SB Nation - Julio Jones

Alabama All Day: Concluding Thoughts

Peter Bean — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:36:56 -0000

Scattered parting thoughts on Alabama after watching the SEC Championship Game:

The complete series of 'Alabama All Day' posts can be found here.
It's a small thing, but one that shouldn't be overlooked and can't be over-emphasized: Alabama's tailbacks finish their runs. It's a yard here, two yards there, but their offense depends on those three yard runs picking up five because Ingram or Richardson or Upchurch takes a hit without ceding momentum. They keep the chains moving, keep the defense off the field, and move drives into field goal range.
On a related note: Texas must-must-must tackle well. The importance of the little things are amplified exponentially against Alabama. They want to out-execute you and win on the margins. Extra yards on missed tackles are an outcome-defining variable.
After studying Alabama more closely than I had all year, I'm more impressed by their offense and less intimated by their defense. The offense is balanced, steady, physical, and synchronized -- like something you more often see in an NFL team. The defense is superb, but short of dominant. The linebackers not named Rolando McClain are merely solid; Cory Reamer borders on an out-and-out weakness. The defensive line is excellent at filling gaps, maintaining assignments, and containing the inside rush game, but as a group they're a notch below both Nebraska and Oklahoma (thank God). The secondary is very solid and more than capable of creating turnovers, but the linebackers make the Crimson Tide a team against which you can pass the ball.

Florida was a lot closer to breaking through offensively than the final suggests; they were plagued by inexcusable drops on multiple occasions that negated what would have been difference-making plays. One could fairly estimate 10-14 points were left off the board just because of Gators drops.
I'll be interested to see how Alabama decides to deal with Shipley. If they defend with the same zone principles they deployed to deal with Tebow, Shipley's going to present them with a lot of trouble. If Alabama takes a different approach -- Saban and Smart are not stupid, after all -- the importance of Colt McCoy rushing the football cannot be overstated.
Back to the Bama offense: I was very impressed with their offensive line and how well they worked together as a run-blocking unit. Left guard Mike Johnson is as good as any I've seen play this year. In pass protection, the Tide are slightly less impressive, and one of the key match ups of the game will be LT James Carpenter -- who struggles at times -- against Texas's defensive ends. It'll be a big boost to the Longhorns if Alabama is forced to adjust their blocking schemes to provide help.
I think Julio Jones can be dealt with one-on-one and that the bigger threat is getting mismatched in coverage of either Peek or Maze -- both are a problem for linebackers. What makes Alabama so tough offensively is their diversity; the power rushing game is consistent and demands uncompromising attention, but they do a really nice job passing out of rush looks, in particular with Peek and Maze. Add in a legit screen game and you can't overemphasize any one thing defensively. The balance commands respecting a multitude of options.
Florida's punter did a great job punting high and to the sidelines to neutralize Alabama's excellent return man Javier Arenas. I'm curious whether Texas will do the same with John Gold or try to keep Arenas from returns with the rugby-punting of Justin Tucker, which has been erratic in its effectiveness this year.
I'd be surprised if either Texas or Alabama got a special teams touchdown and also lost the game. Kick coverage will be big.
Alabama's offense is a rhythm offense and I'll feel a whole lot better if Texas can make a play or two early that gets McElroy thinking out there. When he's comfortable, they're going to move steadily down the field as often as not. A turnover and/or a few jarring blows will help the Longhorns immensely.
And finally, let's just hope that Colt McCoy doesn't try to do too much, all at once. He needs to be steady and patient, taking his shots downfield where he can, and not getting carried away with antsy feet in the pocket when there's time for receivers to break open.
This is gonna be fun. Two weeks to kickoff...

If College Football Had a Playoff: #16 Troy @ #1 Alabama

Jeremy Mauss — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:00:25 -0000

by Dave Martin - AP

So, starting each week day from now till the title game a 'What if Playoff' will occur here with readers voting on who should win the matchup.

Today's would be Sun Belt champion Troy @ Alabama. An upset is unlikely, but the way Troy plays against big time competition who knows how close this game would be. Yes, a playoff would feature home teams by the upper seed to give them an advantage for a better season. The bracket and stats on each team are listed below.

Just make sure to vote and the winner moves onto the next round. Voting is open for 24 hours, and look for these to be posted each day at 12 eastern time.

#16 Troy Stats

Passing

		Passing									Rushing					Sacks
	G	Rating	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/G	Y/A	TD	INT	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Sack	YdsL
Levi Brown	12	60.0	248	386	64.2	3264	272	8.5	19	5	46	19	1.6	.400	1	-	-
Dantavious Parker	9	50.0	10	19	52.6	87	9.7	4.6	0	0	28	154	17.1	5.5	2	-	-

Rushing

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
Levi Brown	12	46	19	1.6	.400	1	0	0	0	0	0
Jason Bruce	10	2	11	1.1	5.5	0	20	260	26	13	2
Maurice Greer	10	34	244	24.4	7.2	3	6	59	5.9	9.8	0
DuJuan Harris	12	137	471	39.3	3.4	8	23	193	16.1	8.4	1
Josh Jarboe	8	2	9	1.1	4.5	0	14	236	29.5	16.9	1
Jerrel Jernigan	12	34	227	18.9	6.7	1	62	947	78.9	15.3	4
Nathan Nolin	2	1	9	4.5	9	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dantavious Parker	9	28	154	17.1	5.5	2	0	0	0	0	0
Chip Reeves	11	3	9	.800	3	0	22	363	33	16.5	3
Austin Silvoy	10	1	-15	-1.5	-15	0	13	182	18.2	14	0
Shawn Southward	12	100	574	47.8	5.7	10	10	94	7.8	9.4	0
D.J. Taylor	3	8	71	23.7	8.9	0	0	0	0	0	0

Receiving

		Receiving
	G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	TD
Travis Boyd	2	3	41	20.5	13.7	0
Jason Bruce	10	20	260	26	13	2
Jonathan Chandler	1	0	0	0	0	0
Patrick Cherry	11	20	260	23.6	13	1
Andrew Davis	8	13	149	18.6	11.5	2
Tebiarus Gill	11	44	553	50.3	12.6	6
Maurice Greer	10	6	59	5.9	9.8	0
DuJuan Harris	12	23	193	16.1	8.4	1
Josh Jarboe	8	14	236	29.5	16.9	1
Jerrel Jernigan	12	62	947	78.9	15.3	4
Zack Marcum	12	33	315	26.3	9.5	1
Chip Reeves	11	22	363	33	16.5	3
Austin Silvoy	10	13	182	18.2	14	0
Shawn Southward	12	10	94	7.8	9.4	0
Cornelius Williams	11	18	320	29.1	17.8	2

Kicking

		Field Goals								PAT
	G	0-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	FGM	FGA	PCT	XPM	XPA	PCT	pts
Sam Glusman	5	-	-	-	-	-	7	9	80.0%	9	9	100.0%	30
Michael Taylor	8	-	-	-	-	-	9	10	90.0%	38	40	100.0%	65

