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Ranking the SEC’s seven bowl trophies from this postseason
By Ethan Levine
Published:
The SEC set a college football record by sending 12 teams to bowl games this season, and those teams tied a conference record with seven bowl victories.
No, the SEC won’t play for college football’s ultimate prize for the first time since the 2005 season, but the seven pieces of hardwood the SEC did bring home this year are pretty impressive.
In fact, those seven trophies were so impressive that Saturday Down South felt compelled to rank them on a scale of 1-10 based on three key criteria: size, design and flashiness.
Without further ado, here are SDS’s bowl trophy power rankings:
7. Citrus Bowl — Missouri
(Photo Credit: Jim Dedmon, USA TODAY Sports)
Size: 8; Design: 5; Flashiness: 2; Overall: 15
The Citrus Bowl trophy is somewhat plain (you can find it on the left side of the image), and the fruit sitting atop the trophy won’t likely stand the test of time. As far as this year’s trophies go, the Citrus Bowl’s prize is far from the most desirable.
6. Texas Bowl — Arkansas
(Photo Credit: Kevin Jairaj, USA TODAY Sports)
Size: 3; Design: 7; Flashiness: 8; Overall: 18
The Texas Bowl trophy may be the smallest of the SEC’s seven bowl trophies this year, but it’s also among the flashiest. The bright silver plate atop the trophy’s base is sure to catch the eye of onlookers and passers by, but it’s small, simple design ultimately drops it behind some of the SEC’s other trophies this year.
5. Birmingham Bowl — Florida
(Photo Credit: Marvin Gentry, USA TODAY Sports)
Size: 6; Design: 6; Flashiness: 7; Overall: 19
The Independence Bowl trophy is good, but not great. It’s design is simple, but it has plenty of size and flashiness to catch your eye and impress you when taking a look at the Gators’ trophy case. It’s a great trophy, but at the end of the day there’s nothing about it that makes your jaw drop.
4. Belk Bowl — Georgia
(Photo Credit: Jeremy Brevard, USA TODAY Sports)
Size: 6; Design: 8; Flashiness: 8; Overall: 22
The Belk Bowl trophy actually possesses a lot of similarities to the NFL’s Lombardi Trophy, awarded to the Super Bowl champion each season. For that it earns some points in the design and flashiness categories, but at the end of the day it doesn’t have the look of a trophy capable of standing out in a crowded trophy case.
3. Liberty Bowl — Texas A&M
(Photo Credit: Justin Ford, USA TODAY Sports)
Size: 9; Design: 8; Flashiness: 7; Overall: 24
The Liberty Bowl trophy is among the biggest trophies of the bowl season, making it hard for fans to miss as they reminisce about the 2014 season for years to come. It loses points in flashiness but it’s big, bold and resemblant of an American landmark (and the bowl’s namesake), which earns it enough points to crack the top 3 on this list.
2. TaxSlayer Bowl — Tennessee
(Photo Credit: Phil Sears, USA TODAY Sports)
Size: 8; Design: 9; Flashiness: 9; Overall: 26
The trophy Tennessee brought home from the TaxSlayer Bowl is like the Belk Bowl trophy in a number of ways, but it’s bigger while maintaining an equal level of flashiness, and the design of its base is far more interesting. The TaxSlayer Bowl may not have a reputation as a premier bowl game, but its trophy is among the most appealing postseason prizes.
1. Independence Bowl — South Carolina
(Photo Credit: Nelson Chenault, USA TODAY Sports)
Size: 10; Design: 9; Flashiness: 8; Overall: 27
The Independence Bowl trophy is the obvious No. 1 choice on this list for a number of reasons. It’s the biggest trophy, and it maintains plenty of flash without blinding onlookers. The design is classic yet inviting, and it has an American-themed bald eagle perched atop the base. There are a number of elements at play with this trophy — the football placed at the base of the trophy alone outdoes some of the other bowl trophies since spread throughout the country. The entirety of the base is simple while commanding pride from the recipients, and did we mention the proud bald eagle at the top? This thing is a big heap of amazing.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
