The college football season is, depending on your team’s opener, is two to three weeks from kicking off around the country. However, Josh Pate was already looking ahead to the selection of the field for the College Football Playoff in four months’ time, specifically with some sleeper teams that few are expecting to be in the CFP.
On ‘Josh Pate’s College Football Show’ on Sunday, Pate named five sleepers who could compete for berths in the College Football Playoff. He would select two programs apiece out of the SEC and ACC as well one from the Big Ten during that segment.
With that, here’s Pate’s playoff sleepers for the field by the end of this fall:
The sleeper which Pate arguably spoke most emphatically about was Georgia Tech, who he labeled as one of his ‘favorite bets’ when it came to win-totals for this season as he’s “ready to say some irresponsible things” about their upcoming season. That’s with an opportunity there for the Yellow Jackets based on their schedule and the league race in the Atlantic Coast Conference, as GT has also improved themselves for that chance as they enter year three under Brent Key.
“The ACC is open. You got Clemson and what, Clemson and whomst, if you will? Well, Georgia Tech – they’re not a mystery to me…Of you look up and down the schedule here? Question. Where else are they a point-spread underdog?…Georgia Tech could be favored in ten of twelve, and the two that they’re not favored in are both in Atlanta,” said Pate. “I like them a lot…So, yeah, I couldn’t be any higher on them.”
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Louisville was the other team out of the Atlantic Coast Conference which Pate named, which could also be based on their league while he would go discuss their offensive personnel working under Jeff Brohm. That said, Pate recognized this one as a risk with the Cardinals having several portal transactions this offseason that could make them hit-or-miss as a sleeper option.
“I think Louisville could crash the playoff party if everything goes right with them,” Pate said. “They’ve played the portal game. They get it. They understand team dynamics…They’re a total portal mystery team. So, I mean, there’s a floor that’s a little bit lower than I would like, but there’s a ceiling that’s pretty high. And, it just wouldn’t shock me if you looked up in November and they’re a 10-win team. So, they could be that…They could be that.”
Missouri was among the sleepers for Pate because of the high floor that he expects them to have this season, because of their schedule and what they’ve built over the past two seasons, in CoMo. The separator at that point as far as the Tigers being a playoff candidate could then be QB Beau Pribula as their likely new quarterback as a top-twenty transfer at the position.
“Missouri is one of them..Beau Pribula? That’s the roll of the dice. That’s the quarterback that transferred in from Penn State,” Pate said. “The schedule is up on the screen right now – there is no Texas on there, there’s no Georgia on there, there’s no Florida on there, there’s no LSU on there. This is Eli Drinkwitz, people. This is Eli Drinkwitz. Be careful.”
Nebraska was the lone team from the Big Ten when it came to this topic of sleepers based on several factors that Pate hears has several others also expecting them to be a double-digit win team. That’s with the ‘Huskers entering the notable year three under Matt Rhule, an expectation of offensive improvement in Lincoln, and a schedule that could get them into contention for the CFP.
“I’ve got to talk about Nebraska. Nebraska is a threat here,” said Pate. “I just want to say something and put it out there in the universe – Dana Holgerson and a five-star quarterback, with pretty good offensive personnel? That’s a winning combination. That’s a winning formula. They were 103rd in scoring offense last year. There’s obviously a huge jump coming. How high? Like, how radical is the jump? You’ve got Matt Rhule in year three, which is just basically science at this point…They could lose two games here. 10-2 is probably getting them in the playoff.”
Texas A&M rounds out the list of sleepers for Pate, who’s again sticking with their program, with there being an identity that he sees could succeed for them in Aggieland under Mike Elko. It’s just a matter at that point if their offense, expecting to be one of the better rushing attacks in the nation, can take a step in the pass game, to pair a more-balanced unit with a defense that’s anticipated to be quality again, to get them into the conversation around 9-3 or so in College Station.
“A&M is (a playoff-crash sleeper-type team) too…I’ve spoken so emphatically about them, and I’ve said things I believe that I have to see it through, I have to see it through. I think I’ve got the right head coach there to see it through,” admitted Pate. “I like the identity of this team. They got really deep offensive line play. They got a really deep tailback room there – really good, solid three-guys I would trust pretty much anywhere. Marcel Reed can run the ball. I think Colin Klein understands that they’re going to live or die with their ability to stretch the field this year, and I think they feel a whole lot better about being able to stretch the field than they did last year. Their personnel is dictating that. I think they’ll be better at pushing the ball down the field. And I’ve got Mike Elko saying, you better handle that because I’m over here with this defense.”
