Welcome to 2021, folks!

We made it. The awfulness of 2020 is hopefully in the rearview mirror. No, everything isn’t perfect or back to normal, but hope is on the horizon.

The next couple of days will be full of bowl excitement. Also, SEC play has started in college basketball.

So, with a full slate of action happening, let’s dive into your questions for this week’s SDS Mailbag:

Joe:

Outside of the 3 top-5 Heisman vote-getters (Mac Jones, DeVonta Smith and Najee Harris), which Alabama player will be the biggest key in the Rose Bowl against Notre Dame?

I think this is a game the Alabama defense needs to make a statement in. Florida scored 46 points against the Tide in the SEC Championship Game. Yes, the Gators had all their top players playing in that game, unlike in the 55-20 loss to Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl on Wednesday night, but that wasn’t a great sign for a unit that had been playing better defense of late.

Therefore, I’m going with DL Christian Barmore as the biggest key to success for the Tide. If he can control the line of scrimmage and keep both star RB Kyren Williams and QB Ian Book (a dual-threat quarterback) in check, it’ll be a long day for the Notre Dame offense.

Barmore has 6 sacks this year, too, which is a big bonus for an interior defensive lineman. He doesn’t need to get many tackles or any sacks to have an impact. If he can take up space, not get pushed around and impact what Notre Dame wants to do on the ground, the Irish will struggle.

That’s definitely a battle to keep an eye on this evening.

@SChinni12:

Tennessee made a statement by blowing out Missouri 73-53 in Columbia. The Vols are a deep and talented team, obviously. Who is their best player?

The Vols are indeed one of the deepest teams in the country. In fact, only one (1) player has scored more than 20 points in a game this year. That would be 5-star freshman Jaden Springer, who scored 21 points against Tennessee Tech.

There are so many options for “best player” on this team — reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year Yves Pons, versatile big man John Fulkerson, talented scorer Victor Bailey Jr., the do-it-all point guard in Santiago Vescovi or either of the 5-star freshmen in Springer and Keon Johnson.

I’m going to go with Pons, particularly after he started heating up offensively against Mizzou, scoring 13 points. He can guard anyone on the floor, from point guard to center. Plays like this are something to behold:

He’s going to be playing in the NBA next year. Yes, he still has a lot of work to do on his jumper, but there’s a spot for him in the pro ranks. He’ll likely be a first-round pick.

@JhypenM65:

What NFL rule would you like to see college football adopt? I would either choose the linemen downfield rules or the clocking rules for 1st downs.

I’m actually going to agree with you on the timing rules for first downs. I think it’s a bit strange that the clock stops after a first down in the college game. That, to me, is a bit subjective, as it relies on the referee to spot the ball before the clock starts again.

Some refs are slower than others. What if someone stumbles? There are too many variables that can lead to timing discrepancies. You already get the clock stopped for going out of bounds, calling a timeout or an incomplete pass. That’s enough ways to stop the clock, in my opinion.

My second choice would be that college players have to get 2 feet down in bounds on a catch. That’s just more to make the college and rules similar. Determining what is and isn’t a catch is already hard enough. Let’s unify the rules a bit.

@Dobbe8:

Which remaining non-Playoff bowl game are you most excited for?

With all the opt-outs and COVID-19 concerns, it’s hard to keep track of which teams have their key players and which are severely weakened. I know North Carolina is down many of its top guys, but the Orange Bowl against Texas A&M should still be interesting.

However, I think I’ll go with the Peach Bowl between No. 8 Cincinnati and No. 9 Georgia. The Bearcats will have plenty of motivation to keep their undefeated season going. Plus, they’ll want to send a message to the College Football Playoff selection committee that they should have been given 1 of the 4 spots.

But, Georgia is an elite SEC squad that has been playing much better since JT Daniels took over as quarterback. This will be Cincinnati’s toughest game of the year, by far. It’ll be interesting to see how Luke Fickell’s squad handles the pressure, especially in a game in Georgia’s backyard in Atlanta.

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