‘Say Something Completely Wild for Attention’ — Ex-NFL OL Rips CFB Analyst Josh Pate Over Florida–2019 LSU Comparison
· Yahoo Sports
Saturday served as a reality check for the Florida Gators after they were humiliated 45-17 by the Missouri Tigers in a one-sided clash.
Before the game, there was plenty of chatter about Florida potentially continuing its scoring pace after putting up at least 44 points in each of its first four games.
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Florida’s dominant start even led Josh Pate to suggest that another big performance could prompt people to start comparing the Gators to the 2019 LSU Tigers, who averaged 48.4 points per game and went 15-0 to win the CFP National Championship.
That comparison aged poorly in Week 5, and many fans, along with former NFL players, called out Pate for his “wild” take.
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The Gators did little to make Pate’s comparison look prescient. Tigers QB Austin Simmons put together an impressive performance, completing 23 of 30 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Florida’s offense managed just 325 total yards, finishing 200 yards below its season average.
Florida’s one-sided loss quickly brought Pate’s comments from a few days earlier on “Bussin’ With The Boys” back into the spotlight.
“I think we’re on the precipice of one more week of that happening, and people go LSU 2019 on Florida. So people are going to make that comparison,” Pate said.
As expected, the CFB analyst faced plenty of backlash after Florida’s blowout loss, with many fans arguing that the comparison came far too early.
Former NFL OL Geoff Schwartz was among them. Taking a sarcastic shot at Pate’s analysis, Schwartz called it a “perfect social media clip/take.”
“Say something completely wild for attention, and while doing it, claim that ‘some people’ are saying it. So when it’s wrong, you can claim you didn’t mean it. Or it wasn’t your take. Well done,” Schwartz wrote on X.
One could argue that Pate jumped the gun, but in his defense, he was trying to highlight the growing sentiment around Florida rather than make the comparison himself.
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After the Gators’ brutal loss, Pate took to X to defend his comments.
“The thing I regret most about comparing Florida to 2019 LSU is that I didn’t compare Florida to 2019 LSU,” Pate posted on X, signaling that he was just trying to highlight what people were saying.
When a fan asked, “You couldn’t commit to what you think?” Pate replied, “I commit to saying what I think like 100x per week,” standing by his views.
Coming back to the game, the quarterback duties were split between starter Aaron Philo and backup Tramell Jones Jr. for Florida, but neither made much of an impact.
Philo finished with 197 passing yards and three rushing yards on seven carries, while throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass and taking three sacks.
Jones stepped in late and added 86 passing yards and five rushing yards on one carry, including a 42-yard touchdown pass.
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On the Tigers’ front, Simmons made a strong impression, as reflected by his impressive 83.5 grade in PFN’s College Quarterback Impact Metric.
For Florida and Pate, the next game against the South Carolina Gamecocks on Oct. 10 will be important. A strong response would show that the loss to Missouri was just a bad game, rather than a sign of bigger problems.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.