Josh Pate: Why Cole Cubelic Sucks SEC Media Days 2026

Summary

That SEC Football Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode: Josh Pate: Why Cole Cubelic Sucks SEC Media Days 2026
Date: July 27, 2026
Host: Michael Bratton (SEC Mike) & Cousin Shane
Guest: Josh Pate

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Episode Overview

This lively episode, featuring Josh Pate, dives deep into the culture, quirks, and current storylines of SEC Media Days 2026. Centerpiece topics include Josh’s candid (and hilarious) media critiques—specifically Cole Cubelic’s shortcomings—discussion of this year’s coaching hot seats, team “tornadoes,” SEC and national breakout candidates, and Pate’s unique storm-chasing adventures. The hosts and Pate riff on weight loss journeys, media nonsense, and the evolution of college football schedules, all in their trademark playful, southern tone.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Opening Banter: SEC Offseason, Vacations & Regrets

Timestamp: 02:34–03:45

• Josh Pate shares a comedic take on the supposed “offseason” for media personalities, lamenting the chaos of July scheduling and joking about regretting vacation and recreational purchases.

  “July has been my busiest month… Don’t take vacation. Kids. Do not do it. Don’t get a pool, don’t get a boat, and don’t take vacation.” —Josh Pate (03:30)

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Media Days Critique: Why Cole Cubelic "Sucks"

Timestamp: 03:45–04:43

• Pate roasts Cole Cubelic as the "worst interviewer", especially for his technical blunders and bad thumbnails.

  “Kubelek sucks. Yeah, Kubelek’s terrible… There is no filter in Canva that could intentionally make a thumbnail look as bad as the one that he uploaded. And ironically, it was some pretty substantive talk. But most people won’t get past the thumbnail.” —Josh Pate (03:51)

• Discussion moves to Cubelic’s temperament, referencing kidney stones for his grumpiness:

  “I think the kidney stones really put him on a different level… he is really, really good at milking those without outwardly milking them.” —Josh Pate (04:27)

• Personal stories about the pain of kidney stones and health-induced lifestyle changes.

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Weight Loss and Lookalikes

Timestamp: 06:01–07:53

• Talk shifts to Cousin Shane’s 70 lb weight loss, confusion with Josh Pate, and beards as a badge of masculinity. The group swaps fitness and diet tips, hiking stories, and jokes about someday selling their weight loss journeys to Netflix.

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The Value (or Lack) of SEC Media Days "Winners & Losers"

Timestamp: 08:08–09:23

• Pate downplays the idea that true insight is gained at Media Days. There are only occasional true tidbits, like DeBoer calling both Alabama QBs “elite”. Otherwise, it’s more about camaraderie than breaking news.

  "I don’t think I’ve done a biggest winners and losers list from Media Days in several years… They didn’t play anything. No depth chart changed.” —Josh Pate (08:12)

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Coaching Hot Seats, Fan Expectations & Big Contracts

Timestamp: 09:26–11:26

• Insightful breakdown of the contradictory fan attitudes around Kalen DeBoer at Alabama and Matt Rhule at Nebraska—how a coach can be both coveted and on the hot seat, and the financial, practical realities that prevent rash firings.

  “You can’t pay $70 million to then voluntarily go into a very uncertain coaching market… Who’s better for Alabama… than Kalen DeBoer right now?” —Josh Pate (10:17)

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Lane Kiffin’s "Silence" and Off-Record Phone Call

Timestamp: 11:26–12:53

• Despite public quiet, Kiffin is still very active privately. Pate recounts taking Kiffin’s call during an actual tornado chase in Canada, illustrating how wild this job can be.

  "We are in the middle of a tornado warning… Lane calls… at one point you sit at a red light saying, is this my life right now?" —Josh Pate (12:12)

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Tornado Chasing Adventures & Weather Patterns

Timestamp: 12:53–18:43

• Josh describes close encounters with tornadoes in Illinois (an EF3 rated “number one” chase) and details about the differences in tornado awareness and reporting, especially in the Southeast vs Midwest.

  “SEC tornadoes have been on the rise also. There’s just the climate, the atmosphere—it’s like a swimming pool and you cannonball into it... our atmosphere works. It’s always changing, it’s never sitting still.” —Josh Pate (14:30)

• Funny story about being stuck at a closed Canadian border after storm chasing, forced to detour through deer-filled Minnesota, and almost running into a black bear.

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Deep Sea Fishing & Dock Rats

Timestamp: 18:43–20:05

• Josh talks about his first time deep sea fishing, the importance of going with professionals, and the hard-working "dock rat" kid on his boat.

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Who’s the “Tornado” SEC Team?

