ATLANTA — Back in those dog days of August, when the
players were just reporting for two-a-days and no school is beyond dreaming of a
title, this was the game everyone has circled on the schedule.
Before anyone had taken a snap, Florida and Alabama had
already been penciled in for a rematch in the Southeastern Conference
championship game.
Well here they are, having survived the gauntlet of 12
grueling games apiece and three months of expectations, scrutiny and pressure
with not one slip-up between them.
The Gators vs. the Crimson Tide.
No. 1 vs. No. 2.
The game EVERYONE wanted to see.
"It's always in the back of your mind," Alabama
linebacker Rolando McClain said. "We want that rematch. They put us out of our
run for the national championship last year, and we haven't forgotten."
This is the second year in a row the teams have been 1-2
when they clashed for the SEC championship, though the roles were reversed in
2008. Alabama was undefeated and sitting on top, while Florida had clawed its
way back up to second spot after an upset loss to Ole Miss.
Both teams made it through unscathed this time, marking
one of those rare times in sports when not one, but two teams do everything that
was projected of them.
Win big. Win close. Win them all.
"We had a plan to go to the SEC championship. That's the
whole goal. That's the mindset for the whole team," Florida defensive back Joe
Haden said. "Now we're all sitting here undefeated, (playing for the) SEC
championship. We win this, we go on to the national championship."
Basically, it's a national semifinal game, a most
enticing crumb thrown to all those proponents of a playoff system. The winner
heads to Pasadena for the BCS championship. The loser likely to the Sugar Bowl.
There's plenty of motivation on both sides. Florida is
going for its second straight national title and third in four years, the
perfect capper for Tim Tebow's brilliant career. Alabama is eager to make up for
a 31-20 loss to the Gators in last year's SEC championship game, its perfect
season snatched away in the final 15 minutes.
The Tide went to the fourth quarter clinging to a
three-point lead, but Tebow rallied Florida to a pair of touchdowns.
"We always pride ourselves on dominating the fourth
quarter," McClain said. "This defense, if everybody does their job, the defense
takes care of itself. If everybody would have just done what they had to do in
the fourth quarter instead of getting caught up in the moment, I think we would
have been fine."
No complaints about the defense on either side this
season.
Florida has allowed the fewest points in the nation (9.8
a game), Alabama the second fewest (10.8). The Gators also have given up the
fewest yards (233.1), the Tide is right there with them in the No. 3 spot
(233.9). From Brandon Spikes to Terrence "Mount" Cody, it's hard to envision
either team scoring very many points.
"Really good athletes all over the place," Haden said.
Then again, how many times do a pair of Heisman Trophy
contenders get a chance to go head-to-head at this point in the season?
Florida will send out Tebow, its too-good-to-be-true
quarterback. Alabama will counter with Mark Ingram, a dynamic runner with more
than 1,400 yards on the ground. This will be like a three-hour-plus campaign
commercial, both players making their final pitches for college football's top
individual award.
Tebow already has one Heisman, becoming the first
sophomore to capture the trophy two years ago. If he can win again as a senior,
he'll join Archie Griffin as the only two-time winner of the award.
Amazingly, given its championship-filled, Bear-ingrained
history, Alabama has never produced a Heisman winner. Ingram could be one big
performance away from ending that drought, though he might not be at full
strength. In last week's nail-biting win over Auburn, he was held to 30 yards
rushing and went out on the final drive with a hip injury.
Tide coach Nick Saban said Friday that his star runner
was able to practice this week with no major problems and should be good to go.
Florida took a big hit during the week that had nothing
to do with anything on the field. Junior end Carlos Dunlap, one of the team's
best pass rushers and defensive MVP of last season's BCS title game, was charged
with driving under the influence early Tuesday. He won't be allowed to play
against Alabama.
"He is devastated," said coach Urban Meyer, who met with
Dunlap and his family after the player's arrest. "He made the comment he didn't
want to hurt his teammates. A very poor decision."
In a part of the country where college football is king,
Florida and Alabama are the gold standard. With a heritage that ranges from Bear
Bryant in that houndstooth hat to Steve Spurrier throwing it all over the field
in the "Fun 'n' Gun," these are two programs where championships are expected,
losing just isn't tolerated.
The Tide's success is more long term – it won the very
first SEC title in 1933 and now stands at 20, the bulk of them won during
Bryant's quarter-century reign. Alabama's last SEC title was 10 long years ago,
and the faithful are getting restless for another.
"We sort of know that the expectations at the University
of Alabama are relatively high," Saban deadpanned.
Florida has been the SEC's dominant team since Spurrier
guided the school to its first conference title in 1991. The Gators now have
nine trophies in their case.
"The history is phenomenal," Meyer said. "When you start
mentioning those names and you start talking about the Alabama Crimson Tide and
Florida Gators playing for the Southeastern Conference for the right to play for
the national championship, you're probably lying if you're not overwhelmed by
the whole deal."