College Football Insider Josh Pate on Florida Gators, FSU and, Georgia

welcome back to the program Frank frangie heyes Carline with you and what a pleasure to welcome in our pal Josh P nobody knows college football better you know him is late kick Josh joined us on the program we're tell you all about some of his uh new stuff going on with CBS HQ and other places Josh thanks for joining us man how are you I'm I'm okay but I imagine if I were to get closer to the epicenter down there things don't sound like they're going so good oh my goodness BR my goodness I mean yeah there's only two teams within a couple hours of here they're not doing well um we were going to take three months to we needed to uh let's start in Gainesville uh you you know this stuff and you know the people in it man how shocked are you that they were that bad Miami Miami's good and maybe Miami was going to beat them they were a two-point favorite Josh how surprised were you that the Gators were that bad Saturday you know that's very very well phrased the way the question was because it's not losing the game I mean when you when you got two at least perception two improving programs they play each other someone's got to lose it doesn't automatically mean that everything you believed was false and so I think most of us myself included I picked Miami to win the game but when I picked Miami to win the game I'm thinking there's a lot of positive to be taken from it in the aftermath if you're Florida I'm thinking tight game one possession 10 points either way if there's a late score and that would have been acceptable if not palatable however the way it plays out there's this threshold you guys know this you've watched this stuff longer than I have there's this Thresh hold that a result gives you especially early in the season when you're questioning your coach already and past that threshold if the results on the other side of it it's like it almost feels like point of no return type stuff and also you start to ask well what was I fed all spring and summer because sometimes the media Heights you up and the program's been quiet but in this case folks around Florida were very excited and they were you know not shy about touting how improved they felt like they were the changes they've made the investment I sat down with Billy in the spring and he said this feels like the year where it's fair to judge us well all right now we're one game in so maybe they rattle off five or six in a row but uh to to say the least they're on the clock now there are no more excuses no doubt about it and uh obviously the Gators can say it was just one game Florida State cannot say that they've played poorly now twice Josh what are their biggest issues in and are they fixable uh short term no I think that's a dead team long term yeah they're fixable I just think we're in an era now we are not 15 or 20 years into the transfer portal nil era so it was always going to be bumpy we just didn't know who it was going to be for and so you want to talk about bumpy you want to talk about experiencing all levels of the portal Spectrum Mike norell has felt it norell comes in and leans on the portal as he should have to jump start his program they never did the shift though over towards majority High School recruiting they are not a highlevel high school recruiting outfit right now they have to be that and I think last year probably created a lot of false sense of security and confidence that hey we can just portal every year we just do that every year and it's so feast or famine and I know that's the talking point down there I know I'm not revealing anything that a lot of other Florida State fans aren't already talking about but how do you fix it well you don't fix it overnight they still got to go through 10 more games this season and it may just be that this year's a failed experiment and you didn't have to wait until November to find out well in the interim okay 2024 is going to be what it's going to be how much change can I see in that 2025 recruiting cycle between now and signing day because a lot of it's already baked in so is there is there a Lurch is there a hard shift in that in that sort of sector um because that's how you fixed it I know in year five no one wants to hear the word rebuild but really care what they want to hear the way to fix it is they have to rebuild through High School recruiting Point Blank whether that sounds like it makes sense in year five or not Josh P with us talking college football late kick Josh from CBS Sports HQ all right but let's wrap up Florida and FSU we want to get some other teams uh Mike norville's got a long contract he'll figure it out or he won't but it'll happen in time Billy Napier does not on the hot seat there's already there's already a buzz going on Josh uh oh my goodness how long's this guy got is it going to happen before October oober what is what are you hearing what are your thoughts if they they get that brutal schedule as everybody knows um if they start one and two one and three one and four is he out quickly should he be what's your read on that um I can tell you talking to some folks inside that part of the industry the expectation is he's not long for that job yeah I mean I I pulled for the guys so I hope they're wrong but I'm I can only tell you what I hear so I know there there is a lot of due diligence that's been done and frankly there look there are some guys out there there are some pretty decent names out there actually in the coaching World some that would be on your radar some totally out of left field that have their eye on the Florida job and half for a while there is a there's a curiosity which