Realignment.

It’s all anyone is talking about these days. But never fear! Games will be here before we know it, even if it seems like Week 0 is still miles away.

Realignment talk features prominently in your questions for this week’s Mailbag, so let’s dive right into it all, shall we?

Cole:

Do you think that the SEC will try to copy the Big 12 and Big Ten by trying to poach 2 of the Pac-12 teams? I know that it doesn’t make sense, but nowadays it’s about revenue and it would expand the SEC TV market to the West Coast. I don’t think that the SEC will sit back and let the Big 12 and Big Ten get all the West Coast market.

I honestly think the SEC would rather not scoop up any of the remnants of Cal, Stanford, Washington State and Oregon State.

I know my friend/colleague Chris Marler would picket outside the SEC offices if there was even a whiff of Oregon State being added to the conference, and I’d join him.

The SEC, I can attest, already has a big share of the West Coast TV market. Having just moved away from California after spending 5 years out there, I constantly saw bars featuring the biggest SEC games each week on the main TVs, with Pac-12 games relegated to smaller TVs (unless they were the primetime ABC game of the week).

Even most places out in the Bay Area don’t have the Pac-12 Network, so whatever game was on that channel each weekend was a lost cause.

If the SEC is interested in further expansion, and I’m not 100% sure it will be, the prizes would be from the dissolution of the ACC. I don’t think any current Big 12 schools offer the SEC much value. North Carolina, Florida State, Clemson and Virginia (and potentially Notre Dame)? Now Greg Sankey is answering the phone.

Matteo:

What should Cal and Stanford do?

This goes with the same theme as the last question, and it’s an even more important question now that the ACC is reportedly not interested in adding Cal or Stanford to the mix.

If I’m Stanford, I go independent in football immediately and join either the WCC or Mountain West for the other sports. Stanford has the long-standing rivalry with Notre Dame that can anchor its schedule.

Plus, with USC, Oregon, Washington and UCLA now off to the Big Ten, it makes sense that they’d all want a more regional big-name school to play each year on their nonconference schedules.

That’s potentially 5 games a year for the Cardinal. They’d also almost certainly keep their rivalry with Cal going. That’s 6 games.

Washington State and Oregon State would also be looking for some opponents to prove they deserve power conference status still, so that’s 8 games for the Cardinal.

Could they patch together 4 more games with a couple of Mountain West teams, an FCS school and another random opponent?

I think it could be done, and I think it might be Stanford’s best football option. Could Cal follow a similar blueprint? I’m not so sure about that. But if it thinks it can, it might be worth a try at this point.

Shawn:

Who is the most important player in the SEC? Not the best player (like Brock Bowers), but the most important player to his team.

My pick for the answer to this question is Joe Milton III. Tennessee showed what it can be with a talented quarterback last year under Hendon Hooker.

Milton has a cannon for an arm, as he’s shown time and time again. The Vols have some talented receivers, led by Bru McCoy. If Milton can develop a little bit more touch, Tennessee’s offense has the potential to produce at a similar level to 2022.

If he struggles, this team could struggle to make a bowl game. Now, before Vol Twitter and Tennessee Nation jump on me in the comments, I don’t think Milton will fall on his face this year.

But if he’s significantly below Hooker’s level of play, the Vols will struggle to win as many games as they did in 2022. That’s just a fact.

Rachel:

I saw Kentucky’s schedule and it’s brutal as the Wildcats not only face Georgia in Athens but also Alabama in Lexington as well as a very underrated Vanderbilt team and a Louisville team that is one of my picks for the ACC Championship Game (Clemson is the other). Do you see UK possibly failing to qualify for a bowl game at 5-7?

The good news for Kentucky’s bowl hopes is that the Wildcats’ nonconference schedule is pretty weak. Ball State, Eastern Washington and Akron should all be fairly comfortable wins.

While I think Louisville is a team on the rise under new coach Jeff Brohm, I do think it’ll take at least a year for things to turn around. I wouldn’t pick the Cardinals to make the ACC Championship Game until 2024 at the earliest.

So that’s 4 wins for Kentucky. I also think the Wildcats won’t be sleeping on Vanderbilt this year, so they’ll take down the Commodores.

They just need 1 more victory for bowl eligibility, and I think they’re capable of beating Florida (in Lexington), Mizzou (in Lexington), Mississippi State (in Starkville) and South Carolina (in Columbia). If they even win 2 of those games, that’s 7 victories and bowl eligibility.

I’m higher on QB Devin Leary than most, too. I think he has the potential to work his way into Round 1 NFL Draft contention before the end of the season.

I’m not super worried about the Wildcats this year, if that helps put your mind at ease at all.

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