MSU on Chick Fil A Bowl Short List

This will come as a surprise to almost no Bulldog fan, but MSU is included on the short list of candidates to be selected to play in this year's Chick Fil A Bowl game in Atlanta, the Bowl announced today.

The @chickfilabowl says its short lists are Clemson, Duke, FSU, Miami and LSU, MSU, A&M, South Carolina.

— SBN College Football (@SBNationCFB) November 8, 2012

Mississippi State is one of four SEC teams on the finalist list, along with LSU, Texas A&M, and South Carolina. One of these four will most likely be pitted against an above listed ACC foe for the December 31st bowl game in Atlanta.

In my mind, either this bowl or the Gator Bowl are State's most logical destinations this bowl season, presuming at least a 9-3 or 8-4 finish to the season. If you take a look at the latest bowl projections from CBS, you'll note that South Carolina is projected to the Outback Bowl, LSU to the Cotton, A&M to the Chick-Fil-A, and we (MSU) are projected to the Gator Bowl. With State playing in the Gator Bowl just two years ago, however, I'm not 100% convinced that they (Gator Bowl officials) wouldn't reach and get Texas A&M first should they be there, leaving the Chick-Fil-A Bowl as State's most obvious destination.

Of course, all of this presumes a certain finish to the season; should that finish to the season be altered (i.e. State wins out, A&M beats Bama, etc.), then these projections become moot. But, should State win 1 or 2 (more safely 2) out of its last 3 games this season, I'm willing to bet that there are plenty of State fans out there who would love to head to Atlanta this New Year's Eve to attend the former Peach Bowl, as it was a heavy fan favorite two seasons ago before State was ultimately selected to go to Jacksonville instead.