That special time of year is back -- you know, the hours right before the Christmas weekend when you're trying to pass the time by making it look like you're working. If you're at work at all.
So we here at CBS Sports have some extra festive holiday #content to get you through the next couple of days with our Naughty or Nice list for the 2016 college football season.
This year, I'll be playing the role of both Santa and Krampus. I'll be handing out gifts for all of those who were good this year and doling out the harshness for those who weren't.
From NCAA violations to contract extensions, #WakeyLeaks and snapped losing streaks, here are the things we're choosing to celebrate -- or not -- from this season.
Nice -- Alabama coach Nick Saban: With Alabama being heavy favorites to win the College Football Playoff, there's something poetic about this being the 10-year anniversary of a certain someone saying he wasn't "going to be" the coach at a certain college football powerhouse. What I'm trying to tell you is, despite the popular narrative this time of year, lying is the best way to succeed in life, and you will be rewarded with many riches for it.
Gift: Another national championship ... probably.
Naughty -- Pitt: I don't know what Pitt did behind closed doors to get put on the naughty list because the Panthers beat two important teams: ACC champion Clemson and Big Ten champion Penn State. And yet, the Panthers were rewarded with an outdoors bowl game in New York in December. At the very least, conference affiliations be damned, Pitt earned the right to go to the Bahamas Bowl.
Coal: Northwestern, the "pair of slacks you needed" of bowl opponents.
Nice -- Army: The Black Knights are going bowling for the first time since 2010 and broke a 14-year losing streak to Navy in the same season. Short of winning the Commander-in-Chief Trophy, this was as successful a season as Army has had in recent memory.
Gift: Nothing, because Christmas came early.
Naughty -- North Carolina: The Tar Heels were handed their third -- or, technically, a second amended -- Notice of Allegations from the NCAA this week stemming from an academic scandal in the African and Afro-American Studies department that was tied to multiple sports over several years. This has easily been one of the most egregious academic/athletic scandals by a NCAA member, meaning Austin Peay's men's golf team is really going to take it on the chin this time. That'll show 'em.
Coal: Actual NCAA sanctions.
Nice -- LSU coach Ed Orgeron: I don't know if Orgeron will be the guy LSU needs to get back to a national championship. However, I do know he is a relentless recruiter and has two ace coordinators in Dave Aranda (defense) and Matt Canada (offense) to work out the Xs and Os part. And I know that no job on Earth makes Da Coach O happier than the one he has right now. He's a Louisiana man through and through, and here's hoping his second chance at as a head coach works out.
Gift: A full-time job.
Naughty -- Wake Forest radio analyst Tommy Elrod: What's naughtier than providing opponents with inside information about game plans? Elrod was the man behind #WakeyLeaks, one of the weirdest college football stories of the past few years. Elrod, a former Wake Forest assistant who was not retained by current coach Dave Clawson, passed along game plan information to opponents to undermine the program. He was a college football double agent of the highest order.
Coal: This keepsake from one of the #WakeyLeaks games in 2014 ...
Nice -- Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey: There have been differing opinions about Fournette, McCaffrey and their decision to skip their respective bowls to concentrate on the NFL draft. So here's one more extremely millennial take for good measure: Both players have given their all to their teammates, coaching staff and school over the past few years. They've played through injury and many times carried their respective offenses. They've been blessed with rare physical gifts and worked hard to craft them. College football was always a means to an end for them, and they've earned the chance to even make what was surely a more difficult, nuanced decision than most of us could imagine.
Gift: Money, suckers!
Naughty -- Baylor: Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize this one needed an explanation. Baylor's sexual assault scandal was the story of the year in college football and the total institutional failures -- their words, not mine -- in dealing with victim allegations were a sham. The university necessarily stripped itself of president Ken Starr, athletic director Ian McCaw and football coach Art Briles. That's just the beginning of change, however.
Coal: A new Title IX department and a few years of bad football.
Nice -- South Florida coach Charlie Strong:Things just didn't work out for Strong at Texas. You don't lose to Kansas in Year 3 (or at all) and live to tell about it. That's on Strong, no doubt about it. But we can also reasonably say not everyone at Texas supported him. Booster Red McCombs took low blow at Strong when he was first hired, and midseason firing leaks this past season didn't help matters. Generally, though, people liked Strong and wanted him to succeed. It was a bad fit, but we're not punishing him for it. In fact, he'll be much better off at his new gig in a territory with which he's more familiar.
Gift: A job much, much better suited for him.
Naughty -- Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly:Nothing quite summed up Kelly's abysmal 2016 quite like saying coaching "had nothing to do" with a 38-35 loss to Duke ... and then firing defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder the next day. Blame has always been a shifty goalpost for Kelly, but there was so much blame to go around for this year's 4-8 effort it hardly matters. His first losing season in South Bend won't cost him, but it does put extra weight on next season.
Coal: A place on the hot seat in 2017.
Nice -- West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen: A dozen coaches get a "hot seat" label attached to their name at the start of every season. Only a select few come out the other side looking better than ever. Hologrsen completely changed the style of Mountaineer football -- from the Air Raid to a ground-and-pound, defensive-oriented team that took a hard left while everyone in the Big 12 went right. And you know what? It worked.
Gift: A new five-year contract.
Naughty -- ESPN play-by-play announcer Joe Tessitore: Full disclosure, but I love me some Joe Tess. He's a terrific play-by-play talent and college football games are scientifically more prone to anarchy when he's on the call. But it was also Tess who declared Texas "back" when the Longhorns beat Notre Dame in overtime in Week 1. Was it a hell of a game? Absolutely, but those two teams collectively finished 9-15, so it was just a bit premature.
Coal: A burnt orange "T" patch to wear across his suit as a reminder.