Josh Pate Turns Heads Naming 3 Surprising 'Sleeping Giants' in College Football

The 2024 college football season is right around the corner and many are making their early predictions for the College Football Playoff. However, there are several teams to keep an eye on that could have surprisingly big years. Josh Pate of CBS Sports makes his picks for three potential "sleeping giants" for the upcoming season.

During his latest episode of The Late Kick with Josh Pate , Pate quickly runs down a list of three teams he believes are "sleeping giants." Pate ran through some "what if" scenarios and determined that the Virginia Tech Hokies, Texas A&M Aggies, and Nebraska Cornhuskers could all have big years.

Pate seems to like what all three programs have going on ahead of the upcoming season. The Hokies are coming off a 7-6 winning season and look primed to improve upon that record this year.

Meanwhile, there is a ton of hype surrounding Texas A&M coach, Mike Elko. After finding success as the head coach at Duke, Pate seems to believe Elko can bring similar success to the Aggies.

Lastly, five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola has the potential to become a star under Matt Rhule's guidance in Nebraska. The Cornhuskers have been largely out of the picture in recent years. But Rhule's coaching history at the college level is solid.

All three programs haven't been all that competitive in recent years but the positives for the Hokies, Aggies, and Cornhuskers are hard to ignore. On top of that, they each have rather favorable schedules this season. With the College Football Playoff expanding to a 12-team format, these are three sleeper teams to keep an eye on as the season progresses.

Although Virginia Tech plays in the ACC, they have a real shot at making some noise. The Hokies open up the regular season against Vanderbilt on August 31. Some notable games on their schedule include Miami (FL), Boston College, Georgia Tech, and Clemson.

Of the three "sleeping giants" the Aggies have the most difficult schedule ahead. Texas A&M plays in a loaded SEC conference, however, Elko's team might have a lucky draw this year. There are only three games on the schedule that will likely force the Aggies to be an underdog, those being Notre Dame, Missouri, and Texas. Outside from that, Elko's squad has some nice matchups on the schedule.

As for Rhule and the Cornhuskers, Nebraska should feel lucky they don't play against more marquee teams in the Big Ten. Although they don't have many gimme games, there are only four contests that stand out as incredibly difficult for this program. Those being Colorado, Ohio State, USC, and Iowa.

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