SEC Championship preview
Just like old times, huh? When the SEC went to a championship game in 1992, it was Florida and Alabama who met with the league title on the line the first three years and four of the first five times.
In 1992 and ?93, the SEC Championship Game was played at Legion Field in Birmingham. The first game may have been the best ever. UF was an 8-3 team coming off a blowout loss at FSU, while Alabama was unbeaten with its eyes set on a Sugar-Bowl matchup against Miami for the national championship.
Steve Spurrier saw something on film that week. He found what might have been the only vulnerability in one of the premier defenses in NCAA history. Spurrier knew ?Bama was going to come after Shane Matthews all day and he also knew that the Tide was getting plenty of pressure with its front four all year.
So in his typical draw-it-up-in-the-dirt style, Spurrier created a ball play he thought would work. And it sure as hell did. On nearly a dozen occasions, Spurrier called what was in essence a draw play for All-SEC running back Errict Rhett.
But for this particular play that worked all night against the Tide, Spurrier would have Matthews do a straight dropback as if looking downfield for receivers, only to then do an under-handed pass to Rhett. It wasn?t a screen pass or a shuttle pass, it was a Spurrier creation.
With Alabama?s ends furiously rushing upfield thinking pass constantly, the short middle was left open and Rhett bullied his way for yardage all night. A touchdown midway through the fourth quarter brought the Gators even with ?Bama at 21-21. Not only that, but UF got a stop and had the ball deep in its own territory with a chance to mount a game-winning drive in the last two minutes.
And then it happened. In Alabama lore, it?s called The Antonio Langham Play. Whether or not it was a bad route or a monumental mistake by Matthews is up for debate. (I?ve been told by several former UF players that Spurrier stuck up for his three-time All-SEC QB by blaming it on the WR, when in fact Matthews was the one at fault). Whatever the case, Langham made a great read, jumped the slant route for an interception and raced 27 yards to paydirt.
And like that, it was game, set, match. Alabama 28, Florida 21. The Tide spanked the ?Canes for the national title a month later in New Orleans.
In ?93, the Gators exacted revenge with a 28-13 win as four-point favorites. Terry Dean and Jack Jackson were the catalysts in the UF victory.
The game shifted to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta in 1994. One week removed from ?The Choke at Doak? (a 31-31 tie at FSU when UF led 31-3 early in the final stanza), the Gators knocked off undefeated Alabama by a 24-23 count. However, the Tide took the cash as a seven-point underdog.
In ?96, the Gators rolled to a 45-30 victory over Alabama as 14 ?-point ?chalk.? On that same day, Texas stunned Nebraska as a 20 ?-point underdog, clearing the way for Florida to get a rematch against FSU in the Sugar Bowl. UF would take advantage by trouncing FSU 52-20 to win its first national title.
Three years would pass before UF and ?Bama got back together in Atlanta. When they did, Mike DuBose enjoyed the finest hour of an otherwise dreadful tenure, leading the Tide to a 34-7 blowout victory.
Eight years and subpar coaches like Mike Shula and Ron Zook would come and go before UF and ?Bama reconvened at the Ga. Dome. That was last year and we?ll get to that result shortly, but the point is that this second straight encounter that?ll take place Saturday might be one of many more to come between Nick Saban and Urban Meyer at this same venue.
Both coaches are in their prime. Both have their programs thriving. Both could retire tomorrow and go down as legends. And most importantly, neither looks like they?re leaving Gainesville or Tuscaloosa anytime soon.
And, oh yeah, both are sporting unbeaten records in 2009. The winner will advance to Pasadena to play for the BCS title, while the loser will go to the Sugar Bowl to most likely face TCU or Boise State. Seriously, could the stakes be any higher?
Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Florida (12-0 straight up, 6-5 against the spread) as a five-point favorite with a total of 43. As of early Friday afternoon, most sports books had the Gators favored by five with the total reduced to 41. Gamblers can back ?Bama to win outright for a plus-180 return (risk $100 to win $180).
