Alabama fans will be sure to remember amid all the doubts in the national media around the program heading into 2025 that the one constant in the Crimson Tide's corner was Josh Pate.
Pate has consistently been on the bandwagon for the Crimson Tide this offseason when so many others leaped off following Kalen DeBoer's disappointing debut as the head coach. But Pate sees what Alabama fans see: a hungry, talented team that has everything they need to go the distance this season.
Pate recently revealed his predictions for conference champions and the playoff bracket. He predicted an 11-1 Alabama to get to Atlanta and knock off Texas, entering the College Football Playoff as a No. 2 seed. On his latest show, he predicted his playoff bracket, with the Crimson Tide coming out on top:
🚨National Championship Prediction🚨 pic.twitter.com/qnxT5N3tkQ
— Josh Pate (@JoshPateCFB) August 22, 2025
Josh Pate sees Alabama running through the gauntlet to win the National Championship
Well, Alabama would certainly earn National Championship #19 by getting through that gauntlet of a bracket. Pate predicts Alabama to face off with defending champion Ohio State in the quarterfinals following a first-round bye.
After getting past the Buckeyes, his hypothetical semifinal is a rematch of the SEC Championship Game between Alabama and Texas. Being forced to beat the Longhorns for a second time in a month wouldn't be ideal, but Pate knows a truth that some ignore: DeBoer has owned Steve Sarkisian, going 2-0 against the Texas head coach in his career so far.
Winning those first two games would culminate in Alabama facing off with Oregon in Miami for the National Championship in a matchup nearly two decades in the making. The Tide and Ducks have long felt like they were on a postseason collision course, but it hasn't happened yet. It would be fitting for the first meeting between the programs in history to take place with a National Championship on the line.
And as much as DeBoer has owned Sarkisian, he's owned Dan Lanning even more, going 3-0 against the Ducks' head man.
Pate sees a dream season for Alabama in 2025, something all Tide fans would sign up for right now. On paper, everything looks good and sets up for them to have a legitimate chance at winning the National Championship for the first time in five years.
But the games aren't played on paper, and we only have one more week to wait before we find out if this team is more substance than hype.