#1 Alabama Stats

Passing

		Passing									Rushing					Sacks
	G	Rating	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/G	Y/A	TD	INT	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Sack	YdsL
Star Jackson	2	70.0	13	18	72.2	116	58	6.4	0	0	6	3	1.5	.500	0	-	-
Greg McElroy	13	93.0	192	315	61	2450	188.5	7.8	17	4	47	110	8.5	2.3	1	-	-

Rushing

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
Demetrius Goode	3	16	108	36	6.8	0	0	0	0	0	0
Terry Grant	7	40	166	23.7	4.2	3	3	47	6.7	15.7	0
Mark Ingram	13	249	1542	118.6	6.2	15	30	322	24.8	10.7	3
Star Jackson	2	6	3	1.5	.500	0	0	0	0	0	0
Julio Jones	12	2	4	.300	2	0	42	573	47.8	13.6	4
Marquis Maze	10	4	7	.700	1.8	0	30	519	51.9	17.3	2
Greg McElroy	13	47	110	8.5	2.3	1	0	0	0	0	0
Trent Richardson	13	126	642	49.4	5.1	6	14	107	8.2	7.6	0
Roy Upchurch	10	46	290	29	6.3	2	12	72	7.2	6	1

Receiving

		Receiving
	G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	TD
Earl Alexander	3	4	52	17.3	13	0
Michael Bowman	1	1	7	7	7	0
Preston Dial	3	3	25	8.3	8.3	0
Brandon Gibson	2	2	25	12.5	12.5	0
Terry Grant	7	3	47	6.7	15.7	0
Darius Hanks	9	17	272	30.2	16	3
Mark Ingram	13	30	322	24.8	10.7	3
Julio Jones	12	42	573	47.8	13.6	4
Marquis Maze	10	30	519	51.9	17.3	2
Mike McCoy	3	10	149	49.7	14.9	1
Colin Peek	10	26	313	31.3	12	3
Trent Richardson	13	14	107	8.2	7.6	0
Brad Smelley	5	7	50	10	7.1	0
Roy Upchurch	10	12	72	7.2	6	1
Michael Williams	2	3	29	14.5	9.7	0

Kicking

		Field Goals								PAT
	G	0-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	FGM	FGA	PCT	XPM	XPA	PCT	pts
Jeremy Shelley	1	-	-	-	-	-	0	1	0	1	1	100.0%	1
Leigh Tiffin	13	-	-	-	-	-	29	33	90.0%	39	42	90.0%	126

Poll

Who wins this matcup?

Random Musings From the SEC Championship Game

outsidethesidelines — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:00:31 -0000

It's a bit late in the week for musings on the SEC Championship Game, but with the BCS Championship Game still one month away, I figure we have plenty of time to fully dissect the victory in Atlanta. With that in mind, here are a few random musings I had from watching the SEC Championship Game:

Florida ran their combo option / shovel pass play on the opening play of the game, and Eryk Anders chased down Hernandez from the backside to make the tackle for a minimal gain. Anders followed Hernandez the entire way and we were obviously prepared for such a play, but the interesting thing of it was that Florida never went back to that play the rest of the game. That really surprised me, especially given how successful that play has been for them the past couple of years.
A large degree of Florida's lack of point production in this game can be traced back to three key offensive mistakes on the Gators' part, namely two costly drops and a terrible throw by Tebow. The first big mistake came on the opening drive when Jeff Demps dropped a pass out of the backfield that was destined for big yardage (Florida ultimately went three and out on that drive), and the second was Hernandez dropping a pass at the goal line after he left Cory Reamer in the dust (Florida had to settle for three points there). Finally, Tebow made a terrible throw on the interception to Arenas... it was an easy touchdown pass with the proper arc on the throw, and instead it ended up being the dagger through their hearts. I'm not saying Florida would have won had they capitalized on these three plays, but the game would have certainly been much closer.
Speaking of that throw by Tebow... it's throws like that why he'll never be a legitimate NFL quarterback. Call him the greatest college player ever if you want, but he has a slow wind-up in his delivery and he doesn't throw the football vertically very well. You can get away with that, combined with the rest of the positive things he can do for you, when you are playing the SEC East, but the NFC East? That stuff doesn't fly up there. Tebow will probably be a first round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, and he may be an outstanding player in some type of a hybrid role or at another position, but in terms of his potential as a traditional NFL quarterback, his prospects aren't much better than mine.

I found our defensive strategy pretty interesting. We had some blitz packages and mixed up our looks, as per usual, but it certainly seemed like our strategy was to make Florida throw the football vertically down the field against six or seven defenders in coverage. We wanted to take away the interior run and the short passing game, and from there we wanted to make Florida beat us by having Tebow sit back in the pocket and throw the football down the field into tight windows. That was a fairly different strategy than what we used last year in this game, and if nothing else the end result was a lot better.

Only allowing 13 points to the Gators looks impressive on paper, but in all honesty we didn't exactly stop them, hence why they averaged almost seven yards per play. They are an elite offense and they had a lot of success against our defense. Fortunately, though, they shot themselves in the foot just enough at critical times, and our offense scored so many points that they were forced to push the envelope later in the game when they would have otherwise taken easy points. Combined, that kept them to only 13 points, despite the fact that they generally moved the ball well.

And speaking of that latter point, the game on Saturday reinforced the long-held notion that the best defense is a good offense. That was on display all afternoon in Atlanta.

I sincerely hope that Aaron Hernandez goes pro, and he's a fool if he doesn't. In terms of pure match-up issues, I think he probably gave us more issues than any other single skill position player we faced all year long. I hope he's playing somewhere in the NFL next year when the Gators make the trip to Tuscaloosa.

You know the corner blitz from Javier Arenas that we see all of the time? For whatever reason, I don't think we saw that a single time against Florida. Again, I think it was clear that we wanted to force Tebow to throw the football down the field into tight windows.

The play of the game... from P.J. Fitzgerald? If he doesn't make a great open field tackle on Brandon James, undoubtedly James will score and Florida will take a 10-9 lead and have all of the momentum despite 'Bama having controlled the first quarter. That play didn't get much attention, but it was absolutely critical.

As great of a player as Julio Jones is, I think it's clear at this point that it is in fact Marquis Maze that makes our passing game go. Jones is a great player in his own right, but he draws so much attention from opposing defenses that it really limits his production. He always draws the opposing team's best cornerback -- Joe Haden followed him around the Georgia Dome like he was his shadow -- and opposing defenses usually have either a linebacker or a safety giving assistance of some form to the corner. All in it all, it really just limits what he can feasibly do, and from there it is really all up to Maze -- who is usually isolated on the second or third corner -- to make plays. And notice that Maze's best games (Virginia Tech, Arkansas, LSU, and Florida) have been the best days for our passing game as well. I highly doubt that is a coincidence.

