re: Sugar Bowl

With the implementation of the College Football Playoffs, the six bowls that host playoff games have absolutely no discretion in who they get. Two of the bowls get the playoff games, with the number one ranked team playing at the closest location to its home stadium. After the playoffs are set, the remaining four bowls that aren't hosting playoff games that year then are filled in with the highest ranked teams that meet the bowl's obligations for conference tie-ins. The at-large bids are filled in after the playoffs are set and the bowl tie-in obligations have been met, with the highest ranked teams not yet chosen filling those remaining spots. In general. There are a lot of arcane rules that apply every now and then, like the highest ranked mid-major getting a berth if there is no mid-major in the playoffs or the SEC Champion being guaranteed one of the Cotton, Peach, or Fiesta Bowls, but never the Orange Bowl, in a year that the Sugar Bowl is a playoff game, but the SEC Champion isn't selected for a playoff game.

Doesn't matter for the SEC and the Sugar Bowl this year, though. In short, since the Sugar Bowl is not a playoff game this year, if the SEC champion goes to a playoff game, the Sugar Bowl must take the highest ranked non-playoff SEC team in the Playoff Committee's final rankings. That isn't necessarily the runner up team and the Sugar Bowl can't pick which SEC team to take based on who they think will make them money.

The Committee could, in theory, set up the final rankings to make sure the team they want in the Sugar Bowl is the highest non-playoff SEC team to ensure a "compelling matchup", but the Sugar Bowl itself just takes what the committee gives them.