Ho-Ho-Ho, Merry Christmas and happy first night of Chanukah, my fellow sports donks and filthy college-football animals. Tis’ the season for a frosty mailbag. Some might call our unbridled love of sports a sickness. We call it sports donkery. Fire up the sleigh and let’s ride …

Robert in Stapleton, Ala., writes …

Well another college football season is about done, and it was certainly fun, in no small part to your columns. Just a quick note to wish you and yours a Blessed Christmas season and Happy New Year!! Oh, and if you could tone down the bro-mance with Freeze you’re having of late, that would be greatly appreciated. ALL THE BEST in the coming year!

Mac in Hurghada, Egypt, writes …

Yes, Freeze has been active and it appears successful in the portal, from quarterbacks to running backs to offensive linemen, to receivers and even some in the defensive line. But he’s faced with some staff vacancies to fill too.

While an improvement in personnel is always good, I want just as much to see his offense and play calling to progress as well and not be so stuck in trying to establish his RPO offense and play calling as the only way to go. Having him adapt to his personnel, rather than stick them into his “system.”

Another issue for me is his game management, which was clearly lacking in several games this year. Most noticeably for me, at the end of the first half against Alabama.

ANSWER: Any bro-mance with Auburn coach Hugh Freeze will end very quickly if the Tigers open the season with a loss in Waco, Texas, against the Baylor Bears. But, for now, I’m loving this team that Freeze and his staffers are putting together.

Quarterback transfer Jackson Arnold is from Atlanta, so he’s going to feel right at home at Auburn. Freeze is giving Arnold every resource to lead the Tigers to the College Football Playoff, including a bulked-up offensive line that should be one of the best units in the SEC.

At receiver, Auburn is absolutely loaded. What’s the best way to utilize all that talent? That’s what Freeze will be figuring out ahead of spring practice. Since Auburn didn’t make a bowl game, Freeze has plenty of time on his hands.

I’m not going to pretend like I know more about offensive strategy than Freeze, but if Arnold can connect with his receivers 70 percent of the time then that should give the Tigers a chance to win every game. Last season, Freeze said his team’s strength was the rushing attack, but he made a point at SEC Media Days to note that running the ball doesn’t work if the quarterback can’t keep defenses honest.

It took a while for Freeze, quarterback Payton Thorne and running back Jarquez Hunter to find something that worked in 2024. When they finally figured things out (and I’m talking about that one game against Texas A&M), it was too late. Another slow offensive start in 2025 will be catastrophic for the image that Freeze is hoping to build for the future. Look at the schedule. Auburn’s first three games against Power 5 opponents are on the road: at Baylor, at Oklahoma and at Texas A&M.

Freeze is building a team that can hit teams fast and hard. He’s going to need it.

Jim in Columbus, Ohio, writes …

You have to admit that was clever and at least the kid knows some history. Sherman was born about 30 miles from Columbus, where a junior high school bears his name. More teams in the playoff? No thanks. Three from the SEC and/or B1G is plenty.

Clayt in King Ferry, N.Y., writes …

Ask yourself, ‘Why does everyone down South mock the Big Ten?”

Pull your biased, Alabama-homer head out of your [you-know-where] long enough to develop a broader outlook, then write some intelligent articles. You sound like a ‘woke snowflake’ crying about SEC football.

With the continued effect of NIL, regional differences will disappear, to wit, Ohio State having bought several SEC players. It’s morphing into a battle of the ‘brands’ regardless of location. And, before you dismiss me as a ‘northerner,’ know that I’m a UGA graduate and my daughter is an Alabama graduate.

ANSWER: Tis’ the season for snowflakes. First things first, when did UGA grads start using the phrase “to wit” to make a point? Sounds like Big Ten trash talk to me.

I’m pretty plugged in to SEC fandom across the board. Gotta be honest. I don’t hear a lot of people mocking the Big Ten. To wit, it’s just that everyone knows the SEC is the better league from top to bottom. That doesn’t mean every team in the SEC is superior to every team in the Big Ten, though. But on average the SEC is made of tougher stuff.

The Big Ten is a three-team league. To wit, was Vanderbilt better than Indiana this season? Yes, absolutely.

Ohio State’s victory at home against Tennessee doesn’t prove much. The Buckeyes paid a hefty price for their roster and won a home game against a team that also couldn’t win on the road game against Arkansas. The home teams went 4-0 in the first round of the playoffs. Home-field advantage made a big difference.

Anyone with a pulse understands that a major rivalry is forming between the SEC and the Big Ten. The leagues hate each other and it already feels like a civil war with all the rhetoric being tossed around. Sportswriters and coaches are getting in on the action, too.

In the end, that animosity is good for college football. This sport is about rivalries. The SEC vs. the Big Ten isn’t going away and will only grow in significance. Just wait until the next round of conference expansion.

Should both leagues receive four auto bids into a 14-team playoff? That’s the latest trial balloon being floated by the CFP. I’m not against it if the SEC can scoop up an at-large bid at the back of the bracket. But I’m sticking with my soapbox stance of the FBS needing a 16-team field. Better yet, make it 24. Bowl games are going away and a bigger playoff just means more revenue for everyone.

The real problem with the first 12-team playoff is how these teams were seeded. The committee needs to rank the field at the end of the season and then fill out the brackets just like the NCAA basketball tournaments.

But the sport needs more home playoff games. The campus feel is what makes college football better than any other sport around. There wasn’t a single home playoff game at a traditional SEC school. Maybe by next Christmas, Auburn and Alabama will have that fixed.

BE HEARD

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Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the book “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”