Timestamp: 20:05–23:23

• Asked who could be a surprise contender ("tornado") in 2026, Pate rules out any truly under-the-radar teams but highlights Florida as the one possible major disruptor due to talent infusion and new coaching energy.

  “Florida’s probably your answer… If their offensive line is above average, they can win with those guys now.” —Josh Pate (21:00)

• High praise for John Sumrall’s energizing effect on the Florida program compared to Billy Napier’s era, but notes O-line must improve for real success.

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Non-SEC Lookaheads: Big Ten and ACC

Timestamp: 25:53–28:22

• Quick, insightful rundown of Big Ten tiers: Oregon, Ohio State, Indiana as top dogs, but the second tier (Penn State, Michigan, Iowa, USC, Washington, Nebraska) holds the key to true conference strength.

  “Maybe the biggest story in college football this year… is how meaty the second tier of the Big Ten is… It’s up to a combination… Is that a glob of average to above average, or is it a glob of really solid?” —Josh Pate (26:18)

• Sleeper picks: UCLA in the Big Ten, Louisville in the ACC—especially because Louisville has a manageable schedule and a promising QB situation compared to last year’s Oklahoma narrative.

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On Schedules vs. Team Strength

Timestamp: 28:31–30:06

• Critiques the way media fixate on schedule strength over actual team analysis, particularly with Ole Miss and Penn State:

  “If you’re asking someone about this team, man, break down the team. A schedule is not a team… the schedule is just what the team plays… If the team’s good enough, they’ll do what Oklahoma did last year.” —Josh Pate (28:31)

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South Carolina’s Quarterback, Missed Opportunities, and Beamer’s Future

Timestamp: 30:06–32:48

• Discussion on the overlooked talents of South Carolina QB Lenore Sellers. Pate laments the window of opportunity that could close without sufficient supporting cast development, and the inflation of expectations for Shane Beamer in Columbia.

  “Are we really going to go through three years of having Dylan Stewart over there, of having Lenore Sellers…and not have much to show for it?” —Josh Pate (31:11)

• Notes South Carolina’s favorable schedule and the crucial Alabama matchup.

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Boldest Prediction: 9-3 SEC Playoff Team

Timestamp: 32:48–33:17

• Josh Pate offers his bold SEC take:

  “I’ll just say a 9 and 3 SEC team makes the playoff. This is the year; we haven’t had a three-loss team make it yet, period. I think this year a 9 and 3 SEC team makes the playoff.” —Josh Pate (33:06)

• He argues increased parity would be a net positive for college football:

  “That just means you got the precious parity competitive balance euphoria that everyone was looking for.” —Josh Pate (33:19)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Cubelic’s Media Work:
  “There is no filter in Canva that could intentionally make a thumbnail look as bad as the one that he uploaded.” —Josh Pate (03:51)

• On Coaches’ Hot Seats:
  “How weird this whole concept is of your coach being in high demand and…on the hot seat simultaneously.” —Josh Pate (09:47)

• On SEC Media Days Takeaways:
  "I don't think I've done a biggest winners and losers list from Media days in several years because... They didn't play anything. No depth chart changed." —Josh Pate (08:12)

• On Florida’s New Energy:
  “You don’t have to know anything about football…as long as you witnessed it before and you witness it now, you would be able to tell right away. It feels so different. Now you gotta manifest that into wins.” —Josh Pate (21:39)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:34 — Offseason/vacation jokes and media grind
• 03:51 — Cole Cubelic roasting, kidney stones anecdote
• 06:01 — Weight loss, doppelgängers
• 08:12 — Why Media Days insights are limited
• 09:47 — Coaching contracts, DeBoer/Nebraska/Matt Rhule
• 11:26 — Lane Kiffin’s “silence” and tornado-chasing call
• 12:53–14:43 — Tornado chasing stories, weather commentary
• 20:05 — "Tornado" SEC teams, Florida’s upside
• 25:53 — Big Ten/ACC dark horses: UCLA and Louisville
• 28:31 — Team evaluations vs. schedule obsession
• 30:06 — South Carolina’s high-potential QB, Beamer’s stakes
• 32:48 — Bold SEC playoff prediction

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Wrap-up / How to Follow

• Josh Pate: “Once August gets here, Josh Pate’s College Football Show — wherever you get, whatever it is you consume, that’s where I’ll be.” (34:19)

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Overall Tone:
High-energy, comedic yet insightful, with a strong balance of hot takes, deep context, and locker room banter. This episode is loaded with unique anecdotal moments and genuinely sharp analysis, making it a must-listen (or read!) for anyone seeking SEC football’s media pulse and a dash of southern storytelling.

Transcript

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[Interviewer 1]

Yeah.

[Josh Pate]

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[Interviewer 1]

We're here. The man, the myth, the legend.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah, yeah, they heard me say that.

