Florida's Urban Meyer came to the Southeastern Conference in 2005 and quickly became the league's top coach, winning national championships in 2006 and 2008 and reestablishing Florida as the conference's gold standard. The torch, however, has officially been passed. Nick Saban took over the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2007, and challenged Florida in 2008 for the league title, only to fall short in the championship game to a fourth quarter rally by Tebow and the Gators. In 2009, the Tide and Saban prepared all year to take the championship away from Florida, and did so in convincing fashion. This season looked to be the rubber game. Could Alabama stay on top? Would Florida use its humiliating defeat last year as motivation to knock off the Tide?
Now we know that the answer wasn't nearly as dramatic as some expected. Alabama dominated the Gators from start to finish tonight, handing Florida its worst loss since the last time Urban Meyer led a team into Tuscaloosa five years ago.
My Seven Points for tonight's game:
1. Yards aren't as important as takeaways and points. The 2010 Bama defense won't be mistaken for its predecessor, or for any number of smothering defenses from Alabama's storied history. Florida had 279 yards of offense tonight, which, amazingly enough, was six yards more than Alabama. But the Tide's young defense seems to take it personally when opponents get close to the end zone. Alabama allowed Florida to move into the red zone three times tonight and forced a field goal and two turnovers. The Tide defense is plus 12 in turnovers for the year and has allowed an average of 9 points per game. Statistics are a meaningful measure of the strength of a defense, but the only stat that really matters in the end is the score.
2. The lessons from the Arkansas game appear to have been applied. Alabama looked lethargic in the first half last week and had to rally from ten points back to defeat the Razorbacks. This week, Alabama scored first and kept Florida off the scoreboard until near the end of the first half after taking a 24-0 lead. By the time the Gators kicked the field goal the game was already over. While the first half effort wasn't matched offensively in the second, defensively Alabama continued to force turnovers and keep the Gators out of the end zone. No opponent has scored a second half touchdown against the Tide all season.
3. Mark Ingram has a couple of school records he could break before the end of the year. Ingram broke Alabama's single-season rushing record last year. The two significant records he still could break this year are career rushing yards and career touchdowns. Ingram scored two touchdowns against Florida giving him a total of 35 in his career, which puts him second all-time behind Shaun Alexander (40). Ingram is a little farther away from the rushing record, trailing Alexander's 3,565 yards by 824. Assuming the Tide makes it back to the SEC Championship game, Ingram has to average around 92 yards per game to break the record.
4. Alabama and Florida will most likely meet again in the title game. After watching LSU barely make it past Tennessee today on a do-over play, it's clear that Alabama's only remaining competition in the West is Auburn. Florida has perhaps the weakest East since the SEC moved to divisional play in 1992, so it's very likely that the Gators will make it back to Atlanta in December. Florida is going to have to figure out its offensive personality to make that game competitive, but there's a lot of football to be played between now and then.
5. Has anyone mentioned that Greg McElroy hasn't lost a game as a starter since eighth grade? The most talked-about factoid this season is the fact that McElroy has never lost as a starter at Alabama or in high school, and that the last game he lost was nine years ago in eighth grade. It's hard for us to determine whether this is a truly significant stat or not. Surely McElroy has benefited from great defense at Alabama, a great coach, perhaps the best running back duo in college football, a record number of All-Americans on the 2009 team and many other advantages. On the other hand, McElroy's greatest contribution to the Alabama offense is that he makes good decisions, something that his predecessor (John Parker Wilson) cannot claim. McElroy isn't flashy. He doesn't get big stats. He's probably not going to be drafted into the NFL. McElroy is smart and he wins, and that is more than enough.
6. Can Ingram win the Heisman again if he doesn't lead the team in rushing? After the Arkansas game, the Heisman talk began to ramp up again for Mark Ingram. Although he did not carry the ball a lot against Florida, he did have two TDs, and certainly didn't hurt himself in the Heisman race, although he is likely second or third on most lists right now. But, due to the fact that Ingram missed the first two games with the knee injury, and that he shares the carries with Trent Richardson, Richardson continues to lead the Tide in rushing. If Ingram and Richardson finish out with similar yardage numbers, it's possible that Ingram won't even be the top ball carrier for Alabama. Depth like that is a luxury, and Ingram doesn't have anything left to prove, but it is amazing that the 2009 Heisman winner is sharing the load. There is no greater testimony to Ingram's humility and character.
7. For all the Boise State/TCU talk, there is really only one question for the BCS Championship Game. Alabama has been ranked #1 all season, and plays in the most powerful league in college football - the one that has won the national title four years in a row. It is clear at this point in the season that Alabama is the best team in the SEC. Assuming that Alabama doesn't stumble against an inferior team (and perhaps even if it does), the Tide is going to play in Glendale for the BCS Championship. The question is who they will face. Ohio State looked very beatable today against Illinois. Boise and TCU probably won't move any higher in the polls. Nebraska or Oklahoma will most likely rise out of the Big 12, but both have looked shaky at times. Right now, I think Oregon looks like the second-best team in the nation. Like Alabama, they still have several big games remaining on the schedule, but they may very well line up against the Tide in January.
