Josh Pate Believes Former SEC Powerhouse Is A Wild Card

The Florida Gators were a solid program under former head coach Steve Spurrier in the 1990s. Then, Urban Meyer took the Gators to new heights during the early 2000s, with Heisman winner Tim Tebow as quarterback. The Gators won national titles in 2007 and 2009 under Meyer.

In a recent edition of Late Kick Live , Josh Pate discussed a potential power shift in the SEC now that the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners are in the conference. He talked about how the Alabama Crimson Tide, Georgia Bulldogs, Florida, and the surrounding areas have historically been the power centers of the SEC.

However, Florida is not the program that it used to be. The last time that the program won 11 games was in 2019 under Dan Mullen.

Pate explained that an 18-year-old would not remember the Spurrier/Meyer eras of Florida football. It has been quite some time since Florida was competing for national titles every year.

He even called Florida a "wild card."

"...Now, Florida is a wild card. If you are 18 years old, it's been a little while since Florida's been a national championship player in this sport," Pate said. "A generation has gone by since Florida was a bona fide national championship contender."

With Florida being the only SEC school in the state, Pate explained that they would not receive as much attention if the Gators had a terrible season. The other major programs in the state are the Florida State Seminoles and Miami Hurricanes.

"...That's the only SEC school in the state," Pate said. "So if Florida's not doing anything, folks in Miami and Orlando are not talking about the SEC nearly as much, fractionally as much, if Florida's good. ...If Florida's good, it is in its own world. It's like a little independent world, little independent bubble even within the SEC."

Florida opens the year with the Miami on Aug. 31. Kickoff will be at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

Related: Josh Pate Makes Bold Prediction On Which Two Teams Could Dominate The SEC