Today's SEC Championship game will likely decide who Wisconsin will play in the Outback Bowl.

MADISON -- The University of Wisconsin football team knows it will be facing a Southeastern Conference team in a bowl game for the fifth straight year.

But the Badgers won't know for sure who they will play in the Outback Bowl Jan. 1 in Tampa, Fla., until Sunday.

The loser of today's SEC Championship game, pitting No. 5 LSU (10-2) and No. 14 Tennessee (9-3) in the Georgia Dome (3 p.m. on WISC, Ch. 3) will be a leading contender to play the Badgers.

"I don't know if it's the most likely (opponent), but certainly, they will be a candidate for our game," Jim McVay, president and CEO of the Outback Bowl, said earlier this week.

If Tennessee loses, it seems almost assured of ending up in the Outback Bowl. But if LSU loses, it also will be a candidate for the Cotton Bowl or Capital One Bowl. In that case, the Badgers could face Auburn (8-4) for the third time in five years.

It seems unlikely Florida (9-3) will drop to the Outback, since the Capital One is known to covet the Gators and has an earlier choice.

McVay considers this one of the strongest pools of SEC teams for his bowl in many years. He just doesn't like it when people talk about his bowl attracting the loser of the SEC title game.

"I hate hearing that term loser,' '' McVay said. "It just doesn't sound right, when you're talking about a division champion in the SEC.

"If (the Volunteers) don't win that game and they're considered a loser, it really doesn't make a lot of sense, because this is going to be a quality team. If it's LSU that comes out of there, look at the games those guys played, the record they ended up with.

"We would be honored to have either division champion in our game. Now, we're not saying that's going to happen, but certainly one of those teams may be available for us, along with an Auburn."

The BCS bowl pairings will be announced at 7 p.m. Sunday on WMSN (Ch. 47), with other bowl parings to follow that night. However, there is a chance some bowls will be released to make their selections prior to the BCS picks.

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