Brandon Spikes was absolutely abused in this game. Josh Bynes may have had a career day in the Iron Bowl, but we beat Spikes to a pulp in Atlanta. Far from the career day that I feared he may have, that was probably the worst performance of his collegiate career.

Could there possibly a more inconsistent player than Greg McElroy? I tell you, that guy has been all over the board this year. He has played perfect (Florida), extremely good (Arkansas), good (Virginia Tech), decent (Kentucky and LSU), poorly (Tennessee and Ole Miss), and ungodly terrible (South Carolina). Pretty much anywhere along the performance spectrum, McElroy has been there at some point throughout the year. In terms of variance, I don't think I can ever recall a 'Bama player who has been as all over the board as McElroy has this year.

Speaking of Greg McElroy's performance against Florida, if that was not the best performance of my lifetime by an Alabama quarterback, I don't know which one could legitimately be considered better. He played at an extremely high level against an elite defense, and made plays with both his arm and his feet. Personally, that was the best performance I have ever seen by an Alabama quarterback.

As a closing thought, could there ever be a bigger SEC Championship Game than this? Considering that both teams came in undefeated, #1 v. #2, and a rematch of last year's game, I really don't think you could ever have a bigger SEC Championship Game, even as a theoretical matter. Tim Brando mentioned something to that effect on the CBS broadcast Saturday afternoon, and I think he is right. For all intents and purposes, this is as big as it will ever get.

The Fatal Flaws

mlmintampa — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:17:50 -0000

More photos » by Dave Martin - AP

Browse more photos »

Hopefully, we are far enough out from the SEC Championship Game that we can take an level headed look at the 2009 Gators. As fans, we have seen a team that either was destroying people or not meeting our expectations. Considering the history of college football, 14-0 was a challenge unlikely to be met, especially with the bonus of three outright championships in four seasons. But we thought our boys could do it. Here's some things that I thought were never addressed or fixed and ultimately led to the Gators' fall. As always, tell us where we're wrong. Let's get the hard one out of the way first;

Tim Tebow: In each of his first three seasons, Tebow improved as a player. The problem was that as a senior, he was the same as the year before. Every team he faced knew exactly what he was doing. You saw the strategy Alabama used of daring Tebow to throw to receivers he never trusted behind a line that nearly killed him. Against Tennessee you saw how an NFL-style scheme (even without the talent to do it) could confuse Tebow. There are two reasons for this; either Tebow plateaued as a player or the loss of Dan Mullen impacted Tebow's preparation and chemistry with the offense.

Tebow was pulled in more directions this season. He wasn't just Tim Tebow, quarterback, Florida. He was a missionary, preacher, charity leader, university representative, oh and this was his senior year of college. Everyone is stretched thin in their senior year of school either because of school demands, the pressure of post-graduation or relationships. Tebow had all of that plus everything listed above. The problem is that Tebow wouldn't have it any other way. This season, I have a hard time thinking that everything else surrounding him didn't contribute to his actions on the field. He was still a college senior and no senior ever has a perfect year. Here's hoping that at least he doesn't knock a brick off Century Tower. (If you don't get that, look at the last urban legend listed here.)

Lack of a Go-To-Guy: Tebow needed a running mate this season and no one stepped up to fill that role. Aaron Hernandez had uneven performances and Riley Cooper could never get open before Tebow got in trouble. Cooper might have been the most well-rounded player on offense, but even he got the drops. Jeffrey Demps and Chris Rainey still struggle catching the ball and Brandon James was never going to be the solution at the Harvin position. Emmanuel Moody lived in Urban Meyer's doghouse all season. Carl Moore and Andre Debose never saw the field. That Florida ran the same offense as 2008, without a go-to-guy, is a failure of the coaching staff. Like Donald Rumsfled said, "You go to war with the Army you have. Not the Army you might want or wish to have." Meyer and Steve Addazio knew what they had in front of them and treated them like Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy with Jason Watkins and Phil Trautwein at the tackles. Which brings us to our next point...

Never figuring out the passing game: If yards and rushing yards stay relatively flat, how do touchdowns scored go from 75, 82 in 2008, to 56 this season? I pin the blame on not having a secure 3rd and 4th receiver and not securing the offensive tackle spots. I thought Xavier Nixon and Marcus Gilbert got it together, but it was late in the season before that lineup change was made. I don't blame the line for the 36 sacks (only 2 more than last season) because too often they had to face 5 and 6 man rushes. Teams could afford those blitzes because Florida's receiving options were Cooper, Hernandez and a bunch of nobodies. David Nelson had his best game against Alabama (4 catches, 53 yards, TD). That's nice, but Nelson was supposed to be a number 3 guy behind Cooper and Hernandez, but his output was no better than 2008 (23 catches, 254 yds, 2 TD in 2009; 12 catches, 228 yds, 5 TD in 2008). Deonte Thompson was supposed to explode this season, yet nearly had the exact same numbers. Demps still thinks run first, catch ball second. Rainey is skinner than I am and James was getting too many touches as a returner (62) to be fit enough to be a permanent player (20 rushes, 24 catches). We trusted that Meyer, Addazio and Billy Gonzales would see any red flags and immediately turn the Gators into Georgia Tech South. But they kept calling plays like they had four reliable receivers and two experienced tackles.

Steve Addazio, Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach: It does not matter if you liked Addazio's play calling or not. The fact is that he cannot do both jobs and I would be surprised if anyone could be o-line and coordinator. Offensive line is hands on, requiring the coach to be on the sidelines. Offensive coordinator is a mad genius, sitting in his box and designing plays like a chess player thinking three moves ahead. It didn't help that Florida's play calling by committee was like cooks spoiling the broth. Last year, the offense went through Mullen. You never knew who it went through this season.

A light defensive line: Just the presence of Terrence Cody kept UF away from the precious dive play. UF does not have a monster run stuffer like that (Omar Hunter may get there one day). Plus, Jermaine Cunningham and Carlos Dunlap are long and lean. They can run around you, but not through you. Were it not for Brandon Spikes, A.J. Jones and Ryan Stamper, UF would have been screwed at the front. The Gators got by like this until they ran into an old-school big ugly offensive line at Alabama. Like any great defense that relies on speed, a big line can always win. There wasn't much UF could have done here, aside from eight in the box, and Greg McElroy was too good for that.

The Fans: No one is escaping this. Every college team has good and bad fans, unemployed fans who stalk message boards all day, and the locker room stooges who get off on revealing who was tanked on Monday night and who has the girlfriend sleeping with half the defense. Every college team has jackasses who write blogs, guys who have only played video game football and claim they know what they are talking about, and old men trying to live vicariously through college kids. But we wore the crown, so we fall the hardest. It doesn't help either that we seemingly lost the ability to lose with class. I include myself in this because while this seems very mature and composed, during the game I was screaming obscenities at Nick Saban, my friends, Mark Ingram, "Sweet Home Alabama" (song, not the Reese Witherspoon movie), Tim Tebow, and the band Alabama. I was also figuring out how UF could win in the fourth quarter, when a rational person would have turned off the game and waited for Texas-Nebraska.

