College Football Week 5 Scores: Alabama Proves Its Dominance vs. Florida

As each ranked team faces up against No. 3 Alabama every week, the Crimson Tide calmly and efficiently knock them down.

Penn State? Overrated. Arkansas? Mere child's play. Florida? So much for playing in "The Swamp" being a challenge.

Headed into the season, Arkansas figured to be Alabama's second-toughest challenge, behind only LSU. But the reality is, the Gators actually had more going for them against Alabama than Arkansas ever did.

For one, Florida matched up much better. The Gators didn't have the passing attack the Razorbacks did, but they had a better running game. You know, the kind of running game that is supposed to keep the ball out of Alabama's hands for a longer period of time.

The Gators also had a rush defense that was allowing just 2.1 yards per carry, which figured to make life more difficult for star running back Trent Richardson.

It's because of these reasons, in addition to playing the game in Florida, that I believed Florida would put up a mighty fight against the Crimson Tide.

Then Alabama proved just how dominant it really was.

Saturday's game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium was laughable. Not only did the Crimson Tide hold the ball for nearly 10 minutes longer against Florida, Richardson made the Gators' rush defense look like the parting of the Red Sea.

He juked, he spun, he sprinted and he dived his way to 181 rushing yards and two touchdowns, averaging a whopping 6.2 yards per carry against a Florida defense that could never have been prepared for what awaited it.

Sure, Florida starting quarterback John Brantley left the game with a knee injury in the second quarter, but the reality is he wouldn't have been able to lead the Gators over Alabama. Only Tim Tebow would have had a chance on Saturday.

Oh yeah, and remember that vaunted running game Florida had?

Well, that vanished, along with Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps. Demps rushed three times for four yards. Rainey rushed 11 times for four yards. Freshman quarterback Jeff Driskel led the team in rushing with six carries for 18 yards. That's what going up against the best defense in the country does to you.

Florida's 10 points against Alabama on Saturday was actually an accomplishment. The Crimson Tide has been allowing 8.0 points per game coming into the contest.

If we didn't already know Alabama was a contender for a national championship coming into "The Swamp," we do now.

The whole country is eagerly awaiting Alabama vs. LSU.