[Josh Pate]

Yeah, Mikey, I saw you introduce a lady who just refreshed your coffee a Little while ago. There she is. The man, the myth, the legend.

[Interviewer 2]

Where have you been? I mean, every time I get online, I say, where's Josh Pate? He's missing in action. Where's he at?

[Josh Pate]

It hurts. It hurts. Cause people are alleging that I'm off. Yeah, I'm not off.

[Interviewer 2]

Are you enjoying your off season?

[Josh Pate]

I hope the staff is. The staff came to me and said, you know, it's illegal that you make us work 52 weeks a year. And I said, oh, we're going to go by laws now. We get a little bit of traction. We're going to go by laws now. So what I did, though, is, you know, like, if someone comes to you in February or March and they say, hey, we need. We need to have a meeting. We need to discuss this or that, you just mentally say, let's talk in July. Then you get to July ready to actually take vacation, and you look at your calendar, and you've got 38 different dates that you have to fit into 31 days. So in a weird way, July has been my busiest month. I have tons of regrets about taking vacation. Don't take vacation. Kids. Do not do it. Don't get a pool, don't get a boat, and don't take vacation.

[Interviewer 1]

So besides us, who are the worst interviewers that you interview with here at Media Days?

[Josh Pate]

Well, Kubelek sucks. Yeah, Kubeleck's terrible. To the point, where did you see the thumbnail he put on the video? We did. It's horrible. As bad as you think technology would have been in the 60s, whatever camera predated what you would have had in the 60s. That's how he generated that thumbnail. I couldn't make it look more obsolete. There is no filter in Canva that could intentionally make a thumbnail look as bad as the one that he uploaded. And ironically, it was some pretty substantive talk. But most people won't get past the thumbnail.

[Interviewer 2]

They won't. He doesn't understand. Is he. Is he getting grumpier, too?

[Josh Pate]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And back. I think the kidney stones really put him on a different level. The kidney stones are really what put it on a different level. And he is really, really good at milking those without outwardly milking them.

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[Josh Pate]

Not the stones themselves, mind you, but the concept of having them, because he just lets you know.

[Interviewer 2]

There he goes.

[Josh Pate]

Yeah, he just lets you know about the kidney stones. And then he gets the sympathy vote and he get. Oh, I feel so bad for you, man. Yeah, I just had fun with it. I had A coach. Have you, either of you, ever had kidney stones?

[Interviewer 1]

No.

[Josh Pate]

Okay, good. The three of us have never had one. So it's like childbirth, apparently. We have no idea how bad it hurts. I remember my head coach in high school, Tommy Parks, who passed away a long time ago. He was pretty big dude, pretty tough dude. You know, if you're a high school coach, you're a teacher during the day. So we're in his class one day, and we didn't know he had kidney stones. We didn't know he had issues with him. And he hit the floor out of nowhere, like he had been shot. And he was trying to maintain, and he couldn't. And he was on the floor, and he had to crawl down the hallway to the bathroom to pass it. I realized that day in 10th grade, I don't want kidney stones. So better cubic than me.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah. And I had a buddy, same thing. And they just said, don't drink sweet tea. And so I. At that day, that's the last time I had sweet tea.

[Interviewer 1]

Yeah, thanks for telling me. You never warned me.

[Interviewer 2]

No, I don't. You need some more tea.

[Josh Pate]

Let's be very clear, Shane. You didn't drop sugar, but you did drop sweet tea.

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[Josh Pate]

Well, this is diet, so.

[Interviewer 1]

Yeah, speaking of diet, Shane's lost nearly 70 pounds, and he keeps getting compared to. You know, people are like, is that Josh Pate? Oh, wait, wait, wait. No, that's cousin Shane. I'm just kind of curious if anyone has run into you and confused you for cousin Shane.

[Josh Pate]

No. Cause I'm not wearing glasses.

[Interviewer 1]

Okay?

[Josh Pate]

Yeah. And I intentionally have not even gone to the optometrist to get an emergency pair of glasses because I know if I put those on, it's Shane. Josh. I also don't grow the facial hair in because mine grows in a little white trashy. It grows in splotchy. It doesn't even come in all the way.

[Interviewer 2]

See, it's not fair. I always thought, like, if you. Because I can't grow a full beard. But I thought, you know, God, if I can't have hair, at least give me a beard. You know, at least let me grow something. No, this is it. This is as good as it gets right here. Yeah. But I've been working on it for a long time.

[Josh Pate]

Yeah, it looks good now. Now down 70 so far.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah.

[Josh Pate]

Do you have a goal weight, Josh Pate? 225.

[Interviewer 1]

Yeah.

[Interviewer 2]

You are my finish line.

[Josh Pate]

I like.

