We’re a week away from Christmas! Championship weekend starts tonight! There are NFL games on Saturday! College basketball is in full swing! The College Football Playoff field is announced on Sunday!

That’s a lot of exclamation points, I know, but it truly is the most wonderful time of the year. A lot of you will have some time off work over the next 2 weeks, so sit back, relax and enjoy a great time on the sports calendar.

Without further ado, here are your questions for this week’s SDS Mailbag:

@Dobbe8:

Heading into championship weekend, what 4 teams do you predict will be in the College Football Playoff?

Let’s get the obvious one out of the way — I think Alabama is in the field even if it loses to Florida on Saturday night. But, I think they’ll win and the Crimson Tide will be the No. 1 seed.

From there, I have a bit of an interesting prediction. I think Notre Dame beats Clemson in the ACC title game for the second time this season, earning the Irish the No. 2 seed. And, I think that loss would drop Clemson out of the field.

Thus, I have Ohio State moving up a spot. And, then, I predict Texas A&M to beat Tennessee in convincing fashion on Saturday to make a last-second statement to the Playoff committee. But, to avoid an Alabama-A&M semifinal rematch, I predict the field will look like this:

  1. Alabama
  2. Notre Dame
  3. Texas A&M
  4. Ohio State

Will I be right? Probably not, but hey, I think this would be a fair way to rank the top 4 teams if Clemson loses the ACC Championship Game.

@JhypenM65:

Why don’t more consistent bottom dwellers in major conferences give the triple-option a go? Are Vandy and Kansas really competing with Oklahoma and Alabama for potential NFL talent?

That’s a good question, and I honestly think it has to do with the egos coaches have. You don’t work your way up to landing a Power 5 job without confidence in your abilities. Plus, no coach wants to get saddled with the “triple-option” label for the rest of his career.

Look at the 3 coaches at the service academies — Troy Calhoun at Air Force, Jeff Monken at Army and Ken Niumatalolo at Navy. Those 3 guys are mentioned in coaching searches a lot, but hey, here they are still at their respective schools running the triple-option.

Paul Johnson had some success at Georgia Tech, going 82-61 in 11 years with the Yellow Jackets. He won an ACC title and even made it to the Orange Bowl twice, winning once.

But, that’s probably the best a school can hope for with the traditional triple-option. And, even schools like Kansas and Vanderbilt don’t want to admit that’s the best they can do. Now, I’m intrigued by Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Chadwell’s hybrid spread/triple-option offense. I think he deserves a shot at a Power 5 job sooner rather than later. Perhaps Auburn should give him a call?

Speaking of Auburn…

@3Kids_NoMoney:

What the hell is Auburn doing and why do they enjoy hurting me?

Short answer: I have no idea.

Slightly longer answer: It seems they don’t have any idea, either. I thought for sure when they fired Gus Malzahn that they had a deal in place with Hugh Freeze already. It was a no-brainer — a top offensive mind who has had success against Nick Saban’s Alabama teams in the past.

But, as the search drags on, it seems that there are differing opinions on who should be the coach among the ranks of the boosters. Some reportedly back interim coach Kevin Steele. Others want a different guy brought in. Who that other guy is is unclear at this point, though.

If I were a betting man (and I am), I’d bet that they eventually name Steele the full-time head coach. Will that make Auburn fans mad? Well, if the #StopSteele movement is any indication, yes.

After this coaching search, it’s quite possible Auburn fans will miss what they had with Gus in 2020. That’s a sentence I never thought I’d type.

@SChinni12:

If Kentucky loses on Saturday against North Carolina, the Wildcats will be 1-5. What is the biggest problem for them this year?

Right now, there are a ton of problems coach John Calipari has to fix. The Wildcats were hit hard by the crazy offseason that saw COVID-19 wreak havoc on practice schedules and game schedules everywhere. That has shown itself as the Wildcats try to integrate a talented group of freshmen into the college game.

They also commit way too many turnovers. They’re currently averaging a horrendous 16.8 turnovers per game. If they don’t start taking care of the basketball, the season will spiral.

But, inexperience and turnovers aren’t their biggest issues. The biggest problem, by far, is that the Wildcats can’t make a 3-pointer to save their lives. The team is shooting 24.7% from beyond the arc. Brandon Boston Jr. takes 5.2 long-range shots per game and is only connecting at a 19.2% clip. Davion Mintz shoots 4.2 3s per game and makes 23.8% of them.

I don’t need to tell you that those percentages aren’t good. But, the Wildcats can’t just abandon the deep shot. It’s such an important part of the college game today. No, the Wildcats simply need to start hitting more long-range shots. That’s tough to coach, since you can’t just say “make them!” and have your players magically be better shooters. (Otherwise, I’d be a great coach!)

Keep an eye out for how Cal and his staff try to scheme some open looks from 3-point range against North Carolina tomorrow. That’ll be the story of the Kentucky season moving forward.

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