Josh Pate's College Football Show

Episode: Rivalry Week Reaction Show + Lane Kiffin To LSU & More BIG Hires + CFP Chaos Ahead
Date: December 1, 2025
Host: Josh Pate

Main Theme

This jam-packed Rivalry Week Reaction episode is a high-octane, rapid-fire rundown of seismic shifts in the college football world. Josh Pate leads off with monumental coaching changes (including Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss for LSU), chaos in the newest College Football Playoff (CFP) projections, pivotal rivalry game breakdowns, and a look ahead to unprecedented playoff scenarios. He blends insider intel and sharp commentary, capturing the emotional volatility of a sport at full boil.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Lane Kiffin to LSU—The Coaching Carousel Shakes the SEC

• Announcement: Lane Kiffin has officially left Ole Miss to become the new LSU head coach.
• Context: LSU recovered from a chaotic coaching search after Brian Kelly’s exit to land their number one target.
• Emotional Whiplash: Josh recounts the rollercoaster ride: “Throughout the duration of LSU pursuing Lane Kiffin, I felt entertained. I found myself in disbelief. I felt a lot of intrigue. I felt disgusting. I felt fatigue. Now we feel finality.” (02:56)
• Perspective from All Sides:
  • Ole Miss: Hurt pride, bitterness, and accusations of betrayal.
  • LSU: Unbridled excitement, “do whatever it takes” attitude.
• On Lane’s Process:
  • "I think he was pretty conflicted." Pate describes talks with Lane (without betraying confidences), noting that the decision truly crystallized only in the past couple of days.
• Can a Departing Coach Stick Around for Playoff Runs?
  • Pate dismisses the idea: “The notion of him being able to stick around at Ole Miss and coach as long as he wants to, even though he's taken a job with a rival, was laughable. I told him this.” (13:23)
• Legacy and Regret:
  • Lane made Ole Miss relevant—but “you can't walk around talking about valuing the legacy you leave behind only to blowtorch it on the way out and not regret a little bit of that.” (15:39)
• The Hire’s Impact:
  • Focus now shifts to Lane's staffing at LSU and whether he can replicate success in Baton Rouge.

2. Other Major Coaching Hires and Fails

• Florida:
  • John Sumrall (from Troy) hired after missing on Kiffin.
  • “Sumrall is the kind of guy who says it before you have to say it.” He’s described as an adaptable, Type A personality, poised to be a major name—but Florida’s institutional commitment is still in question. (41:21–45:18)
• Auburn:
  • Alex Golesh (USF head coach, former Tennessee OC) is shock pick after the search nearly derailed.
  • “This guy will be so universally adored there within a year that I can't really put into words how good a fit he will be.”
  • Quarterback issues are expected to end with Golesh at the helm.
  • “We’ve seen a whole lot of what doesn’t work at Auburn, haven’t we, ladies and gentlemen? Yes, we have.” (50:34)
• Arkansas:
  • Ryan Silverfield (Memphis) hired after a messy search, not seen as a grand slam.
  • “You have to be thankful that someone was willing to take the job. I'm not saying that sarcastically.”
  • Job appeal hurt by lack of clear donor and institutional commitment. “If you’ve got to say the word ‘if’ three or four times when it comes to how you win at Arkansas... it’s probably not a great place to be right now.” (77:06)
• Penn State:
  • Still floundering without a head coach; search feels “lost.”
  • “Pat Kraft could be duping everyone... I don’t think that’s where we are, but maybe that’s where we are.” (82:09–85:45)
  • Wonders if firing Franklin early only to wait on a new coach was self-defeating.

3. Rivalry Game Reactions and Playoff Race Analysis

Ohio State 27, Michigan 9: Curse Broken (19:22–32:19)

• Key Padlock Stat: Team with most rushing yards has won this game every year since 2001—Ohio State 186, Michigan 100.
• Ohio State’s ‘Competitive Character’:
  • “They play like the most battle-tested team in the country... It’s just competitive character is insane."
  • “Ryan Day may be doing the best job coaching that he’s ever done this year and he’s getting very little credit for it...” (27:36)
• Matt Patricia’s Impact: Defense has improved, and doubts about the hire now seem laughable.
• On Michigan: Sharon Moore’s tenure enters a “deflated” phase; “Fair to ask, what’s the best version of Michigan under him?”
• Big Ten Title Game Outlook: Indiana faces tall odds.

