As the SEC season 2024 is almost on the doorstep, the excitement is way too high. Analysts and fans are coming up with their best team names and also predicting how well they will perform. Well, the love for one’s team or player never dies. These predictions are like a ritual before every season.

Josh Pate, a very well-known college football analyst and commentator whom many of you might remember from his YouTube channel, made one such prediction, “Late Kick with Josh Pate”. During a recent interview, he shared his number-one bet for the coming SEC season. Without building on it further, let us just get into it already!

It is Georgia v/s Alabama

During an interview with The Next Round, posted on their Twitter handle, Josh Pate is seen making a big statement that might leave Kalen DeBoer & Co. trembling in their boots. Yes! Josh Pate bets on Georgia this year, number-one rival of Alabama Crimson for ages. During the talk, he said, “I would power rate Georgia my number one team in the SEC”. Well, that is a statement worth pondering over keeping in mind the kind of experience that he holds and the fact that he is well aware of every tit-bit that happens on and off-field, critically analyzing everything.

The statement is enough to awaken the spirits of Alabama just like before. Georgia and Alabama have had two notable games one in the year 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship, where Alabama defeated Georgia in overtime and the other one was the 2021 SEC Championship Game, where Alabama again emerged victorious. The fact that Kirby Smart has also assisted Nick Saban brings in the coaching connection that they both shared. But with Nick Saban’s retirement, that is out of the picture and Kalen is in the spot to prove what he has bagged with him. The game between both teams seems to be on like every other year!

Kalen’s positive take under pressure

Though Kalen likes to play it really cool, during an interview with Joel Katt on Joel’s The Joel Klatt Show when asked, “Everyone says you don’t want to be the guy that follows the guy. Did anybody say, like, hey, I don’t know about this?” Kalen, with a smile on his face, said that he has heard it a thousand times and that he also understands where it comes from. Further, with a very calm posture and confidence, he added, “…but you really never make it about that…you make it about these players. And when you pour into the right things, the right things will happen to you. I just believe that.” With all that, it seems that Kalen is ready to put what he has into his players and let them prove their worth as a team in the upcoming SEC.

All the speculations going around are giving rise to excitement for the coming SEC season. While fans support their all-time favorites, let us get ready and hope that the best team wins!