This is officially the last Mailbag in a month that doesn’t have college football games on the schedule! In less than one (1) month, Week 0 action will be taking place across the country. Well, actually, across the globe – from Hawai’i to Dublin, Ireland.

Fall camps get underway next week, meaning optimism is high at every FBS school (even Vanderbilt, where Clark Lea made headlines last week by saying the Commodores can be the “best program in the country”).

Of course, by mid-January, only one team will be crowned champion, so let’s enjoy these last few weeks where every team is excited for what the 2022 season holds.

And now, let’s dive into your questions for this week’s Mailbag:

Robert:

Which current college football coach do you think would have the most success in the NFL as a head coach?

Well, it’s hard to ignore the success Jim Harbaugh had in the NFL, leading the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl (where he lost to his brother John’s team, the Baltimore Ravens). Harbaugh went 44-19-1 in 4 years with the 49ers, making the NFC Championship Game each of his first 3 years (in addition to the Super Bowl appearance).

I know I talk about how much I like him a lot in this Mailbag, but I also think Lane Kiffin would be much better as an NFL coach if he got another shot at it. He went 5-15 in 1+ seasons with the then-Oakland Raiders. But, that franchise was so dysfunctional back then, I don’t know if Vince Lombardi himself could have done much better than 8-8.

But, what about guys who haven’t tested themselves in the pro ranks yet?

Guys who need a ton of control wouldn’t be atop my list. Even the college coaching GOAT, Nick Saban, didn’t have much success with the Miami Dolphins before heading back to the college ranks. Six national titles later, that seems to have been the right move for Saban.

Here are the 4 current college coaches who have never been NFL head coaches that I think could find success in the pro ranks:

  1. Mario Cristobal, Miami
  2. Mel Tucker, Michigan State
  3. David Shaw, Stanford
  4. Lincoln Riley, USC

You need the right balance of being able to command respect without being a control freak. You also need to be able to inspire confidence in your team without being too much of a “rah-rah” guy. I think the 4 guys mentioned above fit that profile. We’ll see if any of them ever make the jump to the NFL to test out my theory.

Matt:

Florida State (5-7), Texas (5-7), USC (4-8) and Nebraska (3-9) are all traditional powerhouses that finished with losing records and didn’t make bowl games in 2021. I’m assuming you think USC will have the most wins of that group this fall. Who will have the second-most wins?

You’re going to make me say it, huh? Fine, I’ll do it.

Yes, USC will have the most wins of that group of underperforming traditional powerhouses. But, the second-most wins will belong to … Texas.

I’m not saying “Texas is back,” or anything, so don’t get me wrong there. I just think Florida State and Nebraska will be around 6-6 this year. Meanwhile, Texas fans should be angry if the Longhorns don’t finish at least 8-4. That should be the absolute floor for this team in 2022.

Bringing in Quinn Ewers and some other key players from the portal should give them an immediate boost. Add in some impact freshmen and the future’s looking brighter in Austin.

But, that doesn’t mean I think they’ll be competing for a Playoff spot. Eight wins this fall would just be enough to finish second among the teams listed above.

Jamie:

If the College Football Playoff expands to 16 teams, would you support automatic bids for the Power 5 champions (and potentially the AAC) or not?

Frankly, it shouldn’t really matter. I know no conference wants to be left out because its title game features a major upset, but let’s take a look at last year as an example.

All 6 “major” conference winners finished in the top 16 fairly easily. Alabama (SEC) was No. 1. Michigan (Big Ten) was No. 2. Cincinnati (AAC) was No. 4. Baylor (Big 12) was No. 7. Utah (Pac-12) was No. 11. And Pitt (ACC) was No. 12. Even the top 2 independent teams would have cracked the top 16 (Notre Dame at No. 5 and BYU at No. 13).

Take it a step further. Even 4 “major” conference title game losers stayed in the top 16 (Georgia at No. 3, Oklahoma State at No. 9, Oregon at No. 14 and Iowa at No. 15). Wake Forest lost the ACC title game and was at No. 17. Beat Pitt and the Demon Deacons crack the top 16 easily. Houston, which lost the AAC title tilt to Cincinnati, probably would have been in the top 16 with a victory, too.

Thus, it seems to me like guaranteeing spots for conference title game winners is almost a moot point. I’d be fine with 6 of the 16 spots being guaranteed to those teams, but I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary.

We’ll see if that continues to be a sticking point in CFP negotiations moving forward, but it seems to me like it’s a silly thing to get hung up on.

@Dobbe8:

Auburn’s men’s hoops team is in Israel next week for 3 exhibition games, including one against the Israeli national team. If you were a college basketball coach or player, what foreign country would you most want to visit during the offseason?

Israel seems like an incredible place to visit. The Dead Sea would be an exciting tourist stop. But, I’d want to go somewhere a little closer to the ocean.

Kentucky’s men’s team, for example, will be in the Bahamas in a couple of weeks. That sounds wonderful. Plus, with a trip to the Bahamas, the Wildcats won’t have to do quite as much adjusting to the time zone difference.

I’d also say playing in New Zealand seems fun. That’s a pretty extreme time difference, yes, but the basketball culture there is pretty strong. In that same vein, Japan seems like it could be a great place to go for a basketball tour (as long as plenty of sight-seeing time was built into the trip).

There are so many great places to visit and incredible experiences for these athletes to have. I wonder why the NCAA only allows teams to go on 1 foreign trip every 4 years. Seems pretty arbitrary.

Have a question for next week’s Mailbag? Tweet at us using #SDSMailbag or email me at ASpencer@SaturdayDownSouth.com.