Happy December, y’all!

We’ve made it to the final month of the football regular season. Oh, and there are some big-time basketball games between now and Christmas, too!

It’s a great time to be a sports fan, as the holiday season always provides plenty of excitement. Make sure you check out the battle between No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 2 Baylor on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET on CBS before the network’s SEC double-header, featuring Florida-Tennessee and Alabama-LSU.

Anyway, here are your questions for this week’s SDS Mailbag:

@ClintAustin23:

SEC officiating incompetence. How do we fix it?

Here would be my pitch if I were trying to become the SEC’s head of officiating: I’m taking a 3-pronged approach to fixing things. First, we need to stop changing the rulebook every single season.

Yes, there are things that need to be addressed each offseason, particularly with targeting and other safety measures, but when things are constantly changing, it’s tough to expect even the best officials to have a good grasp of the rulebook.

Second, we need to be able to overturn egregious targeting penalties, like the one that Jalen Catalon of Arkansas had called against him a couple of weeks ago. I know the SEC offices don’t want to set a precedent of overturning calls, but you have to do something when it is so obviously a mistake that costs a player future playing time. I get it — they don’t want to embarrass their officials. But, the longer we go without doing it, the harder it will be to implement. Normalize it ASAP.

Finally, we need better replay officials. There’s no way that backward spike from Auburn QB Bo Nix against Arkansas should have been allowed to stand. You have to review that. And you have to realize there was a clear Arkansas recovery. That mistake can’t be allowed to decide a game.

If we can address those 3 things, I think SEC officiating would drastically improve. It wouldn’t be perfect, but that’s an unattainable goal. We’ll have to settle for “better.”

Robert:

College GameDay will be in Conway, South Carolina, tomorrow for the BYU-Coastal Carolina game (assuming it doesn’t get canceled). After already taking the show to The Masters in Augusta, Georgia, last month, can you predict any first time GameDay hosts for the 2021 season?

The show from Augusta was incredible visually, as there’s nothing more appealing to the eyes than The Masters. I know many fans didn’t like how much they talked about golf, which is understandable considering it’s supposed to be a college football pregame show.

This is also a program that has been hosted from Times Square, Bristol Motor Speedway and other unique locations. Before I make a prediction for a weird location, let me give you the 8 Power 5 schools that have never hosted GameDay:

  • Cal
  • Duke
  • Illinois
  • Kansas
  • Maryland
  • Rutgers
  • Syracuse
  • Virginia

Wake Forest was on that list prior to this season, but hosted the show before a game against Clemson on Sept. 12. I don’t see many schools with first-time potential in 2021. Certainly not Kansas (boom, roasted). Maybe Cal or Maryland? Those would be my best bets.

As for a unique location, how about the CDC headquarters in Atlanta if there’s a COVID-19 vaccine by next college football season? Get a whole bunch of medical professionals in the crowd to share a special moment.

If the Kentucky Derby gets postponed until the fall again, I could also see them doing a show from Churchill Downs. That could be kinda cool, I suppose.

@SChinni12:

If you had to pick 1 of the non-Power 5 schools to make it to the Playoff this year, who would you choose?

Well, let’s start by saying that there are only 3 non-Power 5 teams I give even the slightest glimmer of College Football Playoff hope to — No. 7 Cincinnati, No. 13 BYU and No. 18 Coastal Carolina.

Cincinnati is a heck of a team, but the Bearcats just don’t excite me. Coastal Carolina — now there’s a great story. The Chanticleers just started playing at the FBS level (in the Sun Belt) in 2017. At 9-0 thus far, this is their first-ever winning season at the FBS level.

Head coach Jamey Chadwell is a hot name on the coaching carousel and seems like a fun guy. And, QB Grayson McCall has thrown for 20 touchdowns and only 1 interception this season.

I can’t wait to see BYU and Coastal Carolina play this weekend, and I can’t wait to see College GameDay from the Coastal Carolina campus. I’ve been to Myrtle Beach a few times, but I have never seen that campus.

So, to recap, Cincinnati definitely has the best chance of any of those 3 teams to make the Playoff, but I’d pick Coastal Carolina if I got to choose. Their story is just too cool. And that’s no disrespect to Cincy or to BYU, who has 1 of the most-exciting players in the country in QB Zach Wilson.

@Dobbe8:

Five seconds left, down 1 point. You can have 1 SEC men’s basketball player take the last-second shot. Who do you want with the ball in his hands?

This would have been a much easier question last season, when the SEC had Mason Jones, Immanuel Quickley, Skylar Mays and other clutch players roaming the courts. I haven’t gotten a great feel for this year’s clutch players just yet.

But, the Mailbag is about decisive stances, no matter if they’re based in facts or not!

I’m going to give you 2 guys, but I’m going to take advantage of the way you asked your question. Those 2 players are Mizzou’s Xavier Pinson and Georgia’s Sahvir Wheeler. Both are off to great starts this season, and both guys have a knack for making the right play.

Wheeler notched double-doubles in his first 2 games and Pinson scored 19 second-half points to help Mizzou upset No. 21 Oregon. But, with 5 seconds left and the ball in their hands, they also have time to drive and kick out to an open shooter. Both guys are capable of that.

Right now, I’d give Pinson the slight edge, but Wheeler is making a strong case for himself thus far, too.

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