[Interviewer 2]

What part do I start lifting weights? You know, That's. That's the one right now. I'm just trying to, you know, move, stay active, drink plenty of water, eat protein, that sort of thing.

[Josh Pate]

You know, the essentials. Yeah, the essentials.

[Interviewer 1]

He did a good job. We went to dinner last night. I ate more than. We both got the same thing. Steak, broccoli, and potato. He just ate the steak. And he said, I'm completely full.

[Josh Pate]

Are you chronicling this at all? Like, are you. Are you documenting it a little bit?

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah. Because I've been also hiking. I've tried to get you up to the Smoky Mountain so you can check out some of those trails. I'm trying to do some of the hiking trails. So, yes, I am somewhat. I probably should do better job at documenting the weight loss.

[Josh Pate]

Well, that's the best thing.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah.

[Josh Pate]

Plus, I mean, once the show blows up to proportions big enough where Netflix comes along and says you're a celebrity, they'll just purchase all of it from you. It'll be a massive chronicle journey of weight loss. It'll be great.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah. When I get to the finish line, some drug company will reach out and say, hey, you want to just say it was us?

[Josh Pate]

Do you want to be our before and after?

[Interviewer 1]

I think Shane's already a star. They just. Maybe they just don't know it yet.

[Josh Pate]

Netflix, it's our job to let them know.

[Interviewer 2]

So are you just doing the SEC this year? Is that the only conference?

[Josh Pate]

I think I'll go up to Big Ten next week. Media Days is what it is. It's more what we're doing now than I think I'm going to learn anything. I don't think I've done a biggest winners and losers list from Media days in several years because I got to where I was saying, what am I even talking about? They didn't play anything. No depth chart changed. You know, the one, like, one of the one things or one thing that I took away from today, granted, we're talking halfway through Wednesday right now is DeBoer got asked about his quarterbacks, and he used the word elite to describe both of their skill sets. That's not nothing, you know, because coaches don't. Just felt really good.

[Interviewer 2]

Wow.

[Interviewer 1]

Marlo's got the touch.

[Josh Pate]

I just. Oh, that was Marlow. I didn't recognize the hands. Proud to say I didn't recognize the hands, but he said, hey, both of them have an elite skill set. Okay, I'll file that away. Usually, coaches don't just voluntarily throw out the word elite. He talked about how the entire program has immense respect for both of their leadership capabilities. Okay, that's not nothing, but. It's just like little morsels here and there. Otherwise, just come to hang out with y'.

[Interviewer 1]

All.

[Interviewer 2]

Well, thank you.

[Josh Pate]

I appreciate that.

[Interviewer 2]

I feel like they've been secretly firing deboer this whole off season, right?

[Josh Pate]

This build up.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah. I mean, even day three, everybody, the first conversation has. I almost forgot. Alabama's here today. You know, so do you think this is final season for DeBoer? Oh, no.

[Josh Pate]

Oh, no, no. Now, you may have to get used to different expectations, but.

[Interviewer 1]

But.

[Josh Pate]

No, but think about this, because I was talking about this with Nebraska the other day. How weird this whole concept is of your coach being in high demand and your coach being on the hot seat simultaneously. And DeBoer's got a little of that, but Matt Rules got 10 times that because Matt Rule goes seven and five. I think last year they underachieved, and then the Penn State job opens, and it looks like they're coming after him, whether they did or not. And he gets this massive raise, this. This massive extension. He gets a ton of new money pumped into nil. And then as soon as the dust settled, like, these Nebraska fans were sweating that they were going to lose their head coach, and they're desperate to keep him. And then the second they find out we're keeping him, it's right back to, well, this guy just underachieved. And if he doesn't win this upcoming year, man, we got. We got to make a move. You can't. You can't do it both ways. If it was the video game, I guess maybe you could, but you can't do it both ways. And with DeBoer, you can't pay $70 million for a guy who just made the playoff. And, you know, maybe he only wins eight games this year. You can't pay $70 million to then voluntarily go into a very uncertain coaching market. Because the whole thing about making a move theoretically is you think there's a better option out there. Well, who's better for Alabama that, you know, you could get than Caitlin DeBoer right now that you're willing to pay 70 million, plus what it would take to replace him for? He could shut everyone up and just win 10 games, and then it'd be a moot point. But let's go down your road. Let's say they go 8 and 4. I don't. I know what people would say. I just don't know how realistic it is because it takes money to do that stuff.

[Interviewer 1]

For the first time in his life, Lane Kiffin's been Quiet for a couple months. Smart move.

