With certain schools starting their football seasons in early- to mid-September, we’re really only 2 or 3 weeks from having some college football back in our lives!

Yes, there are challenges certain schools and athletic departments are facing with spikes in COVID-19 cases, but it seems we’re moving toward every conference that is still in the mix to play this fall continuing along that path.

It’ll be nice to have some actual games to talk about again, but until then, let’s take a look at your questions for this week’s Mailbag!

@Dobbe8:

If you had to do an SEC bubble in only 1 SEC stadium, which would you choose? Assume there are still no fans.

The first answer to pop into my head was Vanderbilt, because of Nashville’s infrastructure, but that stadium is… well, it’s not great. With no fans, you don’t necessarily need a huge stadium like Alabama’s, Tennessee’s or Texas A&M’s, so you can really go anywhere you need.

Still, I think I’d put the SEC bubble in College Station. Kyle Field is a nice atmosphere, and I’d want to keep the bubble away from where hurricanes are likely to have an impact.

We’ve seen in recent years where Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and other coastal teams have had their games impacted by hurricanes. This year’s hurricane season has already been a busy one, so I’d like to stay away from that. In a bubble atmosphere, and with the season already delayed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, any additional delays would be bad.

I understand that College Station can still be impacted by hurricanes, but it’s a big enough city to host the SEC bubble and it is less likely to be hit. My 2 backups would be Lexington, Kentucky, and Columbia, Missouri. Not many hurricanes are going to hit those places, so I’d be confident we could get an uninterrupted season in.

Robert:

Re: the SDS tweet about Big Ten and Pac-12 fans watching reruns of “The Big Bang Theory” instead of getting ready for football: What shows should other conferences watch with no college football? Big Bang seems to have more of a Pac-12 (or at least a Cal/Stanford) vibe.

Here’s the tweet Robert is referencing, in case you missed it:

Since the tweet included both Big Ten fans and Pac-12 fans as watching “The Big Bang Theory,” I’ll give that to just the Pac-12. As Robert said, that has more of a Stanford/Cal vibe anyway. For the rest of the conferences, here are the shows (I limited it to half-hour comedies) that would make for some fitting rerun viewing if the season is canceled:

  • Big Ten — Scrubs (a medical show they can learn from)
  • Big 12 — King of the Hill (based in Texas, propane)
  • ACC — Parks and Recreation (spanning from Indiana to Washington D.C., sorta like ACC country)
  • SEC — The Simpsons (a classic and a show that had a dominant run, much like the SEC is having now)

Let’s hope, for the Big 12, ACC and SEC’s sake, that those television sets can stay tuned in to football all fall long.

Joe:

Why is there no reality show of all the SEC mascots living in a bubble together during COVID? Who would win a “Big Brother” type competition between the mascots?

Man, if I were a college mascot, I would not sign up for anything that made me stay in costume 24 hours a day. That sounds like a nightmare.

However, if there were a show like that, I would definitely at least watch the first episode! (That’s something, right?) And, I think it would be fraught with drama. Three different tiger mascots? Two bulldogs? They’d have to weed out some of the overlapping mascots early. I think Hairy Dawg from Georgia and Truman from Mizzou win the bulldog and tiger competitions, respectively. (If it was a life tiger competition, LSU’s Mike would easily win.)

As far as which SEC mascot would take home the prize money? (I’m assuming there’s prize money in “Big Brother”? I’ve never watched it.) Give me Hairy Dawg edging out Albert in a Cocktail Party-esque final.

Nick:

You can either have the best quarterback in your conference and a mediocre supporting cast or the best running back/wide receiver/tight end trio and a mediocre quarterback. Which do you choose and why?

That’s tough. College football is a quarterback’s game, so my initial instinct is to go with that. That’s a question that NFL teams deal with all the time. Aaron Rodgers is one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game, but he only has 1 Super Bowl ring due to lackluster supporting casts. Meanwhile, guys like Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson and others have led their teams to Super Bowl victories due to elite supporting casts.

In college, you see all these teams that are absolutely loaded. Alabama had Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback, Najee Harris at running back and DeVonta Smith, Jerry Jeudy, Jaylen Waddle and Henry Ruggs III at receiver and still didn’t make the Playoff after Tua’s injury. LSU had Joe Burrow at QB, Clyde Edwards-Helaire at RB, Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase and Terrace Marshall Jr. at WR and Thaddeus Moss at TE. That’s loaded, too! Clemson’s roster reflects the same thing.

Still, I’ve got to go with the quarterback position. You’ve seen Michigan struggle in recent years. That’s largely due to inconsistency at quarterback, as the Wolverines recruit at a very high level. Give me the best quarterback and I’ll figure out the other pieces as needed.

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