As Auburn heads into its eighth game of the season on the heels of a four-game losing streak, bowl eligibility has become a much more topical conversation for an Auburn team that failed to win six games last season.

Auburn currently has a 3-4 record and is 0-4 in the SEC. It will likely be heavily favored in upcoming games against Vanderbilt and New Mexico State, meaning that if Auburn does not slip up against those two, it would just have to beat one of Mississippi State, Arkansas and Alabama to reach six wins.

Mississippi State in Jordan-Hare Stadium appears like the best spot, on paper, to get that win, making this coming Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. game against the team from Starkville of critical importance.

For now, here’s where experts believe Auburn could be headed for a bowl game this winter. Many are thinking Auburn may have a trip to the beach ahead.

The Action Network: Auburn vs UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl, Dec. 22 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

Oh man, the storylines this would have.

It would mean facing former Auburn head coach and current UCF head coach Gus Malzahn for the first time since he was fired. It also would be a rematch of the 2018 Peach Bowl where UCF beat a Malzahn-coached Auburn team.

Tampa, too, has some history for current Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze. In 2017, the Wall Street Journal reported Freeze, then the Ole Miss head coach, made calls to an escort service with his university phone while on a recruiting trip to the Tampa Bay region.

ESPN: Auburn vs Liberty in the Gasparilla Bowl

Another intriguing storyline in this projected Gasparilla Bowl matchup. Auburn hired Freeze from his previous head coaching job at Liberty. Liberty played Auburn once while Freeze was the coach in Lynchburg, Virginia, which Auburn won in blowout fashion in 2018.

This would be the first time Freeze would face his former employer since leaving.

ESPN has two reporters make selections in its projections — Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach. Bonagura picked Auburn in the Gasparilla Bowl. Schlabach does not project Auburn to make a bowl game.

CBS: Auburn vs West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl, Dec. 29 at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee.

No warm, sunny beach trip projection from CBS.

Auburn has not played in the Liberty Bowl since 1984 when it beat Arkansas 21-15.

Auburn and West Virginia have played twice all time, with West Virginia winning in 2008 in Morgantown and Auburn winning in 2009 in Auburn.

USA Today: Auburn not projected to make a bowl game

One thing to note here is USA Today did not project any SEC team in the Gasparilla Bowl. This is where bowl games can get confusing. The Gasparilla Bowl has a significant number of conference tie-ins, meaning that the bowl committee has a wide array of teams it can select for its games. Though since the Gasparilla Bowl is a generally lower-level bowl game, it often is not left with a breadth of options that make sense for the bowl’s own ambitions.

The Gasparilla Bowl will take at least one team from either the ACC or SEC and then the other from either whichever league between the ACC and SEC wasn’t already picked, or a pool of Group of 5 conferences including the AAC, C-USA, MAC, MWC. It could also take independents such as Army.

The Gasparilla Bowl has taken an SEC team each of the last two seasons and would often consider travel for fans in order to generate the most ticket sales. Auburn would be one of the most geographically relevant teams with a large brand that could fit in this bowl game. But there are many options.

The Sporting News: Auburn not projected to make a bowl game

247Sports: Auburn vs Iowa State in the Liberty Bowl

Another trip to Memphis. These two schools have never played.

Athlon Sports: Auburn vs N.C. State in the Gasparilla Bowl

It’s been since 1979 since these two schools have played. They have split the only two all-time matchups, both played in Auburn. The Wolfpack won in 1977 and the Tigers won in 1979.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]