Alabama (12-0 SU, 7-5 ATS) is coming off a 26-21 win at Auburn as a 10-point road favorite. The Tide trailed nearly the entire game, only to rally and take the lead with 1:24 left on Greg McElroy?s four-yard touchdown pass to Roy Upchurch.
With Heisman candidate Mark Ingram limited to a pedestrian 30 yards on 16 carries, McElroy stepped up and completed 21-of-31 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.
McElroy?s play was pivotal. The junior, who had never started a game until this year?s opener against Va. Tech in the Ga. Dome, played extremely well early in the season. Then in mid-season games against Tennessee, Ole Miss and LSU, McElroy seemingly regressed.
He had Julio Jones open for a couple of easy TD passes in the first half against LSU, only to badly misfire. But like the game against UT and Auburn last week, the Tide found a way to get the ?W? against Les Miles? bunch. Since then, McElroy has thrown five TD passes without an interception.
For the season, he has completed 60.1 percent of his throws for a 16/4 touchdown-interception ratio.
During Thursday?s interview on the Radio, we had Paul Finebaum on as a guest to discuss the game. Finebaum, a long-time columnist for the Mobile Press-Register who hosts one of the most popular radio shows in America based out of Birmingham, said this (1-hour mark, 12/3 show) about McElroy, ?I did a pre-game show before the Iron Bowl and said the one thing Alabama doesn?t want to do is force McElroy to go win the game in the final minutes.
?But that?s exactly what happened and I think that?s significant. He?s knows he?s capable of doing that now. McElroy has been a tough guy to wrap your hands around. He was horrible against Tennessee and was a joke vs. LSU, but he seems to be playing well coming into this game.?
The other quarterback, some dude that wears No. 15 for Florida and has led the program to a pair of national titles already, is also in a groove as these schools come to Atlanta. In his career finale at The Swamp last week, Tim Tebow connected on 17-of-21 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. He also rushed 15 times for 90 yards and two more TDs.
The Gators trounced FSU by a 37-10 score as 25-point favorites, but the game wasn?t nearly as close as the final score indicated. Meyer emptied the bench late in the third quarter to keep his starters healthy.
Tebow has completed 66.6 percent of his passes for 2,166 yards with a 17/4 TD-INT ratio. He has also rushed for 796 yards and 13 TDs. For his career, Tebow has an incredible 67/11 TD-INT ratio with 43 rushing touchdowns as well.
UF is dealing with a major distraction this week. Junior All-American DE Carlos Dunlap was arrested Tuesday morning and charged with DUI. Later that day, Meyer announced that Dunlap was suspended indefinitely. Translation: He?s definitely ?out? against ?Bama but might possibly be able to return for a bowl game.
Dunlap was ranked No. 3 on Mel Kiper?s Big Board last week for this spring?s draft, so that gives you an idea of the type of talent the Gators will be missing. Dunlap was named the Defensive MVP of last year?s win over Oklahoma in the BCS Championship Game. He also led the SEC in sacks in 2008.
Speaking of Oklahoma and its head coach Bob Stoops, Finebaum mentioned on the Power Hours how Stoops and Saban hung out in Tuscaloosa for several hours one day this past summer.
?I get the sense that they spent most of that day watching film on Florida and talking about a way to slow down Tebow,? Finebaum said. ?Schemes will only get you so far but if there?s a coach that can find a strategy to slow down Tebow, I think it?s Saban. He?s certainly the X-factor in this game.?
Another potential swing-factor is special teams, a battle both of these teams usually win against their opponents. Alabama has Javier Arenas, an explosive returner who can go the distance on any given touch. Arenas needs 109 punt-return yards to become the SEC?s all-time leader in that category.
UF has Brandon James, who came into 2009 ranked third in the SEC in career punt-return yardage. James hasn?t been able to bust loose as often this year as in season?s past but like Arenas, he?s capable of taking it the house at any time.
?Arenas and James are both capable of making a big play and that is something that could distort this game,? Bruce Marshall of The Gold Sheet said on the Radio. ?Another thing is Mark Ingram?s injury (hip pointer, ?probable?). I don?t think Alabama can win if he?s not a big factor. If it?s all on McElroy?s shoulders, that?s a bad thing for the Crimson Tide.?