We've been spoiled the past four years and the sooner we realize that, the sooner we have some realistic expectations for the Gators. Eventually, Tennessee, FSU and Georgia will get good. Florida may actually lose consecutive games to these teams. Losing these games, if it happens, should not require you to threaten the lives of anyone or throw the Gators under the bus, via your facebook status or twitter. However, all bets are off if Urban Meyer becomes Ron Zook, but I don't see that happening. We need to be rational again, but mediocrity can never be tolerated.

The Confidence and Complacency of Champions: When the Yankees were losing Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS to the Red Sox, Aaron Boone asked Derek Jeter why he was so calm. Jeter said, "The ghosts will come eventually." The ghosts did show up and Boone hit a game winning home run to send the Yanks to the World Series. The next season, the Yanks blew a 3-0 ALCS lead, and the Red Sox won the World Series, defeating the Curse of The Bambino in the process.

When you are defending champion, even if you are not considered to be the best team in your league the next season, there is a certain level of confidence in your team and what they can do. The Gators had won the SEC and National Championship twice in the last three seasons. There was no reason to doubt that they couldn't do it again. With that confidence also comes enough of a lack of drive that it can impact you negatively. You don't want to take those extra reps or spend 15 more minutes running routes. Sure, you can go to the party/Bible session/hookup with that chick from Plants, Plagues and People class, you'll just end your film study five minutes early. What's a few minutes anyway?

It all adds up eventually and for the Gators, it was 19 points in Atlanta. 19 points does not happen in one week of preparation, but over the course of the entire season. It's the reason why guys take extra sprints in August or lift more weights in April. Over the course of 11 months, the Gators were confident they could win no matter what and complacent enough to not put in more time. As for the party that ended Carlos Dunlap's season that included other teammates, let he who never took the edge off an upcoming test by drinking or fooling around with a lady cast the first stone. As for me, I think you got me confused for a better man.

Besides, Alabama played a perfect game. They had one penalty, were 11 of 15 on 3rd down, Bama held the ball for nearly 40 minutes, McElroy was 12 of 18 passing, and Marquis Maze's five catches for 96 yards made up for Julio Jones two catches for 28 yards. Florida could have spent the week in the football complex and St. Augustine's Church and they still would have lost. Give Alabama some credit.

As we said on Saturday, everything sucks now, but this still your team. You have to take the good with the bad and accept that sometimes, the other guy is better and you are not good enough. Time to look forward to next season and put your faith and trust in Urban Meyer. Especially that he finds a new defense and offensive coordinator. And say a prayer that John Brantley and Omarius Hines become the next great duo in Gainesville.

Ags Headed To Independence Bowl

miketag — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 03:08:18 -0000

Texas A&M has accepted an invitation to play the Georgia Bulldogs on December 28th in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA. This was probably the toughest possible matchup that A&M could get, but I think in the long run it will be good for the program. If A&M is to return to the level of success that we all expect, we need to learn how to play with and beat the most talented teams in the nation. Playing a very talented UGA team will help get us to that level. Our freshmen need to see what kind of effort is needed to compete with and beat the Oklahomas and tu's of the world; beating Navy would do nothing to help in that area. Some may argue that a bowl win can do wonders for momentum in recruiting, but I would argue that developing the current players on our roster takes precedence. If we want to be a championship team, our defense needs to improve by leaps and bounds. Practicing for a month against the triple-option, as we would be if we were to play Navy, is not going to help develop our defense for next year.

As I previously stated, we have already won because we have an extra month of practice for our young team to get better. I expect some of our redshirting freshmen to make great gains during these December practices. Preparing for an offense with the athletes that UGA has will help our defense next season against Arkansas and the rest of the Big 12. Playing a defense with the size and speed that UGA has will help our offense perform at a higher level.

On a related note, three members of the UGA coaching staff have decided not to coach in the bowl game. This is suprising to me on many levels. I assumed the defensive coaches would use this game as an audition for future coaching positions. I was somewhat concerned because desperate coaches would likely use an aggressive gameplan in order to catch possible suitors attention. I have no idea how UGA will handle coaching the defense for the bowl game.

On offense, UGA definitely has the athletes to compete with any team in the country. They have a big RB in Caleb King who was nationally ranked coming out of HS. While he has failed to live up to his prep billing, he has had a solid season with 534 yds rushing and 5 TDs on 5.4 yds per carry. He is the type of big back that A&M has struggled to stop the past few seasons. Those of you who were there when we played Tennessee in the 2005 Cotton Bowl may have flashbacks to Gerald Riggs. Washaun Ealey leads UGA in rushing with 639 yds and 3 TDs (5.7 per tote) but has battled injuries. UGA's best offensive weapon and our defensive nightmare is WR A.J. Green. While Julio Jones was the number one rated player in the country in the '08 class, Green has been just as good or better since they both arrived in the SEC. Green had 47 receptions for 751 yds and 6 TDs. The triggerman for the UGA offense is journeyman QB Joe Cox. Cox completed 56 percent of his passes for 2426 yds and 22 TDs with 14 picks. Cox is a mediocre college QB. Unfortunately our defense can make even mediocre college QBs look like world beaters. If we can put consistent pressure on Cox, we can control their passing game and force some turnovers. We will need to win the turnover battle if we want to win this game.

The UGA defense allows 328 yds per game. They give up 200.6 passing and 127.8 rushing. Obviously they have not met expectations since half the defensive staff was fired. Statistically the player that stands out the most is sophomore DE Justin Houston who has had 15 TFLs on the year with 7.5 sacks. We need to contain him if we want to win the game. It should be interesting to see how our OL matches up with the athletes that UGA lines up after having faced Arkansas, OU, and tu this year. Our OL has improved as the season wore on. This game will be a great test and a great opportunity for A&M; hopefully we will be up to the task.

Almost Perfection

outsidethesidelines — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:36:55 -0000

In the preview of SEC Championship Game this past Friday, looking at what it would take to beat the Gators, I wrote the following:

In short, what we really need is perfection. Of course, a football game (not counting kicks) usually consists of 120-130 snaps, and that's just entirely too many snaps to not expect some breakdowns, particularly against a team of Florida's caliber. Thus, as with most things, perfection is an elusive goal in football, and it is one that we will not attain tomorrow. Nevertheless, the harsh reality is that we are going to have to come very close to that level if we are indeed going to knock of Florida.

And as expected, perfection was indeed unattainable. We made some mistakes throughout the course of the game, obviously. Leigh Tiffin missed an extra point. Julio Jones had a key drop, and may have misplayed a potential big play on a deep pass.We missed a couple of sacks here and there. But it wasn't perfection only because achieving perfection is practically impossible even on a purely theoretical level.

