I hate off weeks. I know they’re necessary for getting a bit of rest in the middle of a grueling football season, but I still hate them.

There are fewer SEC games every week during the month of October as teams get their off weeks, and I’m not a huge fan of that.

I think there should be one weekend where the entire SEC has open dates. Just no SEC games one Saturday during the fall.

Have your fall weddings. Go watch some postseason baseball. Watch other, lesser conferences struggle to live up to the SEC’s standard.

I’d make the trade of not having SEC football for one entire weekend in October in exchange for having loaded schedules every other weekend. For now, it’s just a tease until we get to November.

I’m sure I’d love my idea until that off week actually hit. Then, I’d be miserable. But, still, maybe it’s worth a shot. Tweet at Greg Sankey, y’all.

For now, let’s dive into your questions for this week’s SDS Mailbag:

Robert:

Alabama and Georgia are considered the favorites to meet in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. But, Tennessee and Ole Miss are both also undefeated right now. Are the Vols or Rebels more likely to win their respective division?

That’s a great question, and a really tough one to answer. If Tennessee manages to pull off the upset of Alabama this weekend, that would obviously give the Vols a lot of confidence moving forward.

The problem? They still have a date with Georgia looming large on Nov. 5. And that game is in Athens. Is it really realistic to expect any team to take down both Alabama and Georgia in the same season?

The last team to beat both the Tide and the Bulldogs in the same season was LSU in 2019. That was a historically great squad. Before that, you have to go back to 2017, when Auburn accomplished the task.

Ole Miss, on the other hand, would only have to upset Alabama, not Georgia, to make the SEC title game (where Georgia would likely be waiting). The Rebels get Alabama in Oxford on Nov. 12. Thus, I’ll give the Rebels an ever-so-slight edge when it comes to breaking up the party in Atlanta.

Whatever happens, Tennessee and Ole Miss have been a ton of fun this year. There are some great, division-defining games coming up in September, no matter what happens Saturday on Rocky Top!

@SChinni12:

Who wins the Alabama-Tennessee game this weekend?

That’s an almost impossible question to answer without knowing if Bryce Young is going to play or not. One thing I do know – Tennessee hasn’t faced a defense like Alabama’s. The Tide rank No. 6 in total defense and No. 6 in scoring defense (allowing only 12.5 points per game).

The best defense the Vols have played thus far is LSU (No. 29 in total defense, No. 29 in scoring defense). That’s a pretty big step up for the Vols, who might be without star WR Cedric Tillman.

Even if Young does play, I’m confident that this will be a lower-scoring game than many expect. The over/under is set at 65.5 points as of Thursday night on FanDuel, and the under is one of my favorite bets of the weekend.

I’m thinking it’s going to be a low-scoring, wacky game with a final score of something like Alabama 23, Tennessee 21.

Whatever the case, I can’t wait for that matchup to kick off on Saturday afternoon!

Keith:

With Indiana and Kentucky looking into renewing their men’s hoops rivalry, how does that rivalry compare to Mizzou-Kansas?

Sadly, my Tigers are the odd team out in that Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Missouri foursome. All the other schools have championship pedigree, even if Indiana and Kentucky haven’t been playing to that level lately.

The thing Mizzou-Kansas does have going for it? Longevity. The Tigers and Jayhawks have squared off on the court an incredible 269 times. I don’t want to mention this next part, but I will anyway – Kansas leads the all-time series 173-96.

Meanwhile, Kentucky and Indiana have played only 57 times, with Kentucky holding a slight 32-25 edge. It’s nice to have the Border War back in my life, and hopefully Mizzou can notch another win soon under new coach Dennis Gates. But, Kentucky and Indiana are basketball royalty, so getting that matchup back on the schedule every year should be a high priority for both schools.

@Dobbe8:

Basketball season starts soon. Who are you picking to win the SEC men’s regular-season and tournament titles?

I have no idea how the men’s hoops season is going to play out this year. I usually have a bit more confidence, but I think Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas are all capable of winning both the regular-season and tourney titles.

Arkansas is a wildcard. With so many young, talented freshmen coming in expected to contribute in big ways, it might take that team a while to jell. But, I do expect the Hogs to be firing on all cylinders by the time league play starts. Eric Musselman is too good of a coach for that not to be the case.

I like that Kentucky has a veteran duo in Sahvir Wheeler and Oscar Tshiebwe to lead the way. Tennessee also has that with Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James. The Vols and Wildcats also both have intriguing freshmen and transfers, as is the norm in this day and age in college hoops.

For right now, I’ll go with this as my prediction – Arkansas uses its youthful energy and insane level of NBA talent to win the regular-season title. Kentucky relies on veteran savvy to pick up the tournament championship.

Florida, Auburn, Alabama and Texas A&M are also intriguing squads to keep an eye on. The SEC is loaded this year!

I’m too busy with football right now, but you’d better believe I’ll be diving into more preseason hoops stuff soon, so I might change my picks before tipoff on opening night.

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