Josh Pate reveals biggest questions for contenders heading into 2026 college football season

As training camp gets underway across college football, preseason predictions continue to to roll out. But Josh Pate also revealed some of his biggest questions for contenders heading into the 2026 season. Pate broke down the answers 10 contending teams are looking for as they begin training camp this week. There are new faces across college football this year, between NFL Draft departures and transfer portal additions, leading to some unknowns for teams that could make a run at a national championship. $19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage With just a few weeks to go until Week 0, Pate detailed the areas he’s watching for contenders throughout the 2026 season. Here are his questions for 10 teams, as he discussed on Josh Pate’s College Football Show. Ohio State Buckeyes Question: Is there star power on the defensive line? Earlier this week, Ohio State came in as the No. 1-ranked team in the USA Today preseason coaches poll. But Josh Pate’s biggest question for the Buckeyes is on defense after losing key pieces to the NFL Draft. Arvell Reese anchored the pass rush a year ago before heading to the next level, and though Kenyatta Jackson is notably back, Pate said that group will still be worth watching. As far as whether it will make or break the Buckeyes’ season, he noted that might not be the case since he doesn’t have too many questions about Ryan Day’s group. “On the defensive line, I just want to know early on – like, we’re watching the Texas game and they’re in town – what does it look like?” Pate said. “Does it look like Ohio State? Does it look like a vintage Ohio State product? I don’t, frankly, have many questions with this team. So that’s where I would go with them.” Notre Dame Fighting Irish Question: How good are the skill players on the outside? After last year’s College Football Playoff snub, Notre Dame is looking to make a statement this year. The Fighting Irish have quarterback CJ Carr returning, and even though they lost both running backs to the NFL as first-round picks, Josh Pate’s most important question is on the outside. Notre Dame overhauled its wide receiver room behind Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse, bringing in Quincy Porter and Mylan Graham from Ohio State out of the portal. The question, according to Pate, is how those new playmakers will do in some of the big games this year, including the postseason. “If we get later in the year, if they’ve got to go against Brigham Young, if their backs are against the wall and guys have to turn 50-50s into 30-70s and whatnot, can they do it?” Pate said. “Can they do it against Miami, can they do it maybe in Playoff situations? Because I have a hard time not seeing them in the Playoff. So Notre Dame, I’d say, how dynamic are they at wide receiver?” Oregon Ducks Question: Can the offensive line be elite and how do the new OC/DC combo work out? Following last year’s run to the national semifinal, Oregon reloaded once again while also keeping quarterback Dante Moore in the fold. But Josh Pate has two questions for the Ducks – one in the trenches and another on the sidelines. While Oregon has a slew of playmakers on the roster, Pate pointed to the offensive line as an area he’s curious to see. Meanwhile, the program lost both coordinators to head coaching jobs last year, and there’s still a bit of unknown there even though both replacements were on the staff a season ago. That said, Pate trusts Dan Lanning’s instincts with the new hires. “I don’t want to be sitting there thinking to myself, ‘Dude, this team’s so loaded everywhere else, but this offensive line’s holding us back,'” Pate said. “So that would be a question, and also remember, this is a very, very high-level team that will have a first-year offensive coordinator and a first-year defensive coordinator. Now, they’re not new to the program, but I think this kind of snakebit Oregon last year. They did such a good job that both of their coordinators got head coaching opportunities. … But I don’t think Dan Lanning is foolishly elevating guys who aren’t ready.” Texas Longhorns Question: Can the offensive line protect Arch Manning and open up holes for the run game? In the latter part of the 2025 season, Arch Manning came into his own as the Texas starting quarterback. But the offensive line had its ups and downs, which is why Josh Pate said that unit is the biggest question for the Longhorns in 2026. Pate specifically pointed to the matchup against Georgia as a moment when Texas faced a tough physical matchup. While Steve Sarkisian and Co. opted for continuity and development, Pate said there’s a bit of wait-and-see with the offensive line this year. “Again, hope springs eternal every single August, and there is definitely reason to believe here,” Pate said. “But I just go back to games like the Georgia game … and realizing, ‘Oh, man. Texas has still got a ways to go to match up with that kind of team physically.’ But they’ve emphasized it. They’ve certainly recruited and they’ve certainly developed. But offensive line, they didn’t go wholesale overhaul there. They liked what they had. Just need to get another year under their belt. We’ll see.” Georgia Bulldogs Question: What level of play do the offensive weapons and pass rush reach? When looking at Georgia in 2026, the expectation is the Bulldogs will once again bring strong defense to the table as they look to defend their SEC title. On the other side, though, Josh Pate’s biggest question is about the receiving corps. Pate wondered if Georgia can have playmakers emerge on the outside to get over the hump in the College Football Playoff race. He noted the difference-makers teams such as Indiana and Miami had last year as they went on to meet in the national championship. “But again, if it comes down to big-time championship or Playoff-type situations – because that’s probably the conversation Georgia’s in again – do they have guys that can go over the course of one big, 12-play drive, do they have a guy that can do what