In terms of the legitimate possibilities of human performance, however, our collective performance yesterday in Atlanta was probably as close to perfection as anyone could ever realistically expect. Just take a general look at the stat book... we racked up almost 500 yards of total offense. Mark Ingram had almost 200 total yards and three touchdowns. Greg McElroy averaged almost 14 yards per passing attempt. We held Florida to 13 points -- the fewest points an Urban Meyer team has scored since our 31-3 thumping of them in 2005 -- and pitched a shutout in the second half. We held Florida to under 100 yards rushing, and players not named Tim Tebow combined to run for all of 26 yards. We didn't have a single turnover, and we ended up with one penalty for all of five yards.

Even on a non-quantitative basis, yesterday was about as good as it gets. Greg McElroy played the game of his life, and made plays with both his arm and his feet. Mark Ingram may have won the Heisman Trophy with his performance. And Trent Richardson, really, was even more successful running the football than Ingram. Colin Peek had the best game we've had from a tight end in ages. Marquis Maze was a game-changer. Marquis Johnson found redemption. Terrence Cody dominated the Florida interior offensive line. P.J. Fitzgerald made a touchdown-saving tackle against an elite returner in the open field. Javier Arenas, fittingly enough, put the final dagger through the Gators heart not with his return abilities, but with a fine play on an interception as a defensive back.

Even the coaching staff was on fire. Jim McElwain constantly changed things up on offense, and the Gators were always a step behind the adjustments. Effectively everything that you could do on offense yesterday, we did it. And the same thing went for us defensively. Nick Saban and Kirby Smart constantly changed our defensive packages, and there was no inherent tendencies to anything that we did.

And remember that Friday post I referenced in the introduction? In that piece I outlined eleven different things that we needed to do in order to get the victory. In hindsight, we did ten of those things, and in many of those categories we far exceeded what I thought we needed to do. Regardless of how you analyze it, you really cannot heap enough praise on the way that we played yesterday.

Again, absolute perfection really isn't attainable, but our performance yesterday was probably as close to perfection as you could ever realistically get.

And in all fairness I cannot say that Florida was really anything less than I expected. They are a truly great team in their own right, and in many ways they were exactly what I feared. Their offense is still unbelievably good, they are outstanding in every aspect of the kicking game, and the defense is as tough as nails. If you look at their performance yesterday, it wasn't that they really did anything wrong. By and large they played a fine game in their own right, and their shortcomings were really more about great plays that we made than anything that they did wrong. Again, they are a great team and should be recognized as so. I imagine they annihilate Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl, and should probably finish up #2 in the country.

All in all, we needed a great performance to win yesterday, and we went above and beyond that level. We didn't just play great football, we came as close to perfection as we probably could have gotten. In all honesty, given the quality of the opponent, this was the best game an Alabama team has played since January 1st, 1993 against Miami and perhaps even the best we've played since January 1st, 1966 against Nebraska. Bottom line, a performance of this caliber is extremely rare even on a historical level. We needed to play like this in order to win, and we rose to the occasion. With absolutely no doubt whatsoever, to date, yesterday was this team's finest hour.

SEC Championship Game: The Prediction

cocknfire — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 12:47:49 -0000

Weekend Open Thread begins at 11 a.m. ET and runs throughout the day

It's almost time for the most anticipated game of the decade. We can say that now, with the decade about to change either on Jan. 1 or a year later, depending on how you define "decade." Sure, there was a lot of hype about the Ohio State-Michigan game back in 2006. Then, everything was also on the line in a nationally televised rivalry game to determine a conference championship and the right to play for the national title. But this is about as good a clash as you can get, something that resonates in some ways a bit more than the battle between the Buckeyes and the Wolverines three years ago.

This is new money vs. old wealth, a battle between the SEC dynasty that defined the 1990s and the last half of this decade and the one that defined most of the 60 or so years of the league's history that came before that. It features one of the greatest players the game has ever seen against one of the greatest programs in college football lore. A team that has twice redefined the SEC on offense against one that has always prided itself on the defensive strength that the league's fans point to as its strong suit.

In some ways, it's even a more significant game than last year's showdown between the same teams with similar stakes. Florida's chances at its first complete undefeated season will live or die this afternoon in the Georgia Dome. Alabama carries its second perfect regular season in a row into Atlanta; how many times does one team have to win every game on its schedule to finally become the champion?


Urban Meyer
Record	95-17
Record at Florida	56-9
Record vs. SEC	26-8
SEC titles	2
National championships	2

When the season was about to begin, the question was not whether Florida would win the SEC title but how easily they would do it. Some people were already delivering the crystal football to the Gators before the first game of the season kicked off. They were exactly that good, we were assured.

Assured by none other than your humble correspondent.

The only question, really, is whether Florida can go undefeated. Sure, some contrarian streaks are going to emerge here and there, telling you that Florida is not a lock for Atlanta nonsense and that the Gators aren't the prohibitive favorites to make the national title game. These are the same people that do this sort of thing all the time, because no one will remember if you got it wrong, but you get to hold it over everyone's head forever if you get it right. ... Right now, I'd say you have to give Florida the edge to win that game and go 14-0 for its first perfect season.

Ahem.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with pundits and bloggers believing that a team should go undefeated. There is something wrong with a team believing it should go undefeated, or at least believing it to the extent that it seems to show up at the stadium not just expecting a win, but expecting to win without really trying.

Too often, Florida seemed to do just that this season. Against Arkansas, where timely (and controversial) penalties aided a 23-20 win. At Mississippi State, where only a great defensive play and more officiating controversy saved a 29-19 victory. At South Carolina, where Stephen Garcia's throw was six feet from a first down that would have set up the Gamecocks to potentially take a 21-17 lead but instead teed things up for the Gators to win 24-14 off an interception. Remember that these are not games against the league's best teams that we're talking about here.

By then, though, the aura of inevitability surrounding Florida had already collapsed. That had happened back in the rivalry showdown against Tennessee, where Meyer and Co. were supposed to annihilate the Vols to shut up Lane Kiffin. They won by 10 points. The trend was only furthered when Tim Tebow ended up with a concussion during the Kentucky game. Florida was not, the team seemed to learn as much as the fans, going to win the national championship without first making sure to win its games.

- - -


Nick Saban
Record	122-50-1
Record at Alabama	31-8
Record vs. SEC (at Alabama)	20-5
SEC titles (total)	1
National championships (total)	1

Not that Alabama was always waxing its opponents. The season started of strong on that front but quickly turned out to be anything but. The 20-6 win against South Carolina was not quite as easy as the score suggested. The 24-15 victory against LSU was once again the subject of kvetching over the referees. And no one who watched the 12-10 showdown with Tennessee came away with any conclusion other than that Alabama was enormously lucky to win that game.

