Postseason Success May Boil Down to One Thing: Handling Pressure

ATLANTA — There’s no one who knows better about what to expect from the University of Alabama football team in the SEC Championship Game than Florida coach Jim McElwain.

For four seasons he was the Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator (2008-11), winning two national championships.

He was the guy figuring out the best ways to use Mark Ingram Jr., to get Julio Jones the ball and develop quarterback AJ McCarron. If Kirby Smart was Alabama coach Nick Saban’s right-hand man as defensive coordinator, he was on the left side leading the offensive preparation.

Now, as Florida’s first-year head coach, he’s on the other side of it.

“(They’re) as well-prepared as you're ever going to be in staff on both sides of the ball; and not necessarily just prepared for the football X's and O's part, but the expectation of how you go about your business throughout the week to get there; the focus on the detail,” said McElwain, who knows he can’t quite match that yet.

“As I say, we are kind of in the discovery phase a little bit. We're getting there. I just can't tell you how excited we are to be here.”

Alabama is too, but it’s different. Considering what it’s still playing for, all the pressure is on the No. 2 Crimson Tide, with the list of potential distractions nothing short of immense:

Awards

Derrick Henry is the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy and a finalist for the Maxwell and Walter Camp awards for player of the year. He’s also up for the Doak Walker Award for best running back.

Reggie Ragland is a finalist for the Bednarik and Bronko Nagurski awards for best defensive player, along with the Butkus Award for top linebacker.

Defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson is up for the Outland Trophy for best interior lineman while Ryan Kelly is still in the running for for the Rimington Trophy for best center.

“He’s real confident in what he’s doing and should be,” quarterback Jake Coker said. “He’s just got a calm about him that I think cools everybody down and he’s just going to get the job done.”

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Facing former coaches

In addition to McElwain, defensive coordinator Geoff Collins was Alabama’s director of player personnel in 2007. Offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier had the same job with the Crimson Tide in 2012-13, as did defensive line coach Chris Rumph from 2011-13.

Factor in the staffers and there will be a lot of familiar faces on the opposing sideline at the Georgia Dome.

“You always watch and hope that they do well, and you're very proud of them when they do well,” Saban said. “So we're certainly proud of the job that Jim did at Colorado State, as well as what he's done at the University of Florida this year. I think that's the way it is with all the guys out there that have worked for you before.

“You feel like they are a part of your family, so it's not really any different than someone in your family that goes out and has success. You're really happy for them, and you hope that maybe some experience that they gain from being in our program is helping them be more successful now.”

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Coaches leaving

All indications are that Kirby Smart will be the next head coach at Georgia and could be taking some people with him, including strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran.

“Man, he’s done tons of things,” senior defensive lineman D.J. Pettway said about Cochran. “He’s there every day for you. You might not see your position coach every day but you see your strength coach dang near every day. And it’s just good to have his energy around. It teaches you that you have to come with it every day.”

Although nothing has been announced, no one will be doing their new jobs full time until the Crimson Tide’s season is complete.

The draft

Of the teams in the running for the national championship, Alabama probably has the most players who will be selected this year. Moreover, a significant number of juniors could be playing their final games with the Crimson Tide. 

“I feel like at times it can be difficult but luckily I have a great family that does a great job of trying to keep that away from me for now,” junior defensive end Jonathan Allen said. “Personally it’s not a problem for me, but as a team, I feel like we’ve done a good job of not really worrying about that this year.”

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Statistical mismatch

The numbers are comparable when it comes to the defenses, as Alabama is second in the nation in total defense and Florida fifth.

However, with Henry the nation’s leading rusher, Alabama is 51st in total offense, while Florida is 104th.

That’s why, according to OddsShark.com, Alabama is favored by 18 points, the second-largest point spread in SEC Championship Game history. Florida was a 24-point favorite over Arkansas in 1995 and subsequently crushed the Razorbacks 34-3.

Playoff talk

It’s been continual since the committee started putting together its rankings and will go to a whole new level should the Crimson Tide win. 

You get the idea. Alabama has a lot on its plate.

“I think the leadership that we have on our team is outstanding,” junior tight end O.J. Howard. “We have a team meeting every Thursday, players only, and we just talk about, ‘Guys, one game at a time.’ And we lay out what we have to do to accomplish that week to beat this team, to beat that team that we’re facing. The leadership stands up every week and says something that’s very important to everybody. Everybody listens, and without good leadership on the team, you won’t go very far, and this year we have great leadership and it has shown really a lot.”

While many of these things aren’t unique to the Crimson Tide—for example, all eyes will be on undefeated Clemson and Iowa to see how they handle the pressure in their respective conference championship games on Saturday—there’s no doubt that Alabama didn’t handle those things well last year.

After defeating Missouri for the conference crown, it was named the top-seeded team for the inaugural playoffs and was promptly bounced.

It largely overlooked Ohio State, which was using a backup quarterback and a team many thought to be fortunate to be in the playoffs. The Buckeyes beat the Crimson Tide on the lines and ran all over Alabama with Ezekiel Elliott tallying an embarrassing 230 yards.

In 2013, Alabama wasn’t able to rebound from the Kick Six loss at Auburn and was thumped by a hungry Oklahoma team in the Sugar Bowl.

That’s why Saban has been talking so much about Florida’s talent and how it’s been nearly 20 years since the SEC had a repeat champion (Tennessee 1997-98). He knows that during this time of year the team that handles the pressure best is usually the one that comes out on top.

“It's all about how you finish,” Saban said.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Christopher Walsh is a lead SEC college football writer. Follow Christopher on Twitter @WritingWalsh.