[Josh Pate]

Has he been quiet? Has he, has he? I don't know. I don't know. I think he's been quiet publicly. Yeah. I'm going to tell you this. I haven't told anyone this. We were in Canada last month storm chasing. We are in the middle of a tornado warning. Yeah, yeah, trust me buddy, trust me. You have every right to be shocked. Yes, first trip to Canada is to chase tornadoes and we did get one. We're in the middle of a tornado warning. We are driving through Winnipeg. We are driving through pouring rain and hail. At the time Lane calls, take the call, think it's going to be two or three minutes. It ends up being 15, 20 minute call. And it was so surreal that you're chasing a tornado and then you just casually got Lane on the phone talking about I think this was when there was some big news story that had happened and so he was talking about that and you at one point you're sitting at a red light saying is this my life right now? What kind of course of events had to transpire for me to land right here? I'm in Winnipeg, Lane's on the phone who's now the LSU head coach and we're in an active tornado warning and meanwhile he's on speakerphone over here while I'm driving through downpour. So I don't think he's been all that quiet. I just think he hasn't said it publicly.

[Interviewer 2]

I think it's got his phone hacked, you know and every tweets going to draft, you know he just thinks it's getting out there. What was the biggest tornado you saw?

[Josh Pate]

Great question Shane. We were in Effingham, Illinois three or four weeks ago and we got an EF3 tornado that we, we got in really, really close proximity to and it's the closest intercept that I've ever made. I think it's probably, if I power rated my tornadoes it would probably be number one, maybe only behind Beauregard, Alabama 3, 3 19. But this one was not rain wrapped so it was an incredible experience. And that was my last one. I retired for the season after that one.

[Interviewer 2]

Is this like an anchor down truck deal?

[Josh Pate]

Absolutely. No, absolutely not.

[Interviewer 2]

Tundra just going out there.

[Josh Pate]

This is, I like to, I like to tell this is between us, no one else is listening. I like to tell Savannah and my mom that It's a reinforced 4Runner. What reinforced means is there's added paneling on the side so hail doesn't take out the windows. It probably adds 20 pounds. And it's got Earthlink or whatever, a starlink on the top. And that's about all that stands between us and taking a ride.

[Interviewer 2]

The threes and fours from now on.

[Interviewer 1]

Hey, I saw, I was watching a PBS documentary on tornadoes and they said that the tornado alley that has traditionally been say like Oklahoma and North Texas, what have you, it is shifting towards the southeast and that's why we're getting a lot more in middle Tennessee. Memphis, Arkansas. Have you heard anything? Can you verify that?

[Josh Pate]

So I'm supposed to keep this under wraps, but I'll give you look here, here's my theory on that. I think a lot of that is just there is more awareness of tornadoes. Whereas for a long time, if A tornado happened 15 miles out of Evergreen, Alabama, and it lasted 30 seconds in 1970, no one even knows it happened. And now because of massive advances in radar technology, not to mention the population's bigger and everyone has a way to document it. You're aware of most tornadoes that happen now. That's part one. You were always aware of them in the Midwest because you got six mile radius visibility in any direction. You were not always aware of them with the terrain we have in the, in the sec, in the south. So SEC tornadoes. SEC tornadoes have been on the rise also. There's just the, the climate, the atmosphere, it's like a swimming pool and you cannonball into it and you can see massive waves. But also, if I just drop this water bottle into a pool, there'd be little subtle waves that go back and forth. And that's kind of how our atmosphere works. It's always changing, it's never sitting still. So it's been around for a long time. Whereas we sit here and measure change in the span of 15, 20, 25 years, the atmosphere thinks in terms of hundreds and thousands of years. So it's probably just what's always been happening. We're just compartmentalizing it in ways we know how to think.

[Interviewer 2]

We always make it about us, don't we?

[Interviewer 1]

Sure do.

[Josh Pate]

Our tornadoes are better.

[Interviewer 2]

I just know it. I was Canada. That one kind of surprised me. I didn't see you went to Canada for a tornado.

[Interviewer 1]

We did.

[Interviewer 2]

Seems like going to steakhouse for seafood, you know, that's what it, that's in my opinion now I'm not.

[Josh Pate]

Never had it put that way. That's what it feels like, you know what happened. It was my first time in Canada. I thought all the borders just stayed open all day. So we're coming back. It's not late it's like 9 o' clock because we were going to chase the next day in Illinois. So we're coming back, we're going to come through Minnesota. We're going to go down to St. Cloud, Minnesota, a little bit north of Minneapolis. We're going to stay the night. Gps, we got it plugged in. GPS is supposed to know everything. So it's taken us to Minnesota. We're about to link up with the interstate once we cross the border and it takes us to the border crossing and there's no one there. And it looks like A Hardee's at 2am Quiet, dark, no one's there. And I walk up to the sign and that border crossing closes after 6pm both ways. And so there was a brief point where I said we could just drive around this because it was not hard to drive around. But the problem with the Canadian American border is there's the Canadian side of it, then there's like 200 yards and then there was the American side. And I couldn't tell how, how fortified the American side is because all due respect, no one's trying to trap people in. You know what, I'll, I'll stay, I'll stay in my lane here. I didn't make the move.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah, smart.

