"It's not etched in stone": Josh Pate passionately defends keeping Kirby Smart's Georgia out of top 10 

Head coach Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs have been among the top contenders in college football for most of his tenure since 2016. This past season, they won the SEC championship but were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the college football playoff.

Despite the disappointing end to their year, many fans and media members still view them as one of the top contenders heading into next season. However, analyst Josh Pate does not agree with everyone else. When he released his post-spring rankings, he had Georgia outside the top 10 at No. 11. Pate has been heavily criticized by fans for this decision.

On Saturday, Pate posted a new video to his YouTube channel defending his decision to place Georgia at No. 11 (Timestamp 1:25).

"What would you have thought if you turned on this channel, May of 2024 and I had Indiana parked in the top 10? What would you have thought?" Pate asked. "Except for yelling clickbait 37 times in 15 different languages, what would have thought? So, the point is, just because it doesn't look like it makes sense, or it doesn't look like everyone else's top 20, it doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong or unfounded."

"At the very least I would say, I have reasons for thinking this stuff. It's not written in concrete. It's not etched in stone. I just look at a great talent roster that is short on proven production. I also look at the concept that if they don't rapidly improve their ground game, I don't think they have the skillset at QB to have a top 15 passing offense to offset that."

Georgia's season could hinge on the performance of QB Gunner Stockton

One of the things Josh Pate mentioned was that he is worried about the running game for the Georgia Bulldogs. Not only that, but he does not think their passing game will be strong enough to make up for it. As a result, the Bulldogs' offense could hinge on the success of QB Gunner Stockton.

While Carson Beck had his flaws, he was still viewed as a top QB last season. Now that he has transferred to Miami, Gunner Stockton is expected to take over the starting role. Stockton showed promise last season, especially when he was forced to start in the college football playoff after Beck was injured in the SEC championship game.

Stockton completed 20 of 32 passing attempts for 234 yards and one TD in a losing effort. While it was a good performance, he is unproven as a full-time starter.