surprises me amongst some people in the coaching Market about whether the Florida job is on par with Georgia Alabama LSU A&M Texas you know the perceived jobs in the conference now when I hear that I look sideways at folks because I think it is but I'm not up for that job and and I also don't do the level of due diligence on this sort of thing that they may so yes there's an expectation that ultimately you're you're trending in a Direction that's irreversible whether that is remains to be seen or not but then the followup is when you start putting together your list there are a lot of guys who already have pretty good jobs where you you'd have to do some work to convince them that the Florida job is a significant step up from where they already are who are some of the off the radar guys that maybe not even for Florida but you just maybe that fans aren't used to hearing that you think could be in line for some of these big jobs well this is the part that sucks because the tradeoff for being fed the information is keep your mouth shut on the information to which I almost I almost get mad when that happens and I say well don't even tell me that's that's worse like I want to can I at least call my mom and tell her I I I totally get and I think you made a a great Point earlier about how the loss happened because like LSU was disappointed in losing to USC but there were a lot of positives there for LSU moving forward I think so I think so you know it's um funny you mentioned some of those some of those coaching names out there the one at LSU would be one that would be totally off the radar that you wouldn't think would be in play but would you didn't hear that from me but I look I watched LSU and I watched you UFC to me was the story of that game LSU underachieving was not necessarily a huge story to me I mean I'm I do my own numbers I didn't bump LSU down at all I think maybe a quarter of a point in power rating totality I just I flat out had to see USC be that defensively improved to believe it and they were uh at least through one game sample size and the other thing about that if you guys think about this I mean those two defenses were terrible last year obviously and so they come into we one if I were to promise you you were going to get pretty high level quarterback play from moss and from Garrett NM and that game was going to stay under 50 you would have thought well they must have called the thing in the middle of the third quarter something must have happened the roof must have le there's no way those two defenses are playing a full four with good efficient quarterback play on the other side but they're both defensively that upgraded which just goes to show you you can never overhype coaching hires too much coaching hires mean everything new coordinator hires and both of them on that side of the ball completely cleaned house uh Kelly brought in the guys from Missouri Lincoln brought in the guys from over at UCLA across town they're largely playing with the same players they were terrible with last year coaching is such a huge deal in this sport Josh P with us and by the way Josh since you didn't say it first I will not say it second but I would not be surprised if Brian Kelly's didn't play for another blue blood job from what I'm hearing it's funny you said that but that we we'll see that plays out whether it's Florida wherever don't be shocked what Josh what Josh just didn't say don't be surprised by Georgia Clemson I thought that was way more about Georgia than it was about Clemson I think Georgia's really good I don't know Clemson's not the 10 or 11 win team we came to know I don't think Josh but I just think Georg is just so good what do you think they are um I I took it as a little bit of both you know I look I am not someone who has watched Clemson for a long time who's willing to just say well Georgia does that to a lot of teams Georgia does do that to a lot of teams Clemson is not supposed to be a lot of teams Clemson's supposed to be one of the five best in the country and I know we've waned a little bit from that but okay they're still supposed to be one of the seven to 10 best in the country well apparently we've waned from that as well and I don't really care in a watered down ACC if they can go 10- two in conference play I really don't care because that shouldn't be the standard over there the standard should be we've got the athlet Maybe not to match you man for man but guys they never recruited heads up with Alabama they beat him twice in National Title Games because they recruited well enough they loaded up that defensive line they had Star Quarterback play and now they kind of have one of those things they definitely don't have the other thing and I think the hidden second part to this is while everyone's talking about Dabo and not using the portal and how much that would have meant or wouldn't have meant against Georgia their offense is pedestrian it has been for a long time the Garrett Riley hire while it moved the needle headline wise was not viewed as a GameChanger behind the scenes in the industry it just wasn't which is mildly surprising to me but that's the reality of it and so they're still stagnant uh they're still unimaginative over there which I always thought was an overrated term and play calling but I kind of see it bleed through with Clemson so it's not a terrible program it will never be a terrible program or even an average program under davo but if they fall back to just being pretty good which means on average eight or nine wins per year how long do you float there before you decide like like Georgia did with Mark Rick good enough is not enough it's time for us to