Josh Pate knows how to create buzz. In his most current predictions for the 2025 season, Pate rates Alabama Football as the SEC's best team. Predicting Power Four Conference Champions, Pate chose the Alabama Crimson Tide to beat Texas in Atlanta. Alabama fans love it. Auburn and LSU fans dislike the prediction so much that their criticism of Pate is intense.
Drawing further ire, Pate predicts four SEC teams to make the Playoffs, with LSU, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and South Carolina not making the cut. Instead, Pate projects Alabama Football as the overall 2-seed, Texas as the 3-seed, Florida as the 8-seed, and the Georgia Bulldogs as the 9-seed.
Pate's other Playoff predictions are Penn State as the 1-seed, Oregon the 4-seed, Clemson the 5-seed, Notre Dame the 6-seed, Ohio State the 7-seed, Arizona State the 10-seed, Nebraska the 11-seed, and Boise State the 12-seed. If Pate's picks and seeding are correct the Georgia Bulldogs would travel to Gainesville in December to play Florida for a second time in the 2025 season.
The boldest of Pate's Playoff selections is Florida. The Gators are expected to be much improved, but the Florida schedule is brutally tough. Pate puts considerable confidence for a Florida revival on Gators' quarterback, DJ Lagway. Ironically, a quarterback many college football pundits doubt is Penn State's Drew Allar, and Pate has the Nittany Lions as the Big Ten Champion and Playoffs 1-seed.
Auburn fans with consistent hate of Alabama Football
Based on message board content, one of the most churned-up fan bases is the Auburn Tigers. Some Auburn fans harbor so much Bama hate that they celebrate Alabama losing more than they do Auburn winning. The Aubies are calling Pate a 'Bammer' though that is not new. Some Aubies have convinced themselves that Auburn is a legitimate Playoff contender. Add that delusion to ingrained anger for any Crimson Tide success, and Pate might want to steer clear of The Plains this season.
Two SEC fan bases appear quite pleased with Pate's selections. Based on the support voiced by Dawn of the Dawg and Hail Florida Hail, an on-campus contest between the Gators and the Bulldogs would be celebrated.
Alabama football fans can justify their pleasure with Pate's picks by explaining that Pate saw the Crimson Tide in-person at the most recent scrimmage. Clearly, he went away much impressed.