Then again, that's how Alabama was supposed to play the game. The defense would keep the other team off the board while the offense was effective but not overwhelming. Nick Saban football -- Alabama football.

The Crimson Tide also had the advantage of coming into the season with expectations that were not quite as lofty. They were still seen as a Top 10 team, but the likelihood of another run at the crystal football seemed smaller than Florida's chances. The Alabama offense was less than stellar in 2008, and only four starters were returning on that side of the ball. Alabama could prevent its opponents from scoring, but could it score itself? Might the tide find itself on the wrong end of a series of 14-10, 10-3 games that would once again prove that Saban never has two good seasons in a row?

In that respect, Greg McElroy and Mark Ingram were revelations. With defenses figuring out how to largely contain Julio Jones, the quarterback and running back play had to be sound. The running game was fine. The air attack ...

McElory was talented but inconsistent. His only game in October with a passer rating of better than 100 was at Kentucky. But the midseason slump went away during the victories against LSU, at Mississippi State and at Auburn to end the season. (No, I'm not going to even mention the other game the Tide played during that stretch.) Helping out in the win against Auburn was Jones, who emerged as a key factor in the fourth-quarter drive that won the game. Jones' nine-catch, 83-yard day marked just the second time he had either more than five receptions or more than 75 yards in a game. Alabama's offense appears to be coming back around just at the right time.

- - -

Of course, they have to score against the Florida defense, which has been no easy task this year. In fact, both defenses in this game are strong enough to give the offensive coordinators nightmares. (Florida fans might argue that any defense gives Steve Addazio nightmares, but I digress.)

There's no need to recap how the defenses are almost NFL-caliber in both their talent and execution; you know that. And you know that some of the most interesting moves of the game are likely to come when Charlie Strong is calling the shots for Florida and Nick Saban and Kirby Smart are calling the plays for Alabama. No matter what the hype is about Tebow and Ingram and all the rest of the players on offense, this is one championship that will be won by defense.

- - -

But there is the matter of Tim Tebow. I guess the backlash against him shouldn't be a surprise; any player that gets as much attention as he does is bound to draw the ire of opposing fans. That said, the guy seems pretty likable and is no doubt talented. And he is playing the final SEC game of a storied career, one that could make or break his self-proclaimed goal of an undefeated championship season. What might Tebow have in store for the last time he'll play against a league opponent?

It's unclear. Tim Tebow has made some nice plays in championship games, but -- and we should clarify here that the sample size is very small -- he hasn't necessarily outperformed his regular season feats in those games. If anything, he's underperformed when the stakes are highest.

Tim Tebow, Championship Games vs. Regular Season
Game	Passer rating (Stats)	Rush avg	Total TDs
Arkansas (2006 SEC Championship Game)	0.00 (0 pass attempts)	3.9	0
Ohio State (BCS Natl Championship Game)	118.80 (1-1, 1 yd, 1 TD)	3.9	2
2006 Season	201.73 (22-33, 358 yd, 5 TD, 1 INT)	5.3	13
Alabama (2008 SEC Championship Game)	135.6 (14-22, 216 yd, 3 TD, 0 INT)	3.4	3
Oklahoma (BCS Natl Championship Game)	78.6 (18-30, 231 yd, 2 TD, 2 INT)	5.0	2
2008 Season	172.37 (192-298, 2,746 yd, 30 TD, 4 INT)	3.8	42

His team has won all of those games, part of what gives Tebow the aura of being a "winner." But acting like he's been at his best when championships are there for the taking isn't exactly accurate. Of course, we should also keep in mind that these are games against some of the better defenses in the conference and the nation.

Not that Alabama has one of those or anything.

- - -

All of that to say something else you probably already know: There's really not a dime's worth of difference that I can see between these teams. Sure, there is this area where Florida is slightly better or that one where Alabama has a small edge. But nothing that will define this game or give one team the clear advantage when the game kicks off.

What might very well decide this game comes down to something as unquantifiable and vague as whose luck runs out. Both of these teams have been living on borrowed time since the end of September, looking like any game could be their last with a "0" in the loss column. At some point, anyone making a prediction on a game like this just has to go with their gut.

Florida's luck runs out.

Alabama 17, Florida 14

What will it take to pull off the upset?

outsidethesidelines — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:53:47 -0000

On Friday during game weeks I generally post a preview of the upcoming game, but I've decided against that this week. Both Alabama and Florida are already well known commodities, and in general everyone is aware of the key players, so I see little need in recapping something that most already knew in the first place.

Instead, I want to take a look at the things that we must do in order to pull off the upset. Florida knocked us off a year ago in Atlanta, and despite another 12-0 start by the Tide, the general consensus is that the Gators will send us to New Orleans once again. And unfortunately, I'm afraid to say that the general consensus is indeed probably the correct one. We're fighting an uphill battle here, and victory will not come easy for the Tide. Let's look at some key things the Tide must do in order to pull the upset.

Avoid the slow start. Sluggish performances early have plagued the Tide all year, and truthfully did for much of the second half of last season as well. That continued last week against Auburn as we found ourselves down 14-0 before we could even blink. Likewise, we got off to a slow start last year against Florida. We received the ball on the opening kick-off, went three and out, punted, and Florida marched right down the field for a touchdown. Simply put, we cannot afford another slow start this year against the Gators. We don't necessarily need a blitzkrieg from the beginning -- like the Blackout two years ago -- but we cannot get ourselves in a hole early and still expect to overcome that and get the victory over a team like Florida.

Win the field position battle. Offensively Florida is still a juggernaut, and giving this offense a short field is almost guaranteeing a touchdown. Last year, for example, the combined average starting field position of Florida's four touchdowns was past their 40-yard line. Likewise, Florida is very good defensively and any offense consistently forced to drive 60+ yards against them to get points is likely to be very limited in point production. Given that, we must win the field position battle in this game.

Limit the big play from Florida offensively. You heard all that talk about how Florida cannot generate the big play? Don't buy the hype. They might not be producing them at the prolific clip that they were last year, but this is still a big play offense. Riley Cooper had a 51-yard reception against 'Bama last year, and has had four catches of 35+ yards in 2009 (not to mention averaging over 17 yards per reception). Aaron Hernandez and Deonte Thompson both have big play ability. Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey both average over 7 yards per carry, and have had several 40+ yard runs this year. Again, they aren't producing the big plays at the prolific clip they were last year, but don't interpret that to mean that they haven't generated big plays. They can still strike you at any time, and we must limit big plays for the Gators.

Get off the field defensively on third down. Last year, in many ways, the difference in the game was the ability of Florida to convert on critical third downs. And once again the Gators bring that reputation to Atlanta... they are one of the top teams in the country in third down conversion percentage. Simply put, we must get them off the field when we have the opportunity. A breakdown defensively on third down gives them new life, which with an offense of this caliber will more likely than not result in points.

