Josh Pate has Florida Gators in his post-spring top 25 rankings

Another prominent voice in college football has included the Florida Gators in his post-spring top 25 rankings. After Brandon Marcello of CBS Sports ranked Jon Sumrall’s inaugural team No. 23 last week, On3’s Josh Pate followed suit on Monday.

Pate has the Gators at No. 21 in his post-spring rankings, which has Notre Dame at No. 1. UF is one of nine SEC teams in Pate’s top 25, including half of the top 10. Florida will face five teams ranked by Pate: Texas (2), Georgia (7), Ole Miss (8), Oklahoma (9) and Missouri (23).

He explained his rationale for ranking UF in his top 25 on the latest edition of Josh Pate’s College Football Show and also predicted Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo to win the starting job over quarterback Tramell Jones Jr.

“Florida at 21 is an offensive coordinator, quarterback bet a little bit here. Buster Faulkner, and I think Aaron Philo is going to win the job down there. And I don’t expect Heisman contention there. What I do expect is good, solid QB play on an otherwise really underrated roster,” Pate said. “They are nasty a wide receiver. Have the potential to be one of the best wide receiver rooms in the country. It’s a really good running back situation. Just the overall talent roster that Sumrall is inheriting there is really good. Now, they had good talent and couldn’t get it done under Billy Napier, so this is also kind of a bet on Jon Sumrall to walk in with an abnormally high floor for a first-year inherited situation.”

The Gators open their 2026 season on Sept. 5 against Florida Atlantic.

Josh Pate post-spring top 25

1. Notre Dame
2. Texas
3. Oregon
4. Ohio State
5. Miami
6. Indiana
7. Georgia
8. Ole Miss
9. Oklahoma
10. Texas A&M
11. USC
12. LSU
13. Alabama
14. BYU
15. Michigan
16. Texas Tech
17. Penn State
18. Houston
19. Utah
20. SMU
21. Florida
22. Iowa
23. Missouri
24. Washington
25. Louisville

Not a member of Gators Online?

CLICK HERE to join the Gators Online community for $1! It’s the top place for passionate Florida fans to find the best insight and news in the market. 

Boasting a talented collection of experienced journalists, we dig deep into recruiting and provide breaking news and analysis on UF sports.

SIGN UP for the Gators Online Newsletter — Receive Breaking News, In-Depth Analysis via Email!