Josh Pate Gives Bold Florida and DJ Lagway Prediction

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Hugh Green | Last updated Aug 28, 2025 10:58 PM ET

Week 1 of the 2025 college football season got underway on Thursday, and the Florida Gators will begin their year on Saturday against the Long Island Sharks. This will be the first opportunity for Florida fans to see if DJ Lagway, Billy Napier and the rest of the Gators can live up to their high preseason expectations.

Florida is ranked No. 15 in the preseason AP Top 25, which marks the first time the Gators have been in these rankings since Napier took over as head coach in 2022.

This week, college football expert Josh Pate gave a bold prediction regarding Lagway and Florida.

Pate was asked whether he thinks there is a team in college football that can win the College Football Playoff championship and have a Heisman trophy winner.

"You could say Texas, you could say that. I say Florida," Pate said on his show. "Because if Lagway is good enough to win the Heisman, Florida obviously was good enough to get in the playoff, and if Florida's good enough to get in the playoff, they'll be good enough to win it."

Pate has been extremely high on Florida throughout the preseason. This includes his prediction of Florida making the CFP as the No. 8 seed.

His hype surrounding Lagway may be warranted. The 6-foot-3, 247-pound quarterback is entering his sophomore year in 2025 after wowing Florida fans as a true freshman last season. He had a perfect 6-0 record in games he started and finished, as he totaled 1,915 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

If Lagway can continue his stellar play and raise it to a Heisman level this year, Florida will have a chance to be in contention to win a national title.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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