By this time next week, we’ll have our first College Football Playoff rankings! A few of the usual suspects should be in the mix (Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State). Some others will be hanging around the top 4 for the first time in a long time (Florida State, Washington, etc.).

It’s getting down to the wire in the college football season. Every game is a must-win from here on out for teams hoping to impress the CFP committee.

Which teams will falter in Week 9? That’s one of the questions for today’s SDS Mailbag!

Let’s see what else is in the Mailbag this week, shall we?

Seth:

Which 1-loss teams still in the Playoff hunt will be all but eliminated from contention this weekend?

I think there are a number of 1-loss teams on upset alert, but there’s 1 game where a 1-loss team is guaranteed to suffer its second defeat – No. 8 Oregon at No. 13 Utah. I’m picking the Utes to win, as they continue to be a thorn in the side of other top Pac-12 teams (hello, USC).

Without some Heisman-level heroics from QB Bo Nix, the Ducks will fall flat in Salt Lake City on Saturday afternoon.

Other 1-loss teams I’m worried about include Texas (vs. BYU). This just seems like the sort of game the Longhorns have lost in years past. Is this year’s team different? We’ll find out Saturday!

I absolutely think Duke can go into Louisville and hand the upstart Cardinals their second loss of the season. And Arizona is a tough place to play. Don’t be surprised if Oregon State suffers loss No. 2 of the season late on Saturday night.

Mike:

I’m an LSU fan, but fascinated by Jimbo Fisher and A&M’s failed experiment (tons of Aggies here in Houston). Assuming they fire Jimbo at the end of the season, who does A&M bring in that can continue to recruit at the same level and have more success on the field?

I personally don’t think the Aggies will fire Fisher after this season. Now, if they struggle again and aren’t in contention for the SEC West crown in 2024, he could be in trouble.

But to your point – I don’t see anyone out there on the potential coaching market today who could recruit at the same level as Fisher. Kalen DeBoer will be a hot name in the rumor mill for any big-time openings, but the Washington head coach doesn’t have ties to the SEC footprint and might not be too eager to leave a solid situation at Washington for a struggling SEC squad.

Jonathan Smith of Oregon State is another name that will get a lot of play in rumor mills, and he might actually be willing to leave Corvallis with the Beavers set to play in a 2-team Pac-2 conference next year (yikes).

But he faces the same challenge of not having a recruiting foothold in the SEC. It would take time for him to build up those relationships in the southeast, and Aggie fans won’t be willing to wait.

This will anger many across the SEC, so I hesitate to say it, but the best options for the Aggies would be to make a play for either Eli Drinkwitz at Mizzou or Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss. If you throw a ton of money at Kiffin, he’s already hinted he’d like more NIL money from Ole Miss boosters to entice players. He could jump for a school with deep pockets.

Meanwhile, Drinkwitz is doing an incredible job recruiting at Mizzou. Give him the Aggies’ resources and the Texas recruiting fields and he could have a lot of success. (Here’s where fans in the comments call Drink a dork and refuse to give Mizzou the credit it deserves.)

Jeremy:

With college basketball starting in just a few days, who do you like to win the SEC men’s title this year?

I think this season is going to be wide open in the SEC. Any number of teams can win the regular-season title. Media members picked Tennessee to win, and I think I agree with them.

But squads like Texas A&M, Arkansas, Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky … even dark-horses like Mizzou and Florida … could be in the running late into February.

Even with that said, the Vols return Santiago Vescovi, Zakai Zeigler, Josiah-Jordan James and Jonas Aidoo. Transfer Dalton Knecht is getting a lot of buzz. I like Jahmai Mashack to have a bigger role this season.

Of course, Tennessee fans will judge this year’s team by its NCAA Tournament run. It’s been a long time since the Vols made it to the Elite Eight back in 2010. They’ve never made it to the Final Four.

Another early March Madness exit for Rick Barnes would wipe out any of the goodwill from winning the SEC regular-season title.

@Dobbe8:

If Oklahoma and Texas had joined the SEC this year, where do you think they’d stand entering Week 9?

Well, we saw Texas beat Alabama head to head, and Oklahoma beat Texas head to head, so I’d say they’d be doing pretty well! Both of them would be in the mix for the SEC West title if they were in the division this year.

The fact that the Sooners only won 20-6 at Cincinnati and squeezed by UCF 31-29 at home leads me to believe Oklahoma would have at least 1 SEC loss (against a team like Ole Miss, LSU or Texas A&M) against a full SEC schedule.

The Longhorns also struggled at Houston last weekend, escaping with a 7-point win. Playing down to former Group of 5 foes causes me to think Texas would have 1 more loss, too.

But still, those are above average SEC records through 8 weeks. They’re teams no one would want to see on their upcoming schedule, that’s for sure! Can they carry this momentum into 2024? That’s the big question.

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.