josh pate: Josh Pate calls out hypocrisy from “death to SEC” squad after latest CFP update

College football insider Josh Pate called out SEC haters on Saturday. The CBS analyst addressed the conference's shift from supporting the four auto qualification model to the 5+11 format.

Pate went after those who criticized the conference for supporting the auto-qualifier format, only to again fire at the SEC after supporting a new CFP format.

"There’s no reasonable public discussion to be had here…it’s like watching a CFB city council meeting. Same citizens chanting “death to SEC” for pushing AQs are now mad the SEC isn’t for AQs." Josh Pate wrote on X.

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While SEC teams and individuals associated with the conference often boast about their perceived superiority, Pate considers that the public can't have it both ways, criticizing the conference's decision no matter what it is.

Originally, the SEC and Big Ten proposed to have four teams from each of those conferences make the CFP, with two teams each from the ACC and Big 12, the top-ranked Group of 5 conference champion and three at-large spots, one of them reserved for Notre Dame if the Irish's ranking was good enough.

The conference then flipped its stance, supporting a format with five AQs (SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC champions, along with the highest-ranked Group of 5 conference champ). The at-large spots would be determined by ranking, allowing the SEC to have even more than the four teams in the AQ format.

Josh Pate believes the SEC and Big Ten will get many teams into the CFP

While discussing the CFP format proposals on Friday, Josh Pate pointed out that whichever format they choose, both the SEC and Big Ten will get several playoff spots.

"We're not kidding ourselves here. Whether they are guaranteed or not, the SEC and the Big Ten are going to get a lot of teams in any playoff because they are by far and away, the deepest and most talented conferences in America," Josh Pate said (1:03).

The CBS insider said that while no one disputes the quality of each conference, there are disagreements about how many teams should be guaranteed a spot in the CFP. In other words, it's a question of what the rules should mandate and not what will happen in the future.

While the CFP format is set for the upcoming season, there are expected to be numerous changes beginning in 2026. While it's widely expected the playoff will grow to 16 teams, the allocation of those spots has generated controversy.

About the author

Allan Wolburg Robles is a College Sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over 17 years of experience in the field writing for publications including Reforma, Yahoo! OddsShark and Apuesta. Allan studied Communications at Anáhuac University, where he learned what would become the basis of a trade that was already a dream of his before starting college.

His favorite team is Army West Point as when he was young, Allan lived in West Point for a couple of years, went to pretty much every home game, a couple of Army-Navy games and even got to meet some of the players.

Allan's favorite players of all time include Tommie Frazier, who was unbelievable during the Nebraska dynasty of the early 90's. Tim Tebow was also a favorite, mainly because of his leadership skills, although he was also awesome on the football field. As a fan of defensive football, (or what's left of it), Sean Taylor could take over a game for Miami.

Allan has always considered himself a student of the game more than a fan of it. So the historical part and evolution of the game, as well as the ins and outs of what happens on the field, and being able to put it into words for the audience, are his biggest strengths.

Besides sports, Allan enjoys reading books, watching movies and spending time with his dogs.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash