We’re getting closer to fall weather starting. There’s a chill setting in across the south after several long summer months.

Fall afternoons and football — nothing beats that!

As we write our last Mailbag of September, let’s look forward to all October has to offer — conference play, sweater weather, Halloween, and everything else (except pumpkin-spice everything).

Now, let’s dive into your questions fro this week’s SDS Mailbag:

Robert:

Should BYU represent the south in the Pac-12 Championship?

Let’s take a look at the records. BYU is currently 3-0 with wins over Arizona and ranked Utah and Arizona State teams. All 3 of those squads are in the Pac-12 South. Every Pac-12 South team, including USC and UCLA, has at least 1 loss.

BYU still has a road trip to Washington State on Oct. 23 and a trip to USC to end the season on Nov. 27. We’ll see how the Cougars fare in those games. So far, they’ve beaten Arizona at a neutral site (Las Vegas), and Utah and Arizona State both came to Provo.

Take their Pac-12 dominance on the road later this year, though, and I’d be willing to do something crazy like put the Cougars in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Unfortunately, I’m not the college football overlord (yet).

And, with BYU recently announcing it was going to join the Big 12, it seems the choice has been made. But yeah, if I were ranking the Pac-12 teams now and got to include BYU, the Cougars would be at No. 2 — right behind Oregon.

Shane:

Watching the Eli and Peyton “ManningCast.” Who would you like to see the SEC Network do this with for their Saturday night game?

Well, many (including Lane Kiffin and @RedditCFB) are actually trying to get Peyton and Eli Manning to do a ManningCast for the Ole Miss-Tennessee game next month. I think that would be pretty awesome, but the 2 legends might be planning on being in Knoxville for that game. We’ll see.

Let me first say that I really like the current broadcast team of Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers and Cole Cubelic. But, if I had to choose a couple of SEC legends to do a game in the ManningCast style and listen to them every week, how about Charles Barkley and Steve Spurrier?

I’d also listen to Johnny Manziel and Chad Kelly break down a Texas A&M-Ole Miss game and share their wild stories.

But, the SEC Network needs to do the right thing and give us a ManningCast for the Ole Miss-Tennessee game!

John:

How realistic is it that Ole Miss can upset Alabama in Tuscaloosa next weekend?

There’s a blueprint there, and it’s similar to last year, when the Rebels gave the Tide all they could handle in a 63-48 loss. This year, Alabama’s offense isn’t as dynamic as it was last year.

But, the Rebels still have plenty of offensive firepower, led by Heisman favorite Matt Corral at quarterback. With him, RB Jerrion Ealy, WR Dontario Drummond and others, the Rebels have the offensive talent to put up more points than anyone else on this stout Alabama defense.

It’s going to come down to whether or not the Rebels’ slightly improved defense can force the Tide and QB Bryce Young into a couple of costly turnovers.

Since the game is in Tuscaloosa, I don’t actually think Ole Miss can pull off the upset, but I do think the Rebels have the best chance of anyone this regular season.

@Dobbe8:

Eli Drinkwitz said this week that he would rather not travel to Boston College, preferring instead to play a more regional matchup. Outside of the obvious (Kansas and Illinois), who would you like to see the Tigers start a nonconference regional rivalry with?

I’m going to go with Nebraska here. Oklahoma and Texas would also certainly be interesting, but they’re going to be conference foes here within the next few years.

So, the Cornhuskers are the answer. Right now, Mizzou is the better program, but it hasn’t always been that way. Back in the Big 12 North days, the Cornhuskers often had the upper hand (even if they sometimes needed a miracle like the flea kicker to beat the Tigers).

There are definite recruiting ramifications here, too. The Tigers currently have a commitment from 4-star 2022 OL Deshawn Woods — the No. 1 recruit out of Nebraska.

I’d love to see that former Big 12 rivalry continue over the coming years, but we’ll see how this so-called Alliance affects things.

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