If Ingram is not at full speed, Alabama does have very capable replacements in Trent Richardson and Roy Upchurch. Even the Tide?s No. 4 RB, Terry Grant, has more than 1,000 career rushing yards to his credit.
Dating back to last season?s home loss to Ole Miss, Florida has won 22 consecutive games, compiling a 15-5 spread record during that stretch. Of course, one of those victories came over Alabama in last year's SEC Championship Game. The Tide led 20-17 going into the third quarter, but Tebow threw a pair of TD passes in the final stanza to lift his team to a 31-20 win as a 10-point favorite. The 51 combined points stayed 'under' the 54-point total.
UF hasn?t been a single-digit favorite all year long. The Gators? shortest ?chalk? spot was when they were favored by 10 in a 13-3 win at LSU. With that said, Florida owns an 8-1 spread record in its last nine single-digit ?chalk? spots dating back to a 38-28 win over Arkansas as a three-point favorite in the 2006 SEC title game.
?Bama has only been an underdog four times on Saban?s watch, compiling a 2-1-1 spread record. This is the first ?dog situation for the Tide in 2009.
Kickoff is slated for 4:00 p.m. Eastern on CBS.
--The ?under? is 8-3 overall for Florida, 6-5-1 for Alabama. The ?under? is 8-1 in UF?s last nine SEC games, 8-2-1 in ?Bama?s last 11 SEC contests.
--Florida starting LB A.J. Jones missed the FSU game and is ?out? this week with a knee injury. Jones is expected to return to the field for the Gators? bowl game.
--Finebaum?s prediction on the Power Hours: Alabama 24, Florida 23. Meanwhile, Marshall likes the Gators to win and cover.
--For those with an ESPN Insider subscription, you can check out Chad Millman's preview of the Florida-Alabama game that has quotes from myself, Paul Stone of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Ed Salmons, bookmaker at The Las Vegas Hilton.
Just like old times, huh? When the SEC went to a championship game in 1992, it was Florida and Alabama who met with the league title on the line the first three years and four of the first five times.
In 1992 and ?93, the SEC Championship Game was played at Legion Field in Birmingham. The first game may have been the best ever. UF was an 8-3 team coming off a blowout loss at FSU, while Alabama was unbeaten with its eyes set on a Sugar-Bowl matchup against Miami for the national championship.
Steve Spurrier saw something on film that week. He found what might have been the only vulnerability in one of the premier defenses in NCAA history. Spurrier knew ?Bama was going to come after Shane Matthews all day and he also knew that the Tide was getting plenty of pressure with its front four all year.
So in his typical draw-it-up-in-the-dirt style, Spurrier created a ball play he thought would work. And it sure as hell did. On nearly a dozen occasions, Spurrier called what was in essence a draw play for All-SEC running back Errict Rhett.
But for this particular play that worked all night against the Tide, Spurrier would have Matthews do a straight dropback as if looking downfield for receivers, only to then do an under-handed pass to Rhett. It wasn?t a screen pass or a shuttle pass, it was a Spurrier creation.
With Alabama?s ends furiously rushing upfield thinking pass constantly, the short middle was left open and Rhett bullied his way for yardage all night. A touchdown midway through the fourth quarter brought the Gators even with ?Bama at 21-21. Not only that, but UF got a stop and had the ball deep in its own territory with a chance to mount a game-winning drive in the last two minutes.
And then it happened. In Alabama lore, it?s called The Antonio Langham Play. Whether or not it was a bad route or a monumental mistake by Matthews is up for debate. (I?ve been told by several former UF players that Spurrier stuck up for his three-time All-SEC QB by blaming it on the WR, when in fact Matthews was the one at fault). Whatever the case, Langham made a great read, jumped the slant route for an interception and raced 27 yards to paydirt.
And like that, it was game, set, match. Alabama 28, Florida 21. The Tide spanked the ?Canes for the national title a month later in New Orleans.
