There are very few things more disheartening among SEC than the prospects of spending the bowl season at the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana . But a mediocre season and somewhere around an 11th place finish in the toughest conferences in the land will get you some nice parting gifts and an all expenses paid trip to the Port City. Teams and fans alike are sure to enjoy the oppressive heat, street violence, and…hey look, casinos! But this year, it means even more as the Indy Bowl is getting the band back together, bringing it’s SEC brethren back into that warm, possibly venereal disease-infested embrace that is the Red River twin cities.  And to commemorate this second chance at love, every week FOTP will be taking a look at which SEC teams have the best chance of going bowling in East Texas the third most glamorous city in the Bayou State.

1.  Some random MAC/Mountain West/CUSA/Sun Belt abomination.  This is pretty much such a certainty at this point that I might as well call the rest of the poll on account of rampant mediocrity.  The bowl committee is openly lobbying to get Louisiana Tech into the game at this point just to get butts in the seats…butts that are probably tired of making the trip from Ruston to Shreveport…but butts nonetheless.

2. Vandy (6-4).  Pulling off the stunning comeback on the road to get bowl eligible for the second straight season means the Dores are likely headed to a more fan-convenient destination like Memphis or Nashville, but it’s just nice to see them near the top of any poll this time of year.

3.  Ole Miss (5-5).  In the most “We Are Ole Miss” of ways, the rebels have made bowl eligibility that much harder after assuming the position against Vandy.  Traveling to Baton rouge with a secondary running on fumes is not the best recipe for success against a suddenly resurgent LSU passing offense.  The only real hope is Thanksgiving weekend, at home, against a Mississippi State team that hasn’t won in almost a month, yet, as Ole Miss tradition would dictate, expect an epic late game collapse in said Egg Bowl, and no trip anywhere, let alone the Port City, for the Rebels.

4.  Affliction T-Shirts You say they’ve fallen out of style, but middle aged bar flies and guys from Bossier would adamantly disagree.

5.  Associate’s degrees.  A Shreveport/Bossier tradition.  Why spend all that time and money at a traditional institution of higher learning when you can get a degree in Heating and AC repair in a matter of months!?

Out of poll from last week: Tennessee, Mizzou, throwing the peace sign in Instagram photos