SEC Football

SEC Championship Has More Than Pride At Stake

By Sports Network

The showdown that college football fans have anticipated for weeks will finally take place at the Georgia Dome on Saturday afternoon, as the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide will take on the second- ranked Florida Gators for the SEC Championship and a trip to the national title game.

Alabama is 12-0 for the first time in school history, and the team is fresh off a 36-0 thrashing of rival Auburn in the annual Iron Bowl. That shutout was the first by the Tide over the Tigers since 1992, and the 36-point margin of victory was the Iron Bowl's largest since 'Bama beat Auburn in 1962 by a 38-0 final. Nick Saban needed only two years to restore the program to national powerhouse status, and he hopes to win a second national title, a feat that he accomplished for the first time as the leader of the LSU program in 2003.

"We are proud of our team, our players, and our coaching staff who have done a phenomenal job throughout the season, and we have one more challenge left against a great opponent," said Saban after the win over Auburn.

While the Crimson Tide has won the SEC a staggering total of 21 times, the last title came back in 1999.

Florida is just two years removed from a national title, and Urban Meyer has built a model program in Gainesville. The Gators are 11-1 overall and have posted eight consecutive victories by 28 or more points since suffering their lone loss to Ole Miss back in late September. Last weekend, the team cruised past Florida State in a 45-15 final in Tallahassee. Florida is aiming for its eighth conference championship this weekend.

While Alabama owns a 21-13 series advantage over Florida, the Gators won the most recent meeting in a 28-13 final in 2006.

It is true that Alabama isn't nearly as explosive offensively as Florida or some of the other top teams in the nation. The Crimson Tide are averaging an unspectacular 370.8 total ypg, but they are scoring 32.1 ppg and possess a tremendous ground attack. To be specific, Alabama is generating 201.5 rushing ypg on an average of 4.8 yards per attempt, and 30 of the team's 40 offensive touchdowns have come on the ground.

Rather than rely on the talents of just one tailback, 'Bama has two skilled runners in the fold. Glenn Coffee has been tremendous, racking up 1,235 yards and nine scores while averaging 6.2 ypc. As for Mark Ingram, he has found the end zone 11 times as a runner to go along with 681 yards.

While quarterback John Parker Wilson isn't asked to carry the offense with his arm, the veteran is more than capable of making plays. He has completed 58.6 percent of his passes for 1,909 yards and nine touchdowns against only five interceptions. He doesn't make many mistakes with the football, knowing that an outstanding running attack coupled with strong defense and special teams are the ingredients to success.

Against Auburn last week, Ingram ran for two touchdowns, and Coffe added a 41- yard scoring scamper. The Tide posted 412 total yards, 234 of which came via the ground attack, and Wilson was steady as usual under center.

Opponents are only scoring 11.5 ppg against Alabama, which is holding foes to 248.5 total yards. The Crimson Tide have been nearly impossible to run against with any measure of success, as they are yielding a miniscule 73.6 rushing ypg on 2.7 ypc. The defensive unit has 23 sacks to its credit to go along with the team's total of 24 takeaways. Also worthy of mention is the fact that opponents are only making good on 25 percent of their third-down conversion attempts against Alabama.

One player to watch is Rolando McClain, as he has registered 82 total tackles, including 11 for loss. Rashad Johnson, who has made 73 total stops, has five interceptions to his credit.