Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun

Josh Pate's latest college football rankings will have Florida Gators fans excited about a potential playoff run

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Tyler Forness | Last updated May 13, 2025 9:29 AM ET

As we currently sit during the month of May, the Florida Gators are working hard to get more recruits for the 2025 recruting class, including landing a visit from a high-profile edge rusher this upcoming weekend.

We likely won't get news outside of recruiting for some time, as this is the biggest dead period of the year. The one thing we do know is Gators quarterback DJ Lagway is throwing again, which is primed to be huge for the 2025 season.

Josh Pate ranks Florida Gators 9th after spring practice

One of the biggest talking points across the board comes by the way of top-25 rankings. Analysts do them multiple times after different segments of the offseason.

CBS Sports' Josh Pate ranked all the top teams after the spring and the Gators were ninth on his rankings, which were just the top 20 this go around.

Post-spring top 20 if I had to rank them right now pic.twitter.com/BEMWCS5Hsv
— Josh Pate (@JoshPateCFB) May 12, 2025

What's interesting is the Gators aren't just ninth in the entire nation, but fourth in the SEC behind Texas (2nd), Alabama (4th), and LSU (5th). The Gators will have chances against LSU in the first few weeks and Texas right before they have to play Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry, which is somewhat of a trap game.

The biggest thing for the Gators is they don't have to rely on either side of the football to carry the team. Both the offense and defense have the potential to be a top-10 unit in all of college football. The offense has a real chance to be dynamic with a veteran offensive line, dynamic receiving corps, and Lagway at quarterback. Meanwhile, the defense is anchored on the defensive line by defensive tackle Caleb Banks and edge rusher Tyreak Sapp.

If the Gators ended up ninth in the final rankings, they would be a near guarantee to make the College Football Playoff, which would certainly save head coach Billy Napier's job and bring the Gators back to prominence and a place they should never have left.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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