Bowl season can be viewed as a reward for teams that navigated through mostly successful seasons. It's a chance for at least one more game, a nice mini-vacation and some pretty nifty gifts.
But it can also stand as a time for redemption and even a new beginning.
There's some added pressure to this bowl season for the SEC, which had a somewhat ho-hum regular season, and strong play from some of these teams and players would go a long way toward restoring images around this league.
After a dreadful 2-4 start, Arkansas finished the season with a 5-2 run that included a four-game winning streak.