Josh Pate's College Football Show Pate State Extra: Rankings Debates & Shocking Results
Feb 25, 2026
A lively mailbag chat about the value and proper use of preseason rankings. A debate on how a coaching legend would fare in the NIL and transfer era. Reactions to the most shocking results from last season. A tour of favorite Big Ten stadium experiences and what makes them stand out.
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Preseason Rankings Have Value If You Recalibrate Fast
- Josh Pate defends preseason rankings as a valuable, fun way to order teams by opinion even before games start.
- He warns they must be treated loosely and recalibrated aggressively after real games, especially in early weeks.
Drop Teams Quickly After Early Evidence
- Do drop teams quickly when early games show they don't match preseason billing and allow wild ranking swings in the first 3–4 weeks.
- Use four quarters of football to outweigh five months of opinion and recalibrate by mid-September.
Saban Would Win Less Dominantly In The New Era
- Josh believes Nick Saban would still win but less dominantly in the transfer/NIL era; the overall gap between teams has shrunk.
- He cites late-era Alabama wins that were close as evidence the era had already eroded blowouts.