Why ESPN Is Betting BIG On Josh Pate And Pat McAfee
College football media megastar Josh Pate joins Outkick’s own Bobby Burack to discuss his new ESPN college football show, his growing role in the future of ESPN, and why Pat McAfee has become one of the most influential figures in sports media.
We are waist deep in the college football season, which means the natives (read: fans) are starting to get a little antsy.
Week six is now upon us, and with that, several data points are now available for prognosticators and experts alike to draw from and anger fans with in the process.
One man who always has a lot to say is Josh Pate, the college football commentator who started from humble beginnings and is now one of the foremost voices in the sport.
Josh Pate speaks onstage during his College Football Show at Fanatics Fest NYC 2026 at Jacob Javits Center on July 17, 2026, in New York City. (Getty Images for Fanatics)
JOSH PATE DISCUSSES NEW ESPN SHOW, FOUR FACES OF ESPN, PAT MCAFEE AND FUTURE OF MEDIA COMPANY WITH OUTKICK
Pate landed himself in some hot water these past few days for releasing his “JP Poll,” a power rating system that goes out every week.
A lot of people had an absolute fit that Pate rated Florida ahead of Missouri when the Tigers just beat the Gators’ brains in less than seven days earlier.
How could that possibly be?
Well, if you understood what the JP Poll was, it would make a lot more sense.
As Pate explains – seemingly every week – the JP Poll power rates teams based on whether or not they would be favored over another team on a neutral field according to oddsmakers in Vegas.
It’s a flawed system, sure, but it explains Pate’s logic in “rating” Florida ahead of Mizzou.
Donovan Olugbode of the Missouri Tigers catches a pass against Ben Hanks III of the Florida Gators during the first half at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 3, 2026, in Columbia, Mo. (Getty Images)
I’m not saying I would pick Florida to beat Missouri if they played tomorrow in the Superdome or something; we all watched that game on Saturday and it got ugly.
But if Vegas says that the Gators would be favored against the Tigers, I can’t argue with that, I can only use my hard earned money to bet against that.
And I would be stupid to do so, given the old adage that “Vegas always knows.”
So, what do those oddsmakers have to say about a hypothetical matchup between Florida and Missouri?
Well, I’m glad you asked.
Again, I’m not sure I’d bet money on the Gators winning that matchup, but I’ll take Vegas’ word for it.
PAT MCAFEE HAS OFFICIALLY SURPASSED STEPHEN A SMITH AS THE FACE OF ESPN
To add an extra layer of context to things, Pate released his weekly “Commissioner’s Poll” a few days later, which is more like the AP Poll in that it ranks teams based on resume and head-to-head matchups, rather than a power rating.
And wouldn’t you know it, Missouri is ahead of Florida.
People have been skewering Pate for his takes this season, and this JP Poll fiasco is just the latest (and loudest) “scandal” of the bunch.
But for all the people getting upset about this, it only proves they haven’t been paying attention to Josh Pate’s football coverage until recently.
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I’ve been a fan of Pate’s show since 2019, when he was a YouTube creator with a mere 20,000 subscribers.
To paraphrase Tony Soprano, “I got in on the ground floor.”
That was seven years ago, and to the best of my memory, Pate has been doing the same thing for all seven of those years.
Josh Pate speaks onstage during Josh Pate’s College Football Show at Fanatics Fest NYC 2026 at Jacob Javits Center on July 17, 2026, in New York City. (Getty Images for Fanatics)
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Granted, the audience has grown and sponsors have been added to the mix, but he’s still the same bald guy with the white t-shirt he was all those years ago.
This is what happens when you grow your audience but stay the same.
You can either change and alienate your core following (think Metallica after “The Black Album”) or you can keep doing what your “day one” fans love and risk newer followers getting turned off.
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Credit to Pate for sticking to his guns and not switching up for anyone.
He’s certainly made some enemies in the past year or so, but from my viewpoint that just means he’s doing something right.