Bowl season is always one of my favorite times of the year. It comes just as we are celebrating Christmas and fills the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

This year is going to be strange, as several bowl games have already been canceled and Boston College is the first of perhaps a handful of teams that will preemptively opt out of bowl invitations.

Still, in a year like this, it’s important to be thankful for any college football we’re able to watch, so I plan on watching every bowl game I can. Plus, Mizzou is trending toward a decent bowl game, so that’s exciting!

Here are your questions for this week’s SDS Mailbag:

@SChinni12:

We’ve seen 2 SEC football coaches fired already this season. With men’s basketball now underway, which coaches do you think are on the hot seat?

Before the season, I would have said that Florida’s Mike White was on the hottest seat. I still want to see how the Gators fare on Saturday at Florida State, but the Gators have played well thus far through 3 games. Cuonzo Martin is coaching his way off the hot seat at Mizzou, too.

It’s entirely possible we don’t see any coaching changes this season. I’d say that Ben Howland at Mississippi State is on the hottest seat right now, but his Bulldogs lost a ton of talent this offseason.

It’s a rebuilding year in Starkville, and it’s entirely possible the administration keeps Howland around no matter what to avoid a coaching search and a new contract this coming offseason. Every other coach in the conference is, in my opinion, either doing too good of a job to be fired or is still in the early stages of their coaching careers at their current schools.

My prediction is no coaching changes this season, but it’s still early. We’ll see what happens when league play starts.

Robert:

Mizzou faces No. 9 Georgia on Saturday in football and the men’s basketball team plays No. 6 Illinois on Saturday. Both games are in Columbia. As a Mizzou alum, which game would you rather the Tigers win if you could only pick 1?

This is a really tough question. It’s been a minute since the Tigers have been relevant in both men’s hoops and football at the same time. I also really love the Braggin’ Rights game against Illinois, but I’m not like many Mizzou graduates, because I like the Illini, too.

I grew up in Illinois and was in high school during the magical 2005 season. But, I do root for the Tigers in the Braggin’ Rights game now.

If I had to choose, I’d probably take a win in football. I’m thrilled with the way Eli Drinkwitz has turned the program around in his first year at the helm. Beating Georgia would be a great cherry on top of this already special season.

Meanwhile, on the hoops side, a close loss at this point in the season would not hurt the Tigers all that much. Maybe the Tigers can pull off both upsets, though!

Joe:

Boston College opted out of a potential bowl berth this year. LSU has self-imposed a 1-year bowl ban. Do you see any other teams, particularly in the SEC, opting not to play in bowl games?

LSU is going to bring its miserable 2020 season to an end as soon as possible, and I don’t blame it. However, the “bowl ban” isn’t the same as Boston College preemptively declining an invitation.

I wouldn’t be surprised if certain SEC teams decide not to participate in the postseason, though. There are 2 groups of squads out there behind the elite teams. (Obviously, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Texas A&M are going to play in their great bowl games this year.) Those 2 groups are excited teams and downtrodden teams.

Teams like Mizzou, Arkansas and Ole Miss are in the first group — squads that are excited to be playing and are trending upward. Teams like Tennessee, South Carolina and Mississippi State are in the second group — squads that are trending downward and growing increasingly miserable.

I know Mike Leach said Mississippi State plans to play in a bowl game if invited, but let’s say the Bulldogs get invited to the Birmingham Bowl (no offense to Birmingham). I wouldn’t be surprised if they decided instead to forgo that appearance. Same with South Carolina, as the Gamecocks have already lost so many players to the NFL Draft and are undergoing a coaching transition.

We’ll see what happens, but it’s going to be a hectic couple of weeks for bowl committees across the country.

@Check_The_Film:

Did COVID-19 and an all-SEC schedule show which teams in the conference are truly elite programs? Also, do you think some coaches’ inability to develop the depth on their roster has been exposed?

I do think there’s some truth to this season showing the truly elite programs. But, look at the squads at the top of the standings — Alabama, Florida, Texas A&M and Georgia. Those programs have elite coaches and, for the most part, stability in the coaching ranks.

There are no hot seat rumors about Nick Saban, Dan Mullen, Kirby Smart or Jimbo Fisher. Those teams’ 2020 recruiting classes were all strong. More than ever, this year was going to favor stable programs, and it has. The newest head coaches in the top 10 of the Playoff rankings are Ryan Day at Ohio State, who took over for Urban Meyer, and Manny Diaz, who is in his second year at Miami after taking over for Mark Richt.

Those coaches are ready for whatever comes their way, and that’s why their teams are at the top of the rankings. If and when we have a normal offseason again, we’ll see if the other SEC programs can catch up. Guys like Eli Drinkwitz, Sam Pittman and Lane Kiffin have done exceptional jobs under extraordinarily strange circumstances. It’ll be exciting to see how they fare in a normal year.

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