Iron Bowl: Alabama 27, Auburn 20 (45:46–50:03)

• Unexpectedly Close Rivalry Game: Auburn rallies despite odds, but Alabama’s resilience and turnover margin carry them.
• “Every game for Alabama is going to be an emergency landing right now... It is duct tape. It is bubble gum. It is paper clipping your way to offensive production.” (47:17)

Other Rivalry/Key Games:

• Vanderbilt 45, Tennessee 24:
  • Massive Vandy win on the road, rushing for 314 yards.
  • Vandy, despite going 10–2, drops in the AP poll: “If I took that Michigan logo and I put it over Vandy’s resume, do you think Michigan would be 13th at 10–2? Because I don’t.”
• Oklahoma 17, LSU 13; Oregon 26, Washington 14:
  • Oklahoma "ran a red light and didn’t have to pay the price," barely sliding into playoff safety.
  • Oregon’s ho-hum but important late win is a “quiet” signal of their strength.

4. College Football Playoff (CFP) Rankings and Scenarios

• Pre-selection Controversies:
  • “We are headed for chaos. We are headed for some really difficult conversations when it comes to G5 inclusion in the playoff.”
  • ACC in crisis: “The doomsday scenario for the ACC, once thought to be dead, is actually very much alive.” (65:43)
  • Duke winning the ACC championship could leave the entire league out of the playoff under current “five highest ranked conference champs” auto-bid setup.
• Big 12: If Brigham Young topples Texas Tech, both could make the field, forcing a power to be left out.
• SEC: Pate argues Alabama cannot realistically be left out, no matter what: “If Bama’s 10th or higher going into Saturday, they are in that playoff. I think Fowler said it properly last night. Ironically, I think Nick Saban said it poorly when he said, ‘I think it’s going to take two wins for Bama to get in.’” (96:29)
• Ole Miss Scenario:
  • Post-Kiffin gutting of the coaching staff could allow the committee to downgrade them: “There is a world come Tuesday night where... you have to acknowledge that Ole Miss is not as good a team when several key pieces of their coaching staff are gone, and you have to deduct them because of that.” (100:25)
  • Pate hates that this is codified protocol, but sees it as a real threat.

5. Rapid Takes and Noteworthy Segments

AP Poll & Playoff Ranking Flaws

• Half the preseason AP Top 25 finished unranked: "Just wow. Couldn’t be me. I don’t have an AP vote." (77:06)

The Frustration of Donors & NIL

• “...the dirty secret, simple math actually. But it’s tough to tell a donor... you’re not paying $5 million to win more games. Your $5 million... just went to match everyone else who’s also raising that money. We got to pay a baseline just to remain competitive.” (80:13)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I just wish Meemaw could have been around to see this day.” (On the gravity of news like Kiffin to LSU) (02:00)
• “One of the most overused adages in sports is ‘fan is short for fanatic.’ ...However, it is true. So there’s a lot of fanaticism here.” (09:08)
• “If you don’t win games, you will be hated. That is the nature of this business. You’re paid seven to eight figures per year in exchange for you having some thick skin.” (51:28)
• “You’ve got to explain to [donors] that’s not the way it works... because then they just take their money and go elsewhere.” (80:51)
• “Every game for Alabama is going to be an emergency landing right now... There will be a path to landing the thing every week. They’ve got good enough players, you’ve got a good enough staff... They’re very resilient.” (47:17)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Lane Kiffin to LSU/Coaching Carousel: 02:00–16:23
• Ohio State-Michigan Reaction: 19:22–32:19
• Iron Bowl Reaction: 45:46–50:03
• Alex Golesh to Auburn: 50:03–56:29
• Vanderbilt-Tennessee, CFP Rankings, Polls: 65:43–68:49
• Arkansas, Donors/NIL: 77:06–80:51
• Penn State Coaching Search: 82:09–85:45
• Playoff Scenarios/Doomsday: 95:35–105:30
• Ole Miss disaster scenario: 100:25–105:30

Recap & Tone

Josh Pate maintains his trademark mix of wit, intensity, behind-the-scenes insight, and relatable skepticism. The episode is exhaustive, insider-y, and delivered at breakneck speed, but loaded with empathy for fan emotion—and resilient realism about the sport’s ever-changing business.

Fans who missed Rivalry Week get a full, energetic download: from seismic coaching shifts, to big-game drama, to looming CFP controversies—plus, a fair warning: chaos is coming, and college football’s never felt more alive.

For more, subscribe to Josh Pate’s College Football Show wherever you get your podcasts. Stay tuned for the SEC Championship and Tuesday’s playoff rankings!