Stop the dive play and control the interior run by Tebow. For all of the talk of speed and spreading the field, Florida relies heavily on the inside running game on the halfback dive and the draws by Tebow. It is of the utmost importance that our defensive line can stop this on their own. If they can shut down Florida in this capacity, that allows the linebackers to play sideline-to-sideline, and it allows the safeties to stay back and limit big plays. If you cannot do it in the trenches, however, linebackers and safeties have to come up to stop the run and that is what really allows all of the elements of their spread game to expose you.

Establish a consistent pass rush with the defensive line. Blitz packages can be great, but against a spread team -- one that will always have checkdowns to high end players at their disposal -- led by a senior quarterback they can be of limited effectiveness. If you have to rely heavily on them in order to rush the passer, much like we did last year, it will many times be ultimately futile because you get picked apart on the back end. And to that end, we have to be able to rush the passer with the defensive line. Florida is young at the tackle position (one of their few weaknesses), and we must take advantage of that. Along with controlling Florida's interior running game, our defensive line needs to get to Tebow. Simply put, they need to play the game of their lives.

Greg McElroy must be a game changer. Remember earlier in the year when we were saying that McElroy had transcended the game manager label and had turn himself into a legitimate game changer? Well, that hasn't been true in the past two months, and McElroy hasn't played particularly well since the Arkansas game. He has been checkdown happy, hasn't been able to throw the football vertically, has missed key throws, and has made a lot of poor decisions. That is acceptable enough against teams like Ole Miss, Kentucky, and Auburn, but that all must change on Saturday if we are to win. McElroy will have to be able to throw the football vertically, and will have to eliminate dumb mistakes, especially turnovers. There is simply no two ways about this one... if McElroy plays at the game manager level, we'll need an almost perfect performance by the rest of the team in order to win, and that is simply not feasible against a team like Florida.

Offensive line must get the job done in pass protection. Lost in the very low Adjusted Sack Rate that the Tide's offensive line has posted this year is the fact that our offense almost never throws the football vertically, and thus the ball generally comes out quickly on three and five step drops. That makes the offensive line's life very easy, but against Florida they will probably not get any such luxury. We'll have to throw the football vertically and in turn they will have to protect on long drops. And don't think the suspension of Carlos Dunlap is going to dramatically change things. Florida still has a ton of talent coming off the edge, and remember last year that the Gators clinched victory not with Dunlap, but with a key sack from Jermaine Cunningham.

Run the football relatively well. Injuries are really limiting our running game right now with Mark Ingram, Mike Johnson, and James Carpenter all being slowed by some ailment or another, but they must overcome that this week and still play at a high level. Florida has a great run defense in their own right, and as a result we aren't just going to run over this team. Much worse run defenses than Florida have been able to shut down our running game (see Arkansas and Auburn), and we cannot allow that to happen in Atlanta. Again, we aren't going to be able to run it down Florida's throat regardless, but we do need to be able run the football relatively well (and do it on a consistent basis).

The wide receiver corps must make plays on the outside. Julio Jones had a big game last year in Atlanta, and he will need another one this year. Likewise, Darius Hanks and Marquis Maze -- both of which had big catches in the Georgia Dome in the season opener against Virginia Tech -- will need to use the fast track of the Dome to their advantage once again. We haven't been able to get the football to our receivers consistently all year long, and that must change tomorrow.

Kick and punt return defense must hold up. It's going to be tough enough to control the Florida offense and move the football on the Florida defense as it is, but it's going to create an almost impossible task if we have one major breakdown in either kick or punt coverage. Brandon James is as good as any returner in the country, and we cannot afford to give Florida a cheap score in the return. Again, given how difficult of a task we face in the first place, giving up a cheap score on special teams will likely be the death knell for us.

All in all, simply put, we need to play at a very high level. We need to play our best game of the year in order to win on Saturday, and anything short of that will likely result in defeat. We cannot afford to play like we did against Virginia Tech. Or Kentucky. Or South Carolina. Or Ole Miss. Or Tennessee. Or LSU. Or Mississippi State. Or Auburn. We're going to have to take our game to another level if we truly expect to beat Florida.

In short, what we really need is perfection. Of course, a football game (not counting kicks) usually consists of 120-130 snaps, and that's just entirely too many snaps to not expect some breakdowns, particularly against a team of Florida's caliber. Thus, as with most things, perfection is an elusive goal in football, and it is one that we will not attain tomorrow. Nevertheless, the harsh reality is that we are going to have to come very close to that level if we are indeed going to knock of Florida. They are on the verge of a bona fide dynasty, they have one of the top three coaches in the country, they probably more talent and depth than any other team in the country, and they are led by a senior quarterback who will undoubtedly go down as one of the great college football players to ever live. A "good" performance will probably not bring down the mighty Gators, rest assured. We had a "good" performance last year and it was not enough. It likely won't be enough this year either. Perfection may be an unattainable goal, but Alabama will need to come almost as close as humanly possible in order to pull off the upset tomorrow night.

Hope for the best.

The Obligatory Predictions Competition - Week 14

Law Buckeye — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:25:08 -0000

So, it all comes down to this. Seattle Hawkeye leads by a comfortable 12 points. Like Charlie Weis's late game instructions to his defense to let Stanford score the go ahead touchdown so that the Irish could get the ball back with time on the clock, the smart thing to do here is to go for upset points and hope for the impossible. If Pitt upsets Cincinnati, Alabama upsets Florida, Clemson upsets Georgia Tech and Seattle Hawkeye does what I expect him to do, and gets more conservative than Jim Tressel with a two touchdown lead, you just might pull it off.

Then again, perhaps you'd rather stick to your gut, and play for second or third place. After all, if this season continues its annoying upsetless ways, your "balls to the wall" ballot might blow up in your face, dropping you to the second tier of the standings.

On the other hand, what if Seattle Hawkeye anticipates the upset strategy, and hedges his bets by picking an upset or two, and buttoning things up the rest of the way? Then, it would appear, you're better off following Vegas and playing straight probabilities, hoping his upsets don't materialize and you catch a lucky break in the form of a perfect margin of victory.

For that matter, when should you enter your picks? Are you brazen enough to show your cards right away, or rather, will you try to snipe the contest eBay-style, publishing your picks mere minutes before Saturday's 11:00 a.m. (EST) deadline? It's certainly to Seattle Hawkeye's advantage to do so. But, then (of course) there's the risk of an unforeseen complication (internet outage, memory lapse, alarm clock failure etc.) that results in you missing the deadline.

I can think of at least seven people that wouldn't be too broken up if Seattle Hawkeye didn't show up at all this week.

The winner of the regular season Obligatory Predictions Competition will be announced next week.

Choose wisely.