[Josh Pate]

Come to find out that would have been a federal offense.

[Interviewer 2]

Or you did.

[Josh Pate]

I would have been in big trouble. I would have been in big trouble.

[Interviewer 1]

No, I've seen it before. People have snuck in US citizens from Mexico to.

[Interviewer 2]

No, I'm just wondering if Par hate saying he didn't, but he did.

[Josh Pate]

I did not. Only because I'm not done with my story. This will really convince you. We have to drive 45 minutes out of our way on what is already a six and a half hour drive. We come in through a border crossing that's open. I don't know if you've ever driven through northern Minnesota at night but there is like 50 deer for every one human up there. So you can't drive more than 60 miles an hour. You're terrified. I kid you not. We probably saw over 250 deer. It's like one or two a minute. So you're 10 and two and you're just constantly at all times looking to the left and right. And we come around a corner and I could tell there was a figure in the road. So I just think it's a big deer. So I start hitting the brakes. We come around the corner is a full grown black bear sitting in the middle of the road. I've never seen One before, and we came to almost a complete stop. And then it just got up and ran away. That was storm chasing in Canada.

[Interviewer 2]

Then he becomes a bear hunter after that.

[Josh Pate]

So with a story like that, there's no way I crossed the border.

[Interviewer 2]

Now you have been south of the border too, right? You've been doing some deep sea fishing?

[Josh Pate]

Well, that was just in 38, which for me might as well have been Mexico growing up. There was no way I was going to 38 growing up. Panama City all the way. But we went down there. I'd never been deep sea fishing. I did that. I think we had a good haul.

[Interviewer 2]

Did you like that? I didn't like it.

[Josh Pate]

It was okay.

[Interviewer 1]

It was okay.

[Josh Pate]

Yeah. I went with people who knew what they were doing, though.

[Interviewer 2]

We got out there and then there's that. That little devil on your shoulder saying, you don't know where to go. There's no land. If something happens, you're screwed. That's. So then I was like, I'm ready to dunk. Let's wrap it up.

[Interviewer 1]

Yep.

[Josh Pate]

Yeah, we. We made sure. Like, that was one thing I was not gonna skimp on. So, like, we. We had no problem spending some money to do that. Because I'm gonna do it once, may do it again. We'll see. But we got a really good boat, really good captain on there, really good crew. They had a kid on that. That boat. They call them dock rats. And the dock rat on the boat was like 10 years old. I don't know what the labor laws are. I'm not ratting anyone out. I'm not telling you who it was. But that kid got after it. Amazing. And he's leaned all the way over. And it's very clear they don't care if he falls overboard. It's just, we'll get another dock rat. He knew what he was doing, though. He made me feel safe. He couldn't have been more than 10 or 11 years old. Could not have been running around barefoot the whole time. Great.

[Interviewer 1]

Well, speaking of tornadoes, who would be the tornado of the SEC coming out of nowhere, causing chaos. Someone that a team most people are not talking about this week.

[Josh Pate]

I don't think that exists. Meaning, I don't. I don't know who that people aren't talking about could win the league.

[Interviewer 2]

Alabama.

[Josh Pate]

But people are talking about them. But think. But think about it. Go past them.

[Interviewer 1]

Go past a Ole Miss last year.

[Josh Pate]

Accomplished Ole Miss. So Ole Miss would be my answer now. But they don't qualify because they're in the lead pack. But the lead pack, I think as you got Texas, Georgia, if that's your number one, and then the number two pack is like anywhere from four to six teams deep, depending on how you look at it. Past that, who are we talking about? South Carolina is not going to do that. Auburn, I don't think is gonna do that. Maybe that's the answer if Florida.

[Interviewer 1]

Yeah, everywhere.

[Josh Pate]

Yeah, Florida's probably your answer. Florida it. Cause they. I don't think they would be in the second pack if people here had to rate that. Yeah, it's probably Florida because I told Kubelik, if you could tell me that their offensive line is going to be above average. They got a bunch of talent elsewhere. And everyone knows now in college football, if you bring in quarterback and coordinator, it's like Diego Pavia, it's just a perfect fit. It's going to. It's going to blow up. So.

[Interviewer 1]

And we've been told that Philo is such a smart quarterback, they're going to use Jaden Ball kind of in that Haynes king running because Philo doesn't necessarily possess that. So they may get a Haynes King out of two players, if that makes sense.

