mississippi State to accept a bid to the ReliaQuest Bowl — held Jan. 2 in Tampa — instead.
The ReliaQuest (formerly Outback) Bowl carries a bigger payday than the Gator Bowl, but South Carolina’s win over Clemson will likely jump the 8-4 Gamecocks over the Bulldogs.
LSU’s loss to Texas A&M could push the Tigers out of the New Year’s Six picture and into the Citrus Bowl instead, bumping MSU down to the Gator Bowl.
Both Steven Lassan of Athlon Sports and Bill Bender of The Sporting News projected MSU to face Illinois (8-4) in Tampa.
Las Vegas Bowl — 6:30 p.m. Dec. 17, Las Vegas
Bowl payout: $2.9 million
One of the lower-rated bowls in the Pool of Six games with SEC ties, the Las Vegas Bowl could be a landing spot for the Bulldogs.
Brad Crawford of 247 Sports picked MSU to head West and face No. 17 UCLA (9-3).
MSU’s 24-22 win Thursday at Ole Miss seems to indicate the Bulldogs will do better than Sin City, though.
Texas Bowl — 8 p.m. Dec. 28, Houston
Bowl payout: $6.4 million
A Texas Bowl matchup with Oklahoma State could be a possibility for MSU.
CollegeFootballNews.com projected the Bulldogs to face the Cowboys (7-5) in Houston.
The bowl payout for the game at NRG Stadium is the same as the ReliaQuest Bowl, a potential factor in MSU’s decision.
Liberty Bowl — 4:30 p.m. Dec. 28, Memphis, Tenn.
Bowl payout: $4.7 million
Winning the Egg Bowl will likely push Mississippi State above the Liberty Bowl.
Plus, the Bulldogs just played in that game last year, falling to Texas Tech in Memphis.
Still, Richard Johnson of Sports Illustrated picked MSU to face Kansas (6-6) in the Dec. 28 contest.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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