Tide Takes On Gator Beast For SEC Title

University of Alabama football fans are just one step away from their beloved Crimson Tide football team (12-0, 8-0 SEC) doing something they have longed for since the 1992 season; playing for another national championship. Standing in the way at Saturday’s Southeastern Conference Championship Game in Atlanta is an awful large beast, the Florida Gators (11-1, 7-1 SEC).

Alabamahas been one of the most under appreciated and least talked about top ranked teams in awhile. Granted the Big 12 controversy between Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech has hogged all the attention.

The Tide’s lack of flash and star power doesn’t compare with the quick strike, crowd pleasing offense of Florida, the SEC darling of many national talking heads. Because they don’t put 40 points a game on the board each week they aren’t considered by many to be a worthy number one.

The Tide doesn’t run the spread offense (at least not very often) and pile up the yards and points like Florida. Nick Saban’s bunch is a throw back; mainly plodding along with time consuming drives that typically end with a score. And many may have not noticed that Alabama’s defense is statistically equal to or better than Florida in almost ever category.

It will take the Tide defense’s best effort of the year to slow down the vaunted Florida juggernaut sparked by defending Heisman Trophy quarterback Tim Tebow and a veritable plethora of speedy backs and receivers (even if Percy Harvin can’t play).

A lot must happen for Alabamato have a chance to win. The D-line will need to apply pressure on Tebow while not letting him run past them and pick up big yards with his feet, the linebackers will need to keep containment and the secondary will need to play the ball and not the man.

It will be imperative for Bama to attempt to make the Gators one dimensional by stopping the run. Everyone looks at Florida’s passing game with awe but probably hasn’t noticed the Gators actually rushed for 237 yards per game this year, 25 more yards per game on the ground than through the air. That is 36 yards per game more than UA’s vaunted ground game.

The SEC East Champions have scored 171 more points than the SEC West Champions  with a surprisingly balanced attack.

UF is the first team in SEC history to win six straight league games by 28 points or more and has scored 42 points or more in its last seven games. The Gators have scored on 53 of 58 trips into the red zone this year.

Bama fans should realize the Gators WILL score against Alabama. The key for the Tide is to hold Florida well below their 46.3 points per game scoring average by limiting the number of Florida offensive positions.

The Bama defense could get a big lift from the Tide offense if UA QB John Parker Wilson et al will continue a ball control game that has kept opposing offenses on the sideline and given UA a big edge in time of possession and number of plays. They will have to do it against a Gator defense that has allowed only 147 (12.2 p/game) points in 12 games. UA will need to continue to take care of the ball too as Florida leads the nation in turnover margin at +21.

Yes, Ole Miss upset Florida31-30 at “The Swamp” and Bama edged the Rebels 24-20 in Tuscaloosa.

But it was after the loss to the Rebs that an embarrassed and emotional Tebow (who still threw for over 300 yards) vowed, “You have never seen any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of this season and you will never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of the season, and you’ll never see a team play harder than we will the rest of the season.”

The Gators have lived up to his pledge, having never being tested the rest of the regular season.

Bama will need to apply extreme pressure on Tebow like Ole Miss did, although maybe not blitzing on almost every down like the Rebs. A critical key to the game is not letting Tebow beat Alabamadeep. UF’s quick strike ability has a propensity to panic teams; thus the need for Bama to win the time-of-possession battle.

Like most games, this one will be won or lost in the trenches. If you want to get a tip on whether Bama can win or lose, just watch the Tide’s defense line play against the Gator’s massive offensive line.

If Mount Cody and company can shed blockers quickly and fill the gaps then Bama has a real chance. On the offensive side of the ball, if the Tide’s offensive line continues to give QB John Parker Wilson time to make his reads and keep the pressure from rattling him then Bama’s offense could indeed make things interesting.

If the Tide offensive line does give Wilsonthe time; he can hit on short and intermediate range passes with consistency. Bama Coach Nick Saban may opt to replicate his Clemson game plan where he used freshman receiving sensation Julio Jones as a decoy on deep routes to draw double coverage and allow the tight ends to catch the ball on shorter routes over the middle.

Most “experts” are not giving Alabama a chance in the game. The reasons run the gambit from Floridahaving a Heisman winning QB versus Bama’s average at best QB to UF having more veterans and depth, better linemen and more team speed. There are also intangibles on Florida’s side such as more experience and confidence in big games.

Let’s weigh some of the plusses and minuses that have led to some pundits picking against the Tide.

On the minus side are the following facts:

1. Unlike Florida, no current Bama player has ever been in a bright national spotlight like the one that shines on the SEC Title Game, much less one that for all practical purposes is a defacto national semi-final match for a spot in the BCS Championship Game.

2. What looked like a rough schedule in the pre-season ended up being somewhat weaker than expected. Bama benefited from Clemson, Georgia, Arkansas, Tennessee, LSU and Auburnall proving to be less than stellar in 2008. Some believe this didn’t prepare Bama to face a team the caliber of Florida.

3. The Tide has plenty of young talent but is still a year or possibly two away from being totally back to being the national powerhouse all Bama fans want.

4. A thin Bama squad has survived by not being victimized by lengthy or large numbers of major injuries like some other teams. A couple of critical player losses early in the game could spell certain doom.

On the plus side for the Tide are the following facts:

1. Nick Saban is every bit the coach Urban Meyer is, if not more. He will have a solid game plan and is equal to Meyer in motivational tactics.

2. Bama is on a mission to return the Tide to greatness and by this time of the year the cadre of talented young freshmen really aren’t freshmen anymore.

3. Bama has beaten Florida three of the last five times they have faced the Gators.

4. UA is familiar with the Georgia Dome, having played there in a bowl type atmosphere against Clemson to begin the season.

5. History has shown a lesser talented Bama team can upset a heavily favored opponent on the national stage (see Miami Hurricanes in 1993 Sugar Bowl).

There are other factors to consider such as Bama having a slight edge in the kicking game, Florida’s young secondary and which team is most emotionally ready to play.

On paper this looks to be the most exciting and best conference championship game ever. Bama is the underdog, a role Tide fans relish. There are numerous similarities to the 1992 Crimson Tide’s improbable run to an undefeated season, SEC Title Game win (against Florida) and National Championship win against heavily favored Miami.

The Tide was an underdog, they had a plodding offense, an average QB that didn’t make mistakes to get you beat, a great offensive line and an over-powering defense. But most of all it was a Bama team that had confidence every time it stepped on the field.

Could it be deja vu all over again?