Indiana had guys do last year?” Pate said. “Do they have guys that can do what Miami, not holistically, but in spurts did. My default is wait-and-see on that. It’s not that Georgia needs it to win. It’s just, that’s my biggest question if I’m asking if they can go toe-to-toe and win three games in a Playoff-type situation.” Indiana Hoosiers Question: What does a change in scenery do for Josh Hoover and replacing D’Angelo Ponds? With Fernando Mendoza off to the NFL as the No. 1 pick, Indiana moved to bring TCU transfer Josh Hoover in to take over at quarterback. Hoover has struggled with turnovers, though, which is why Josh Pate said the change of scenery is a question for IU this year. It’s not the only question, though. Pate also noted the departure of D’Angelo Ponds, who anchored the Indiana secondary as a lockdown cornerback, as something to watch for Indiana throughout the 2026 season. “He had to throw the ball a whole lot more last year than he will be asked to do this year,” Pate said. “He had to shoulder a lot more of the offensive load, in theory, than he would be asked to do here. But outside of that, because that’s what everyone would go to and with good reason, I’d also say D’Angelo Ponds last year was insane. … When you’ve got a lockdown type guy, those are hard to replace. Not impossible, and sometimes you can go Oakland A’s circa 2002 and just replace him in the aggregate, but it’s hard to replace.” Miami Hurricanes Question: What is the level of play in the trenches on both offense and defense? As part of its journey to the national championship game last season, Miami got strong play in the trenches on both sides of the football. But with multiple key departures, Josh Pate will be watching to see whether the Hurricanes can continue to play at such a high level. Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor will be hard to replace on defense, but Missouri transfer Damon Wilson II can step in to help fill the voids. On the offensive line, though, true freshman Jackson Cantwell is projected to start at left tackle. Although Cantwell has the physical ability to step in, Pate said it’s still worth noting. “You’re going to start a true freshman at left tackle,” Pate said. “Now, that true freshman looks like he can be in a second-year situation with the Baltimore Ravens right now, but it is a true freshman at left tackle. And you are certainly replacing a hellacious pass-rush combo. But then again, lost production is relative in this sport, and it’s relative to who you’ve got to fill those shoes. In some places, iconic game-changing players walk out and you’ve got no answers. They’ve got answers at Miami, or they think they do. That would be the big question, if it’s big. … It’s like a lower-case question mark.” Texas Tech Red Raiders Question: Is Will Hammond good enough for Texas Tech to level up? Texas Tech went through an eventful offseason after winning its first Big 12 title and making the College Football Playoff. After Brendan Sorsby was deemed ineligible, the Red Raiders are turning to Will Hammond, who is now Josh Pate’s biggest question for the program in 2026. Sorsby was expected to be an upgrade at quarterback for Texas Tech after the Red Raiders struggled mightily in the CFP. While Joey McGuire and the staff are confident in Hammond, Pate said he’s curious to see whether he can help them take that next step. “They think they’ve got a really good team,” Pate said. “But they had a really good team last year and then they ran into a brick wall come Playoff time. So the whole question is, does Will Hammond offer them level-up potential? Or do we watch them all year and say, ‘Yeah, they’re Big 12 good again. But what if they play Oregon? What if they play Ohio State? What if they play Texas?'” Ole Miss Rebels Question: How much juice do the pass rush and offensive tackles have? The Pete Golding era at Ole Miss officially got started in last year’s College Football Playoff after Lane Kiffin’s high-profile departure for LSU. But the Rebels also lost some key contributors to the Tigers this offseason, notably on the pass rush. As a result, that unit is Josh Pate’s biggest question. While Pate noted Ole Miss might not take too much of a step back on the edge, his concern is how much they could regress. Additionally, the Rebels are replacing both tackles, which is also important for Trinidad Chambliss and the offense. “If you’re No. 3 in sacks last year, it’s okay to fall off a little bit. … You’re No. 3 one year, you’re No. 13 the next year, that’s fine,” Pate said. “Is there significant regression? That’s a problem, if so. The other situation is the interior of their offensive line, I feel okay about. Replacing both offensive tackles, at the very least, is a question mark coming into fall camp.” Oklahoma Sooners Question: Can the run game and offensive line get better? As Oklahoma bounced back and made a College Football Playoff appearance last year, the running game struggled mightily. That’s why Josh Pate said the big question for the Sooners will be if they can get that part of the offense going. The OU offensive line will be front and center this year, with Michael Fasusi as likely the biggest name to watch. But Pate also pointed out some teams could turn their biggest weakness into a strength, and Oklahoma could find a way to flip the script in 2026. “The trick here is, kind of like I said with other teams, their questions could end up being strengths,” Pate said. “It doesn’t have to be the question marks, at best, become below-average production units. … So it doesn’t have to be that way. For all we know, they watched last year, their struggles running the ball and said, ‘No more,’ and it ends up being a net-neutral or maybe even a strength portion of their overall offensive output this year. But how do you not circle those two things as question marks for Oklahoma coming into the year?” Training camp will present an opportunity for teams to find some answers to these questions with Week 0 just a few weeks away. Then, they’ll be able to put that on display as games get underway across college football.