Gators a Playoff Team, per Josh Pate

With depth, experience and a starting quarterback with plenty of hype, the Florida Gators could make their debut in the College Football Playoff.

The Florida Gators' chances to be a playoff team will largely come down to DJ Lagway, although it won't be the only reason. | Matt Pendleton / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Fans of rival programs have expressed skepticism about the Florida Gators entering the 2025 season, focusing on the fact that not much has changed for them since head coach Billy Napier took over. 

In contrast to skeptical fans, the media seems much more convinced about the Gators for the upcoming season. 

Supporting this media optimism, college football personality Josh Pate released his playoff picks for this season on Sunday, and the Gators made the cut. He had them as the No. 8 overall seed. 

🚨PLAYOFF PICKS🚨 pic.twitter.com/uRNurB7ZFS

— Josh Pate (@JoshPateCFB) August 18, 2025

Looking ahead to their playoff prospects, who are their opponents for their first-round matchup? Longtime conference rival, the Georgia Bulldogs. 

So, is Pate crazy for placing his faith in the Gators to accomplish a playoff berth even though they haven’t come close under Billy Napier? 

Sure, that could be the case. 

Or, he might be hitting the nail right on the head. It is not too far-fetched to see the Gators placing inside the top 12 of the college football rankings come December. 

For starters, they get to run star quarterback DJ Lagway on the field every Saturday. This is arguably the most important factor in any decision. The quarterback makes or breaks an entire offense. Lagway is very capable of being the starting quarterback in the SEC and is only getting better. 

His best trait, to date, has been his deep ball. Not only did he lead all true freshman quarterbacks in passer rating (154.9), his PFF deep ball passing grade of 95.8 ranked third among all FBS gunslingers. 

He’ll need to become more consistent on the short and intermediate passes, but he will also have time to iron those out in the first couple of weeks of the season. 

It can’t all be about the quarterback, though. He needs some help, too. 

The offensive line returns a lot of experience and is expected to be one of the best in the conference. 

Three of the expected starters boast over 1,000 snaps under their belt. Tackle Austin Barber has logged 1,870, guard Damieon George has 1,425 and center Jake Slaughter has 1,325. Then, after these three, guard Knijeah Harris has 770, and Bryce Lovett has 290. 

Gators' projected starting 5 OL returns 5,680 career snaps. That's a TON of experience.

Austin Barber - 1,870
Jake Slaughter - 1,325
Damieon George - 1,425
Knijeah Harris - 770
Bryce Lovett - 290 pic.twitter.com/6MX39mY0w7

— Nick de la Torre (@delatorre) August 14, 2025

Having this many experienced players in the trenches is vital, especially in the SEC. Without a solid push up front, it’s hard to string together successful drives on offense. 

Florida has also been successful at loading up talent at running back and wide receiver. 

The pairing of sophomore Jadan Baugh and redshirt senior Ja’Kobi Jackson is one of the best duos in the backfield in the SEC this season. Baugh and Jackson accounted for 1,181 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns despite neither being the starter at running back for most of the year. 

Out wide, Napier added highly-touted freshman Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson alongside veteran J. Michael Sturdivant this summer to bolster his receiver room. Bringing in these three should make Lagway’s life much easier, as he’ll have several capable receivers to go to on every play.  

The Gators have some guys on defense, as well. 

They have two potential first-round picks along the line in Caleb Banks and Tyreak Sapp., and George Gumbs Jr. is back playing opposite Sapp. 

At linebacker, Grayson Howard, Myles Graham, Aaron Chiles and Jaden Robinson will be leading the way. Howard and Graham proved to be a strong pairing at the heart of the defense last year. 

As good as these names are, though, there are depth concerns for Florida on this side of the ball. 

Behind Banks in the interior, there’s more inexperience than not. With the Gators rotating as much as they do, this will be something to keep an eye on as the season progresses. Can someone in this room step up and solidify themselves as a guy in the trenches? 

Furthermore, at safety, the Gators will be heavily reliant on Bryce Thornton and Jordan Castell. After these two, it’s looking like either two true freshmen will be next up or transfer Michael Carraway II will get the nod. 

Another downside for Florida is its offensive consistency. The play calling under Napier has been subpar to say the least, and needs to be way more dialed in if the playoffs are the goal. They were 11th in the SEC last year in scoring offense, averaging 28.3 points per game.

One last area of concern is whether Lagway can stay healthy or not. He is their definitive No. 1, but after him, the talent drops off severely at quarterback. He has also picked up small ones throughout the offseason, but is expected to be ready for the opener. 

In the end, the Gators have the talent, on paper, to compete with the best. However, none of that matters if they can’t show it on the field when it matters most.