[Josh Pate]

I went down there in spring and watched them practice. You would never have known that team was 4 and 8. Now you know why. Like I was. I was a little bit guilty of trusting the talent there when Billy was there. And it was very. They underachieved mightily with their roster talent. So John comes in there, go down there, watch him in spring. And I've been around several Billy Napier practices and you walk into John Sumrall practice and it's not the first time I've watched a Summerall team practice, but it was the first time I watched his Florida team practice. And then when you compare it to what it used to feel like, there's so much juice. I told my mom, we were at a family thing last weekend. She was asking about all the new coaches and I was telling her about John Sumrall. You don't have to know anything about football if as long as you witnessed it before and you witness it now, you would be able to tell right. When you walk in the building, it feels so different. When you walk on the practice field, it feels so different here. Now you got to manifest that into wins. Obviously, no one cares how much juice you have if you go six and six. But normally when a coach takes over, you're used to looking around at the talent roster and saying, could they scrape by with this? This year Florida's got several position groups that you could rate top 15 in the country, that receiver room could rate top 10 in the country. So, like, they can win with those guys now. But summer all has been the first one to tell you. I didn't love the way we looked on offensive line in the spring. And if we don't get a lot better there, all of this rest is a moot point. And I believe him. He's a guy who's really brutally honest about that stuff. He's smart. He does the antithesis of what Hugh did last year. Hugh tried to hype Auburn up last year and so John Sumrall's not gonna be that guy. Yeah, I think it'd be Florida in year one.

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[Interviewer 2]

You know, we kind of live in this SEC bubble and we're gonna get a little dose of Michigan early in the season with Oklahoma, we'll get Ohio State down here with Texas. But you know you're going to Big Ten. You know, is there maybe a team or two in the Big Ten that probably going to be making another run and is there one in the acc? You're looking at saying hey, stars align. These guys are going to be pretty bad too.

[Josh Pate]

Yes, I'll go in order. Everyone knows the hierarchy in the Big Ten, so your Big three, Oregon, Ohio State, Indiana, any order. I agree with that. I think one of the maybe the biggest story in college football this year to me if you're going on the field, is how meaty the second tier of the Big Ten is because for a long time that conference has lacked a solid tier two. Just the opposite problem in the sec. Everybody's tier two and can we get a tier one? So it's up to a combination of Penn State, Michigan, Iowa, usc, Washington, those kinds of teams, Nebraska, whatever. Is that a glob of average to above average or is it a glob of really solid? Because that's really what it takes to have more competitive balance in your league. So I didn't mention ucla. I think UCLA is kind of maybe a come out of nowhere story in the Big Ten this year. In the ACC I think it's Louisville and Louisville opens with Ole Miss in Nashville and I think that's a super underrated game. I think it's Sunday night so it's like a standalone game because think about the two way impact on that. Ole Miss plays them and LSU first three weeks of the season. So if they open with a loss there and LSU is coming to Oxford and Ole Miss is expected to be a playoff contender and their backs already against the wall, it's how Bama Opened a season last year, only Bama lost to a bad team, but still their back was against the wall. By the time they got home after week one, Ole Miss could find themselves in that position. And then Lane and them are coming in there in week three. And then also, if Louisville were to win that game, they don't play Miami this year, regular season. So all of a sudden, if Louisville wins that game, they got some wiggle room to where they could lose at least once, maybe twice, and still be a fringe playoff team. And that goes back to the whole concept that Jeff Brahms, a miracle worker with quarterbacks. And they've got a guy who allegedly took Julian, say, into the wire in the quarterback battle at Ohio State last year. How much you believe that is up to you, I don't know. But, yeah, I think Louisville and ucla, I'd circle.

[Interviewer 1]

And then Florida at Florida the week after lsu. So, yeah, we're going to know everything we need to know about Ole Miss in the first month of the season.

[Josh Pate]

When I've heard a bunch of people break down Ole Miss, they don't even break down the team, they just break down the schedule. Which people? You know, remember this time last year when we were here, we were talking about Oklahoma like that because we knew Oklahoma had this murderer's row of a schedule. And I don't discount that schedule means a lot in college football. But if you're asking someone or someone asks you, what do you think about this team, man, break down the team. A schedule is not a team. It's kind of the same way when people ask about Penn State this year, first thing all these folks go to is, oh, look at their schedule. No, man, look at the team. The schedule is just what the team plays. And if the team's good enough, they'll do what Oklahoma did last year. And Oklahoma was flawed last year, but their strengths were good enough to overcome a really tough schedule. Just like with Ole Miss this year. Kublik and the other guys in the media won't talk about it, but I think Ole Miss is going to be a really good team. Cyclone or Hurricane, we already went. We already did this. We already did this. But if they're good enough, they'll win. Now everybody in this league's terrified that that kind of schedule could yield a 9 and 3 result. And then the playoff committee just looks at all nine and threes as equal. And there's some nuance to that conversation. I think that's valid. I think there's some validity in looking at that and saying, yeah, we're going to probably play a little tougher strength of schedule than maybe some outsiders. And no, our 9 and 3 may not be worse than a tenth of elsewhere. There's some validity to that. But you can't have that attitude in July. Just go win the games.

