This is the last Mailbag of 2019! Seems like the year really flew by, doesn’t it?

Fortunately, we’ll have some great bowl games to help us transition from 2019 to 2020, and perhaps the SEC will have another team in the national title game.

Speaking of bowl games, we talk about those, as well as some New Year’s Eve plans, in this week’s SDS Mailbag:

@SChinni12:

What is one thing we should leave behind in 2019 as college football fans and what should we change heading into 2020?

I’m going to take my good friend Dobbe’s suggestion on the “leave behind” segment. (More from Dobbe in just a minute, FYI.) He suggested that the term “pro-style quarterback” should be retired, and I agree.

The NFL is having so much success with guys who dominated in college. From Lamar Jackson to Patrick Mahomes to Baker Mayfield to Kyler Murray to Russell Wilson and others, the pro game reflects the college game more than most NFL coaches would care to admit. I agree that “pro-style quarterback” is outdated at this point.

“Dual-threat quarterback” still applies to guys like Jackson and Wilson, but we just need to come up with better phrases to describe quarterbacks with running ability.

Meanwhile, the thing we need to adopt heading into 2020 is paying players. I know that’s an unpopular opinion among many fans, but it’s something that won’t affect the game or anything that involves your TV viewing experience.

These players make so much money for their schools that they should be able to make money from their names, images and likenesses. If you like capitalism, which most red-blooded Americans do, it’s unfair to artificially deflate college athletes’ values simply because they’re what the NCAA want you to consider “amateurs.”

What even are “amateurs” anymore? Maybe that’s the phrase we need to retire over “pro-style quarterback.” Whatever. Just abolish the NCAA!

@JhypenM65:

Will Alabama fans break ranks and pull for Jalen Hurts over LSU in the Peach Bowl?

I think they will. Jalen Hurts did so much for the Alabama family and for fans across Tide nation that he’ll always be remembered. Plus, he went through the transfer process in what many consider to be the “right” way.

While I don’t necessarily subscribe to that idea, I do think that Hurts is an easy guy to root for, and he’s accomplished more at 2 schools than most players accomplish at 1. He’s an incredible player who deserves all the credit he gets (and then some).

Add in the fact that Alabama fans would be happy to see LSU lose and you have a recipe for Crimson Tide supporters to be in Oklahoma’s corner on Saturday night.

@Dobbe8:

For New Year’s, do you prefer a house party, a bar, or neither?

Give me a house party every year. Don’t get me wrong – I love bars. I love sitting and watching sports or sitting at a table with 5 or 6 close friends and catching up.

However, I really hate crowds. I can’t stand having to push my way through a bar scene that would probably make a fire marshal cringe just to try to get a cheap domestic beer.

No, I’d rather get whatever alcohol I’m favoring that week and take it to the house party. If that house party is too crowded, that’s a problem, but when you only have a dozen or so people over, that’s ideal for me.

Next week, I think I’m going to a concert for New Year’s, so that’ll be a first for me. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.

BONUS: Dobbe’s Locks of the Week went 2-1 last week, bringing him one step closer to a .500 record. Can he get there this week? Here are his 3 best bets:

  • Peach Bowl: LSU vs. Oklahoma (over 76) – Going over the history of the Playoff semifinals, the totals are mostly either in the mid-30s or the upper 70s. If those are my 2 options, I’ll go with upper-70s. We’ll get some big-time scoring here.
  • Cotton Bowl: Memphis (+7) vs. Penn State – Penn State should roll them, right? I don’t believe in Memphis one bit, but my gut hasn’t been right very much this year. I’ll take Memphis and the points. Both teams have kept it close against everyone this year, so 7 might just be too many points.
  • Citrus Bowl: Alabama (-7) vs. Michigan – The SEC has won 8 of the last 11 Citrus Bowls. Bama is going to take out some aggression here.

Dobbe’s Locks of the Week 2019 record: 24-26-1

Rachel:

Would you rather have the College Football Playoff semifinal games on New Year’s Day or on the Saturday before (like this year)?

I think the Saturday before is fine. That way, they don’t have to outshine the New Year’s Day games like the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. I like watching those games on New Year’s Day, regardless of whether they’re Playoff semifinals or not.

Plus, I actually want to sit down and watch the semifinal games and not be tired from the night before. Or, even worse, remember the year the semifinals were on New Year’s Eve? That was awful.

No, I think the way it’s set up this year is perfect. The Cotton Bowl and Camping World Bowl are nice appetizers before we get down to the main course.

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