Will Alabama and Florida Be The Clash Of Titans

The date is set,  the location known,  Alabama and Florida will once again tangle for the SEC championship.  

It will be a titanic battle between two great teams, but what TV executives and SEC brass are hoping for is a dream match.  Two undefeated SEC teams meeting to decide not only who wins the league title, but which team plays for a national title.

Last year the situation was similar—Florida with a single loss arrived to face an undefeated Alabama squad.  Florida's loss came early, so the winner was definitely going to the national title game.  This year it may not be the case. 

If either team slips up in the next three weeks, they won't play for the title even with a win in Atlanta.  Several undefeated teams remain still, and they could easily stake a claim for the crown. 

Losing late is normally a deal breaker.  LSU lost late two years ago, but weaker teams atop the BCS allowed them to slip into the title game. 

LSU won the game, of course, but half the SEC could have beaten Ohio State that year.  The BCS system has been far from perfect in picking the best.

What does each team need to do to make this dream match happen? 

It's worth noting that, neither Alabama nor Florida are unbeatable.  Both teams have come within a field goal of losing this year and neither team is blowing the opposition out of the water.

Florida's road to Atlanta includes a road Trip to South Carolina.   On the surface this  shouldn't be a problem as Spurrier's boys have taken it on the chin the last two weeks. 

Steve Spurrier does have a history with Florida and has taken the Gators to the edge more than once.  For the first time in his South Carolina tenure Spurrier has a quarterback playing well.  Florida should not take them lightly.

Meanwhile over in Mississippi, Alabama will be road tripping as well.  The Mississippi State Bulldogs have to be the surprise team of the SEC this year.   Everyone expected a train wreck in Starkville but first year head coach Dan Mullins has done a remarkable job making this team competitive. 

In most years this would be called a trap game, since Alabama just defeated LSU to win the SEC west and now heads to Mississippi State, but its hard to consider this as a trap.  The fact is, Mississippi State is simply too good. 

Unless the film equipment is broken in Tuscaloosa the players should see that the Bulldogs have been in every game since a blowout loss to Auburn.  They even had a lead on Florida in the third quarter and took LSU to the final buzzer.

If this game were at Tuscaloosa I doubt many would worry but being in Starkville Alabama cannot afford to take state lightly.  Alabama needs to put the clamps on their running game early and avoid the turnovers state will need to pull the upset.

If both teams make it through this weekend the only real question the following week is whether Alabama and Florida come out of the game healthy. 

Florida faces a two win Florida International while Alabama faces a fairly good but completely out manned Tennessee Chattanooga squad.  Both teams will win handily.

Finally, both Alabama and Florida play rivalry games. 

For Florida that rival is Florida State.  This was once a prime time premier game of the week sort of  thing but this is not the Florida State of old.

When Urban Mayer arrived at Florida his youth and fresh spread offense energized recruiting for the Gators.  In comparison to the legendary, but aging, Bobby Bowden  Florida State seems to be running in mud.   Mayer began vacuuming up the best talent in Florida leaving only scraps for the rest. 

It didn't end there,  Alabama hired Nick Saban and with Georgia's Mark Richt Florida State was getting squeezed for talent.  Adding NCAA troubles recently has not helped the situation.  At present the  The program appears to be completely adrift after a humiliating defeat at the hands of Clemson.   Many are calling for Bowden to step down.

Rivalry games should never be taken lightly, but on their best day Florida State just does not look capable of taking down a Florida team with its sights set on the big trophy.  Only a letdown by Florida could even put them in this game.

Alabama's situation is similar,  but Auburn is not in disarray.  Auburn coach Gene Chizik wasn't given much chance when he arrived at Auburn but guiding them to a 5-0 start and upsetting Mississippi a few weeks back most will say he has done better than expected.

The Tigers are streaky,  If they get their pass rush going and protect quarterback Chris Todd they can be a very dangerous team.  Todd throws a nice deep ball and his receivers will go after the ball aggressively.  Runningback Ben Tate is as good as any rusher you'll see. 

The Tigers ability to tangle with the tide depends heavily on health.  The Tigers are dangerously thin on defense.   Questionable recruiting and a number of injuries on defense could prove fatal.   

Auburn can be explosive offensively but they lack the talent to overcome mistakes and turnovers.  Alabama's veteran heavy defense has a habit of forcing mistakes, even from normally mistake free offenses.

Alabama and Florida both have their work cut out.  It won't be easy to keep the unblemished record but if they do,  They will get to be part of a game that could be remembered for a generation.  That after all is what every kid wants to be a part of when they sign that letter of intent.