Josh Pate Identifies 3 Major College Football Teams On Upset Watch to Begin Season

The first two weeks of the college football season are always a blur as multiple top programs face possible upset matchups. Weeks 0 and 1 can always be surprising, but good luck guessing which major programs will be upset or not. With that in mind, Josh Pate of CBS Sports shares which three schools he believes are on upset watch to begin the 2024 season.

Pate makes it extremely clear that these are not predictions. Instead, these are simply three matchups to potentially keep an eye on as Week 0 approaches. During his latest episode of The Late Kick with Josh Pate, the popular analyst fielded a question regarding early upsets that have happened in the past three seasons.

With upsets happening more recently, Pate took the time to analyze which three major programs could lose a game early in the season. The three matchups to watch include Florida State vs. Georgia Tech, Penn State at West Virginia, and Michigan vs. Fresno State. That potentially puts the Seminoles, Nittany Lions, and Wolverines on upset watch in Weeks 0 and 1.

Now, even if these three programs some how lose their opening games, they each still have a chance to make the College Football Playoffs. The 12-team expansion is going to allow for some error for every program in the nation. Especially considering conference games are more important than non-conference games.

Luckily for these three teams, they're each favored to win their matchups, according to FanDuel. Florida State is currently a -490 favorite to beat Georgia Tech and are -12.5 on the spread. Meanwhile, Penn State is a -360 favorite over West Virginia but are just -10.5 on the spread. Additionally, Michigan is hugely favored to beat Fresno State as the Wolverines are a -2300 favorite and are -20.5 on the spread.

That means the Georgia Tech, West Virginia, and Fresno State have to show out at the beginning of the season to earn a win. But of the three matchups, odds makers seem to have Penn State most likely to lose their first game of the regular season to the Mountaineers.

Only time will tell how the season plays out but upsets will likely happen at some point. Each of these three major college football teams on Pate's upset watch list have gone through some big changes this offseason.

The Seminoles are in line to potentially be even better this season after falling short of the playoffs. The same can be said for the Nittany Lions. However, the Wolverines lost Jim Harbaugh and numerous top players from last year's roster. So, Michigan could legitimately struggle early in the 2024 season.

Related: Josh Pate Reveals College Football Playoff, Title Winner Predictions

Related: Brian Kelly, LSU Football Have Fans Melting After Landing Elite 5-Star WR Over Alabama, Georgia

Related: Alabama Football's 5-Star WR Commit Claims Loyalty Despite Booking Visits With 2 Rival SEC Schools