Happy Friday, y’all!

We’re drawing ever closer to one of my favorite times of the year … the sweet spot when we have both college football and college basketball games to watch.

I know a lot of fans don’t tune in to college hoops until after the College Football Playoff, and that’s fine. But Feast Week is one of the most underrated weeks on the sports calendar.

Thanksgiving Day NFL games. Rivalry week in college football. NBA and NHL regular-season action. And big-name nonconference college hoops tournaments!

I love that week, and I can’t wait to get there this year.

For now, though, let’s open up the Mailbag and dive into your questions:

Joe:

Which receiver do you expect to emerge the most in the absence of Brock Bowers at Georgia?

Mizzou transfer Dominic Lovett is second on the team with 31 catches to Bowers’ 41, but he’s only averaging 9.1 yards per grab and has only reached the end zone once. Mississippi State transfer Rara Thomas has 16 catches, averaging 16 yards per catch. He also has only reached the end zone once.

I think one of those guys has to step up in a big way with Bowers out. Yes, Ladd McConkey’s return from injury will be huge for the offense, too, but it needs to be McConkey and someone else stepping up.

Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint is doing a great job as a deep threat, having caught 18 passes for 333 yards (18.5 yards per catch) and 2 scores thus far. That’s the role he needs to continue to inhabit.

My prediction is that Lovett is the guy who steps up his game a bit alongside the return of McConkey, but we’ll see how these next few weeks without Bowers go.

Shane:

Are you surprised by Mizzou’s 6-1 start? How many wins do you think the Tigers will have at the end of the regular season?

Honestly, yes, I was down on Mizzou entering this year. I wasn’t sure Brady Cook was the right quarterback for the offense. I was doubtful that the Tigers would be able to replace WR Dominic Lovett. I thought the defense might take a step back.

Instead? Cook has been awesome. Theo Wease and others have replaced Lovett’s production. Luther Burden III has become a superstar like we thought he would. The defense hasn’t regressed as much as I thought.

The Tigers have a pair of really solid victories against Kansas State and at Kentucky. Their 1 loss is to a strong LSU team. So how will they fare down the stretch?

I have the Tigers finishing 9-3 this regular season. This isn’t a team that can beat Georgia, in my opinion (though maybe I’ll be proven wrong). Tennessee has also had the Tigers’ number in recent years. I think those are the 2 games Mizzou loses down the stretch, picking up wins over South Carolina, Florida and Arkansas to get to 9 wins.

Having a chance to get to 10 wins in a bowl game? That’s not where I thought this team would be heading into 2023, I’ll admit. Good job by Eli Drinkwitz and company.

Austin:

I know Texas and Oklahoma are in the highest tier of Big 12 teams, but who is in the “mid-upper tier” of the Big 12, not as good as UT or OU, but better than the bottom half of the league?

At this point in the season, I don’t see anyone really putting a scare into the Sooners or Longhorns for a spot in the Big 12 title game. But, hey, this is college football, so you can’t rule out crazy things happening.

As much as Iowa State looked like a dumpster fire this offseason and in nonconference play with losses to Iowa and Ohio, the Cyclones have turned things around in Big 12 play under coach Matt Campbell.

They’ve beaten Oklahoma State, TCU and Cincinnati in league play and have only lost to Oklahoma. They still have Kansas and Texas on the schedule, though, so we’ll see how the Cyclones fare down the stretch.

Don’t rule out Kansas State as a potential spoiler, either. The Wildcats don’t have to play Oklahoma this year. Yes, they lost to Oklahoma State in a disappointing effort for Chris Klieman and company, but if they win out with only a loss to Texas the rest of the way, they could still finish the Big 12 season with 2 losses, which would at least make things interesting.

Oklahoma State is the third darkhorse on my list. The Cowboys are 2-1 in league play, don’t have to face Texas and still have matchups against all 4 league newcomers in Houston, Cincinnati, UCF and BYU, who are a combined 2-10 in conference play thus far.

Bedlam should be interesting once again, folks!

@Dobbe8:

I saw Chris Marler’s rankings of who should eventually replace Nick Saban when the time comes. Who do you like most to take over for the GOAT?

It feels like I answer this question once a year or so, but it also seems like chatter about this topic heats up about once a year, too, so it makes sense.

Here are my guy Marler’s rankings, which he does an incredible job with:

https://twitter.com/VernFunquist/status/1714641550750134397

I love that he has Oregon coach Dan Lanning at No. 1. Lanning is making a name for himself out west and would be as solid of a replacement for Saban as you can find. I also love that he mentions Jonathan Smith and Mike Elko. Those guys are doing great work turning around traditionally noncompetitive programs.

I’d still have Lane Kiffin on the list, too. It seems like some people have soured on Kiffin, but he’s the only SEC coach to beat LSU this season so far. Ole Miss is still in the mix in the SEC West if Alabama slips up.

I’d probably have him at No. 2 on my list right now behind Lanning. But I also don’t think Saban will retire for another 2-3 years or so, which means new names could emerge.

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

Just a reminder, tomorrow is game day! Be sure to check out our homepage for our Saturday Morning Tailgate. From TV schedules to power rankings to the SEC’s top players, it’s the one-stop shop every SEC fan needs to kick off the best day of the week.