make a change yeah it's going to be fascinating to see how about uh Texas at Michigan any uh what are some storylines you'll be you know focusing in on when you watch that well this is the one we're going to Saturday I have about 19 different reasons to believe Texas will out athlet them and we'll pull away from them but I have like six or seven ideas floating in the back of my head that gives me pause on that one of them is I just I cannot get out of my mind the running back injuries that Texas had in Camp and how Michigan Prides itself in turning an offense onedimensional and if Texas is turned into a one-dimensional outfit I have watched Michigan for three straight years this defense for three straight years go against an Ohio State team with racehorse after racehorse first round pick after first round pick at receiver and totally throw a crowbar in the bicycle spoke so here we are again and Quinn yers has got all kind of weaponry and will Johnson can only cover one of them at the time I believe in all this everyone's saying this I'm saying it too I'm just saying I know how this game works as well and I have seen someone blow someone out in week one and the other team struggle in week one and they meet in week two and you got progression and regression to the mean guys guys I think the big mistake here and they're just going to have to prove me wrong the big mistake is folks think if this game is a fist bite that automatically means Edge Michigan and I believe Texas has recruited and developed the kind of athlete that should be totally comfortable getting into a fight now that's the only way Michigan can win Texas can win a shootout but Texas ought to feel comfortable winning a fist fight like Texas has the kind of athlete that should relish rolling their sleeves up and getting into a fight with a team like Michigan are they that that's the story we get to find out Saturday yeah it' be a lot of fun final thing for you Josh uh that's the best game of the weekend a sneaky good game and maybe it's because I'm Meer down here in the south is this Tennessee NC State game Carter Finley can be sneaky loud at times Tennessee's on the road Tennessee looks like they've got another good offense this was the Charlotte game oh my bad this is Charlotte not Carter family thank you but but but Tennessee is playing they're both ranked teams uh Tennessee can be can go really fast is that a good game or does Tennessee roll them so uh my gut instinct is Tennessee by double digits but I will say this we looking at Nico right now and he's going to be a star and he probably already is a star early in early in quarterback careers in college football when we see a guy and he looks Invincible that's not what that's not always what opposing defensive coordinators see and so what you get to find out is is there a flaw in that kid's game that we can't see that they can my suspicion is knowing NC State defensively and that's a really really underrated defensive coordinator and support staff knowing that profile of that team like I do even though the talent is down a notch on that side of the ball what they can do is just Blitz him all night and it may be that they get burned by that and we tune in and Tennessee's at 28 to3 but you've got to find out how a Young quarterback performs against pressure and there is no team the ACC on average that brings pressure more frequently than NC State and so if it goes sideways I think it goes sideways because the turnover margin goes sideways for Tennessee if it's played straight up Tennessee should roll them Tennessee should be an SEC Championship Contender this year if they've got that level quarterback play and their defense is as upgraded as they think it is they should be a contender but I'm telling you NC state folks have had this thing circled it is a Super Bowl for them just another game for Tennessee uh they think they're really upgraded at receiver at NC State and so they think that the weakness of this Tennessee defense is secondary so they think they match up good with them I I'll watch the game I agree with you it's Sneaky good but if it goes sideways for Tennessee those would be a couple of reasons why I don't think it will but if it does that's why it would happen gonna be an awful lot of fun to watch Josh pay talking college football late kick Josh on Twitter you see him on CBS Sports HQ and Josh before we let you go you know how much we think of your work we love having you on tell us about the YouTube show Josh P college football Sunday Tuesday Thursday I believe tell us about that yeah uh we changed the name because I I wrapped up negotiation with CBS and we took ownership of the channel and the and the podcast feed and so I'm I'm looking on the sheet of paper funny the leagal E says Josh Pat's college football show so I said why don't we just call it this so we just changed the name to Josh Pat's college football the easiest thing in the world to remember and we do it live like you said Sunday night Tuesday night Thursday night we'll do one tonight at 8 Eastern but if you if you're living your life and you want to tune in the next morning it's right there on replay on the YouTube channel it's in the podcast feed wherever you get your podcast so at your convenience we appreciate folks watching or listening you do a great job we'll be checking out Josh thanks for spending some time man take care buddy I appreciate it guys hey guys Taylor doll here thanks so much for checking out our 1010 XL Florida Gator page if you're looking for more Florida content subscribe now but if you're looking for some professional football and content head over to our 10 10 XL Jaguars page [Music]