In ?93, the Gators exacted revenge with a 28-13 win as four-point favorites. Terry Dean and Jack Jackson were the catalysts in the UF victory.
The game shifted to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta in 1994. One week removed from ?The Choke at Doak? (a 31-31 tie at FSU when UF led 31-3 early in the final stanza), the Gators knocked off undefeated Alabama by a 24-23 count. However, the Tide took the cash as a seven-point underdog.
In ?96, the Gators rolled to a 45-30 victory over Alabama as 14 ?-point ?chalk.? On that same day, Texas stunned Nebraska as a 20 ?-point underdog, clearing the way for Florida to get a rematch against FSU in the Sugar Bowl. UF would take advantage by trouncing FSU 52-20 to win its first national title.
Three years would pass before UF and ?Bama got back together in Atlanta. When they did, Mike DuBose enjoyed the finest hour of an otherwise dreadful tenure, leading the Tide to a 34-7 blowout victory.
Eight years and subpar coaches like Mike Shula and Ron Zook would come and go before UF and ?Bama reconvened at the Ga. Dome. That was last year and we?ll get to that result shortly, but the point is that this second straight encounter that?ll take place Saturday might be one of many more to come between Nick Saban and Urban Meyer at this same venue.
Both coaches are in their prime. Both have their programs thriving. Both could retire tomorrow and go down as legends. And most importantly, neither looks like they?re leaving Gainesville or Tuscaloosa anytime soon.
And, oh yeah, both are sporting unbeaten records in 2009. The winner will advance to Pasadena to play for the BCS title, while the loser will go to the Sugar Bowl to most likely face TCU or Boise State. Seriously, could the stakes be any higher?
Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Florida (12-0 straight up, 6-5 against the spread) as a five-point favorite with a total of 43. As of early Friday afternoon, most sports books had the Gators favored by five with the total reduced to 41. Gamblers can back ?Bama to win outright for a plus-180 return (risk $100 to win $180).
Alabama (12-0 SU, 7-5 ATS) is coming off a 26-21 win at Auburn as a 10-point road favorite. The Tide trailed nearly the entire game, only to rally and take the lead with 1:24 left on Greg McElroy?s four-yard touchdown pass to Roy Upchurch.
With Heisman candidate Mark Ingram limited to a pedestrian 30 yards on 16 carries, McElroy stepped up and completed 21-of-31 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.
McElroy?s play was pivotal. The junior, who had never started a game until this year?s opener against Va. Tech in the Ga. Dome, played extremely well early in the season. Then in mid-season games against Tennessee, Ole Miss and LSU, McElroy seemingly regressed.
He had Julio Jones open for a couple of easy TD passes in the first half against LSU, only to badly misfire. But like the game against UT and Auburn last week, the Tide found a way to get the ?W? against Les Miles? bunch. Since then, McElroy has thrown five TD passes without an interception.
For the season, he has completed 60.1 percent of his throws for a 16/4 touchdown-interception ratio.
During Thursday?s interview on the Radio, we had Paul Finebaum on as a guest to discuss the game. Finebaum, a long-time columnist for the Mobile Press-Register who hosts one of the most popular radio shows in America based out of Birmingham, said this (1-hour mark, 12/3 show) about McElroy, ?I did a pre-game show before the Iron Bowl and said the one thing Alabama doesn?t want to do is force McElroy to go win the game in the final minutes.
?But that?s exactly what happened and I think that?s significant. He?s knows he?s capable of doing that now. McElroy has been a tough guy to wrap your hands around. He was horrible against Tennessee and was a joke vs. LSU, but he seems to be playing well coming into this game.?
The other quarterback, some dude that wears No. 15 for Florida and has led the program to a pair of national titles already, is also in a groove as these schools come to Atlanta. In his career finale at The Swamp last week, Tim Tebow connected on 17-of-21 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. He also rushed 15 times for 90 yards and two more TDs.
The Gators trounced FSU by a 37-10 score as 25-point favorites, but the game wasn?t nearly as close as the final score indicated. Meyer emptied the bench late in the third quarter to keep his starters healthy.
