It’s that time of year when we all reflect and give thanks.

We’re also winding down the college football regular season and teams have a pretty good idea where they and their programs are headed.

Putting those two together like turkey and cranberry sauce, we present some thoughts on what each SEC football program should be thankful for:

Alabama

That Nick Saban wanted to become an NFL head coach; that Nick Saban didn’t enjoy being an NFL head coach.

Saban’s two-year foray into the NFL with the Miami Dolphins and abrupt return to college football with the Crimson Tide 10 years ago drastically changed Alabama’s program and altered the landscape for all of college football.

Auburn

Tiebreakers.

Auburn trails undefeated Alabama in the SEC West because of the Tigers’ 27-23 loss to LSU, but if they can beat the Crimson Tide on Saturday they will advance to the SEC championship against Georgia because they would win the head-to-head tiebreaker, even if Alabama is ranked higher.

Arkansas

That a loss to Alabama could push Gus Malzahn out at Auburn.

The Razorbacks could move on from Bret Bielema, though a substantial buyout and the lack of a permanent AD after Jeff Long was fired complicate things. There are rumblings that Auburn might want to move on from Malzahn, unless he maybe beats Alabama and Georgia and has the Tigers playing for the national championship. If Arkansas fires Bielema and Auburn fires Malzahn, there are lots of connections that point to Malzahn calling the hogs.

Ole Miss

Crossover opponents.

The Rebels have won just two conference games and they were against their only opponents from the East — Vanderbilt (57-35) and Kentucky (37-34). Their five losses to West opponents have come by a combined score of 219-111.

Mississippi State

That Dak Prescott passed through Starkville.

Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Yeah, he has been gone for two years, but the Bulldogs are still doing pretty well. MSU is ranked No. 16 and played Alabama closer than anyone else. The profile of the program and the program’s lure for recruits remain elevated in large measure because of Prescott’s tenure with coach Dan Mullen.

LSU

Dave Aranda.

LSU is fifth in the SEC in total defense and 16th in FBS.

In his first season as Tigers defensive coordinator last season, the former Wisconsin coordinator helped keep the season from falling apart after Les Miles was fired. There was good reason for Ed Orgeron to almost immediately promote Aranda and get him a pay raise after taking over. Aranda’s defense has been a big reason LSU has rebounded from a 3-2 start to win five of six.

Texas A&M

That there are a lot of disappointed fans elsewhere in Texas

Misery loves company. OK, the Aggies haven’t had a miserable season, but the status of the program under coach Kevin Sumlin is unsatisfactory to many supporters. The Aggies’ shortcomings would be magnified if all the other FBS programs in Texas — with the exception of TCU — weren’t having struggles of their own.

Florida

That Florida State chose 2017 to have a down year.

It has been a terrible season for the 4-7 Gators for a lot of reasons and even a win over the Seminoles on Saturday wouldn’t salvage too much. But the fact that the Seminoles are 4-6 (with a game against Louisiana-Monroe next week) deflects some in-state attention from the Gators’ woes and creates a fair fight in recruiting.

Georgia

The SEC Championship Game.

The blowout loss to Auburn could have ended the Bulldogs’ CFP hopes if they hadn’t won the SEC East and qualified for an extra game against either Alabama or Auburn. The Bulldogs are still a long shot for the playoff but a victory against the Iron Bowl winner and an SEC championship (assuming they also beat Georgia Tech this week) would strengthen their case.

Kentucky

Basketball season is here. OK, the Wildcats have had a pretty good football season by their modest standards, but come on, it’s Kentucky and it’s basketball season. Give thanks.

Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Missouri

The geography-challenged alignment of the SEC.

Only two SEC campuses are farther west, yet the Tigers remain in the weaker East division. Not to take anything away from their current surge — a five-game win streak that has them bowl eligible — but it might not have happened against a West Division schedule.

South Carolina

Clemson’s national championship.

Gamecocks fans probably aren’t crazy that their state rival won the national championship lat season — though they probably didn’t mind seeing Alabama lose it. And they’re probably not crazy about the prospect of it possibly happening again. … Nonetheless, competition should make you better and when your neighbor sets the bar as high as it can go, it should force you to raise your own bar.

Tennessee

It gets to play Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt

It gets to play Tennessee.