"Greatly lessened the chance": Josh Pate weighs down on how the new 12-team playoff format plays a hurdle on Big 12's natty dreams
On "Late Kick with Josh Pate," college football analyst Josh Pate expressed concerns regarding the Big 12's prospects under the new 12-team College Football Playoff format.
According to Pate, the expanded playoff system has "greatly lessened the chance" for Big 12 teams to secure a national championship. It is largely due to the perceived lack of depth and strength within the conference compared to other Power Five leagues.
"Here's the bad news," Josh Pate said. "The bad news is with the new format, you have greatly lessened the chance that anybody ever comes out of this conference and wins the national title.
"Washington almost did it last year, Washington wasn't in the Big 12. But Washington was an example of a team like that, that could seemingly come out of nowhere and make a run."
Pate elaborated on the challenges Big 12 teams would face in the expanded playoff:
"And the formula is, go beat teams that may be more talented than you, but they aren't as developed as you are. Well, here's the problem. When you get in the playoffs, you face both.
"You face teams like Georgia, where they got the best talent roster in the country, and they've also got all that team building down pat too.
Pate further explained the disparity in player quality between Big 12 teams and other top-tier teams:
"The difference is, their player's gonna have a long career on Sundays, and a lot of yours aren't and you just, you can't count on culturing your way. You can't count on fundamentaling your way through the playoff...."
"Fundamentally sound teams that are insanely talented in the playoff. And it's much harder, it's much harder to navigate your way through that."
Josh Pate names Penn State as a Big Ten sleeper
The Lions have achieved back-to-back seasons with over ten victories, marking their fifth success under coach James Franklin in the past eight years. Despite this, Franklin has only one Big Ten championship to his name, secured in 2016. A key issue has been the offense, which has averaged the No. 47 ranking nationally since then, finishing No. 55 last season.
This prompted significant changes on the offensive side. Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich was replaced by former Kansas Jayhawks' offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. In Kotelnicki's last two seasons at Kansas, his offense ranked No. 32 and No. 21 in average yards per game.
This strategic hire has led CBSSports' Josh Pate to label the Nittany Lions as his sleeper pick to win the Big Ten.
"This is all dependent on what Andy Kotelnicki does," Pate said on his podcast, 'Late Kick with Josh Pate'. "He specializes in explosivity ... big chunk plays which was the absolute last thing Penn State was known for last year and has been known for over the last few years."
Penn State bolstered its roster by signing former Florida Gator Jalen Kimber and former Georgia Bulldog A.J. Harris through the transfer portal. Kimber, who started 11 games last season, recorded 23 tackles and five pass breakups. Harris, a former five-star recruit, made seven appearances and logged eight tackles in his freshman season.