[Interviewer 1]

Have people totally forgotten how massively talented Lenore Sellers is?

[Josh Pate]

Yes. No. I mean, you can ask that question and some people may laugh because it sounds like a joke, but it's not a joke. Yes, they've forgotten. I don't, I was asking Kubelik. Ironically, I was asking him yesterday, two years ago, when he kind of burst on the scene. If I were to tell you two years later, Lenores is still going to be at South Carolina, he's going to be healthy, and yet he won't be rated as a top 10 quarterback in the country coming into the year. How believable would that have been? I wouldn't have believed that. And yet here we are, and two years later, we're still asking the same stuff. We're asking is the rest of the roster, is the rest of the supporting cast there? Is the receiver room behind Nick harbor worth anything? And that's the ultimate crime. Like, if I'm a South Carolina fan, that's what I'm looking at is are we really going to go through three years of having Dylan Stewart over there, of having Lenora Sellers on the side of the ball and not have much to show for it? And that's why it's so important. Important. Two years ago when South Carolina was in position, those a couple of close losses and they barely miss out on the playoffs. If Ohio State has that happen to them, they'll just be right back there next year. South Carolina can't guarantee themselves that every year. And that's why it's so important to strike when you can. Because Shane almost had a season two years ago that would have bought him virtually a lifetime of equity in Colombia. And instead it almost doesn't count to a lot of people. And you know what? You get paid and you know how inflated the expectations are going to be because of that. You're really close to Shane. I, I, I know that you're Shane, Shane Beamer, a huge, huge friend of this program. Yeah. What about, how about the shout outs, man? How about that? It's been great, but it doesn't change the fact that he's got to get the job done this year.

[Interviewer 2]

That's right. That's right. I mean, you're got a 300 million dollar renovation going on behind you. You're going to have to put some wins on the board.

[Josh Pate]

You know what hurt the most is they were winless in Cocktober last year. Yeah, you can't go winless in cocktail.

[Interviewer 2]

I do like their schedule. I feel like it's a very favorable schedule compared to, you know, other SEC teams. They got an opportunity to really get some momentum and hell, I mean, there's a real shot. They're undefeated going into that Alabama game.

[Josh Pate]

They've. Look, that Alabama, South Carolina, I'm not going to call it a rivalry, but that matchup has had some dog fights recently and they correct me if I'm wrong. They got to go to Columbia, right? Yeah. Alabama goes up there. That's not easy. I mean, even If Alabama goes 10 and 2 this year, it's going to be a bunch of one possession wins anyway. So even at their best, it's going to be a bunch of close games.

[Interviewer 1]

All right, Final thing for you, Josh. Really appreciate you all. Our SEC media days coverage is brought to you by Tennessee legend. Yeah, the best Tennessee whiskey you could buy. So we're asking everybody for their Tennessee legend boldest take this season in the sec. Could be anything, any team, whatever you want.

[Josh Pate]

I'll just say a 9 and 3 sec team makes the playoff. This is the year we haven't had a three loss team make it yet, period. I think this year a 9 and 3 sec team makes the playoff.

[Interviewer 1]

Is that good for the sport?

[Josh Pate]

Well, I don't. I don't really know how to answer that. I think if it's because there is no undefeated team out there and it's a bunch of 10 and two nine and three teams, well, that just means you got the precious parody competitive balance euphoria that everyone was looking for. So I would say that's good, right? I'd say most people would say that's good.

[Interviewer 2]

Do you have any big news you want to tell on the show? Anything coming up in the Josh bait world?

[Josh Pate]

Probably off the top of my head. I'm trying to think. I'm gonna buy a house eventually.

[Interviewer 2]

You got so many irons in the fire, man. How about the wife podcast? You get it up and running?

[Josh Pate]

That's a good question that. I hope we stopped recording before you asked. It's gonna be a lot of heat when I get home. It's in the works. She wants to call it, pardon My French, which is not even her last name anymore. I got a big problem with that.

[Interviewer 2]

She's been sleeping on that one for a while. Yeah.

[Interviewer 1]

All right, before you go I'm sure they know already, but can you tell our audience how to follow you and how to find the show?

[Josh Pate]

Well, once August gets here, Josh Bates College Football show Wherever, wherever you get, whatever it is you consume, that's where I'll be.

[Interviewer 1]

Thank you.

[Josh Pate]

Yes sir, Absolutely.

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