Tebow has completed 66.6 percent of his passes for 2,166 yards with a 17/4 TD-INT ratio. He has also rushed for 796 yards and 13 TDs. For his career, Tebow has an incredible 67/11 TD-INT ratio with 43 rushing touchdowns as well.
UF is dealing with a major distraction this week. Junior All-American DE Carlos Dunlap was arrested Tuesday morning and charged with DUI. Later that day, Meyer announced that Dunlap was suspended indefinitely. Translation: He?s definitely ?out? against ?Bama but might possibly be able to return for a bowl game.
Dunlap was ranked No. 3 on Mel Kiper?s Big Board last week for this spring?s draft, so that gives you an idea of the type of talent the Gators will be missing. Dunlap was named the Defensive MVP of last year?s win over Oklahoma in the BCS Championship Game. He also led the SEC in sacks in 2008.
Speaking of Oklahoma and its head coach Bob Stoops, Finebaum mentioned on the Power Hours how Stoops and Saban hung out in Tuscaloosa for several hours one day this past summer.
?I get the sense that they spent most of that day watching film on Florida and talking about a way to slow down Tebow,? Finebaum said. ?Schemes will only get you so far but if there?s a coach that can find a strategy to slow down Tebow, I think it?s Saban. He?s certainly the X-factor in this game.?
Another potential swing-factor is special teams, a battle both of these teams usually win against their opponents. Alabama has Javier Arenas, an explosive returner who can go the distance on any given touch. Arenas needs 109 punt-return yards to become the SEC?s all-time leader in that category.
UF has Brandon James, who came into 2009 ranked third in the SEC in career punt-return yardage. James hasn?t been able to bust loose as often this year as in season?s past but like Arenas, he?s capable of taking it the house at any time.
?Arenas and James are both capable of making a big play and that is something that could distort this game,? Bruce Marshall of The Gold Sheet said on the Radio. ?Another thing is Mark Ingram?s injury (hip pointer, ?probable?). I don?t think Alabama can win if he?s not a big factor. If it?s all on McElroy?s shoulders, that?s a bad thing for the Crimson Tide.?
If Ingram is not at full speed, Alabama does have very capable replacements in Trent Richardson and Roy Upchurch. Even the Tide?s No. 4 RB, Terry Grant, has more than 1,000 career rushing yards to his credit.
Dating back to last season?s home loss to Ole Miss, Florida has won 22 consecutive games, compiling a 15-5 spread record during that stretch. Of course, one of those victories came over Alabama in last year's SEC Championship Game. The Tide led 20-17 going into the third quarter, but Tebow threw a pair of TD passes in the final stanza to lift his team to a 31-20 win as a 10-point favorite. The 51 combined points stayed 'under' the 54-point total.
UF hasn?t been a single-digit favorite all year long. The Gators? shortest ?chalk? spot was when they were favored by 10 in a 13-3 win at LSU. With that said, Florida owns an 8-1 spread record in its last nine single-digit ?chalk? spots dating back to a 38-28 win over Arkansas as a three-point favorite in the 2006 SEC title game.
?Bama has only been an underdog four times on Saban?s watch, compiling a 2-1-1 spread record. This is the first ?dog situation for the Tide in 2009.
Kickoff is slated for 4:00 p.m. Eastern on CBS.
--The ?under? is 8-3 overall for Florida, 6-5-1 for Alabama. The ?under? is 8-1 in UF?s last nine SEC games, 8-2-1 in ?Bama?s last 11 SEC contests.
--Florida starting LB A.J. Jones missed the FSU game and is ?out? this week with a knee injury. Jones is expected to return to the field for the Gators? bowl game.
--Finebaum?s prediction on the Power Hours: Alabama 24, Florida 23. Meanwhile, Marshall likes the Gators to win and cover.
--For those with an ESPN Insider subscription, you can check out Chad Millman's preview of the Florida-Alabama game that has quotes from myself, Paul Stone of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Ed Salmons, bookmaker at The Las Vegas Hilton.