1. No. 5 CINCINNATI at No. 15 PITTSBURGH, 12:00 p.m. EST (12/5), ABC

GRAHAMFILLER10 predicts CINCINNATI by 10

Cinci sports a monster passing game with a defensive unit shaped like a sieve. Pitt has a two headed monster for a run game, with the turnover prone Bill Stull at quarterback. During the Pitt-WVU game, ESPN showed the Stull family standing on their own private porch about 200 yards from the field of play - according to Lisa Salters, the family was sick of the constant barrage of insults directed at Stull from the Pitt faithful. That doesn't sound like home field advantage to me.

LAW BUCKEYE predicts CINCINNATI by 10

On December 1st, 2007 No. 2 West Virginia faced unranked Pittsburgh as 28 point favorites, with a bid to the national championship game on the line. Pat White injured his thumb, the Panthers ran the ball out the back of their own endzone (taking the clock with it), and two weeks later Rich Rodriguez belonged to Michigan. True, even with a victory, Cincinnati wil need some unlikely assistance to climb unto the BCS National Championship Game. But the stakes in this one feel errily similar to that cold December night in Morgantown.

Pittsburgh revealed some schematic chinks in its armor in last's week's loss to West Virginia, particularly quarterback Bill Stull's overall decision making. The Panther's rushing attack, led by Freshman Dion Lewis, finds success early, but the long, laborious marching is overshadowed out by a simple truth: no one has figured out how to slow Cincinnati down on offense.

2. FRESNO STATE vs. ILLINOIS, 12:30 p.m. EST (12/5), Big Ten Network

GRAHAMFILLER10 predicts FRESNO STATE by 7

Balanced Bulldogs versus revitalized Juice Williams in his final game. This game has points written all over it. FSU gets an early lead behind their balanced attack and hangs on.

LAW BUCKEYE predicts ILLINOIS by 10

It took 9 weeks, but the Illini finally found an offense against Cincinnati. Nice going Ron. Keep it up!

2. THE SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, No. 1 FLORIDA vs. No. 2 ALABAMA, 4:00 p.m. EST (12/5), CBS

GRAHAMFILLER 10 predicts FLORIDA by 7

The two best defenses in the country match up while CBS explodes into little bitty pieces out of sheer excitement. Verne Lundquist climaxes 13 times before kickoff before smoking a cigarette and taking a nap through the first half. Tebow leads a FG drive early, using his superpowers to gain the skills of Bo Jackson from Tecmo bowl, Jesus, and Tweeter from Varsity Blues. Alabama comes back quickly with a field goal, their players feeling relaxed from not attending a single class the entire semester. Urban Meyer's ingenious playcalling peaks with a triple reverse touchdown run by Demps, who gets three key blocks from Brandon Spikes, and by blocks I mean he literally kills three Alabama tacklers using broken beer bottles and a whipsaw. Lundquist wakes up again, sees the blood and excitement, climaxes again and falls asleep. Florida leads by 7 with a minute remaining but the game is canceled because, in a shocker, Nick Saban takes the Notre Dame head coaching position, stating that "42 million a year is what it's all about, not championships, or golden buildings."

LAW BUCKEYE predicts ALABAMA by 7

The "re-match" quality of the game of the regular season, does a disservice to the Crimson Tide who are a heck of a lot better now than they were a year ago. Sure, Auburn played them close. How many teams did that to Florida? (Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas, Mississippi State...)

As if suspended DE Carlos Dunlap needed another reason not to drive drink, it's the one he'll learn standing on the sidelines watching Greg McElroy take advantage of the precious extra seconds he gains in the pocket to find Julio Jones on deep routes. Jones, a Freshman force who slipped off the radar for parts of this season, is peaking at just the right time.

But what about Tebow? I think he plays marvelous, but just like his scripted hero "jump pass" that fell incomplete last week in Gainesville, a career full of superlatives falls short just once. Everyone's human, after all.

3. DR. PEPPER BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, No. 3 TEXAS vs. No. 22 NEBRASKA, 8:00 p.m. EST (12/5), ABC

GRAHAMFILLER10 predicts TEXAS by 17

Nebraska's surprisingly stout defense (4th in the nation in scoring defense) does a great job stopping the run. Texas, with their uber-effective passing offense, will sacrifice the run and settle for 400 yards passing and a trip to the title game.

LAW BUCKEYE predicts TEXAS by 17

Move on folks, nothing to see here. To the extent it's been said at length, I won't make this entire blurb about how the Big Twelve North is a spineless aberration. I will say that we've seen the Longhorns struggle for the last time -- on Thanksgiving night against Texas A&M -- on their way into the clubhouse. Nebraska's interior line might give Colt McCoy a few close shaves, but that won't help the Huskers run or pass against a refreshingly unsinkable Big Twelve Defense.

5. DR. PEPPER ACC FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP, No. 10 GEORGIA TECH vs. CLEMSON, 8:00 p.m. EST (12/5), ESPN

GRAHAMFILLER10 predicts GEORGIA TECH by 10

Vegas has no idea what's going to happen here, as these two teams played basically to a draw way back in September. We know Clemson is streaky, we know CJ Spiller is faster than God...but we don't know if the triple option can be slowed. Last time they played, GT rolled out a bunch of long runs early, Clemson adjusted and began stopping the pitch, GT adjusted to QB keepers on almost every play...And eventually the Jellow Yackets came away with a win. This is the 2nd best game of the weekend, no question.

LAW BUCKEYE predicts GEORGIA TECH by 10

There's a reason why this game is airing at 8:00 p.m. and not 3:30 p.m., and it has nothing to do with prominence. Both teams suffered humilitating losses last week to in-state underlings. Georgia Tech re-establishes its offensive cohesiveness, and sticks with what works: the run.

Alabama & Florida Common Opponents: LSU

Year2 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:20:01 -0000

As a part of SEC Championship Game week, we're taking a look at Alabama's and Florida's common opponents in alphabetical order. Now up: LSU.

	Alabama	Florida
Game Number	9	5
Score	24-15	13-3
Passing Yards	276	134
Rushing Yards	176	193
Total Yards	452	327
Passing All.	158	96
Rushing All.	95	66
Total Defense	253	162
3rd Downs	4-14	5-12
3rd Down Def.	5-14	1-9
Turnover Margin	Even	Even

Alabama went into its home tilt with LSU coming off of its near death experience with Tennessee. The Tigers were the first to score out of the gate, and though Bama would take a second quarter lead, LSU pulled ahead by five before the half. A Leigh Tiffin field goal pulled the Tide closer, but it wasn't until Julio Jones took a bubble screen 73 yards to the house with 10 minutes to go that Alabama would take the lead for good. A late field goal sealed the win. Alabama got some help thanks to injuries to LSU's Jordan Jefferson and Charles Scott during the game.

Florida went into its game with LSU off of a bye week, normally the best time to take on your toughest road task of the season. It was, however, Tim Tebow's first game back after sustaining a concussion against Kentucky. Tebow was sharp in what little passing he did, connecting on 11 of 16 throws. Of all the conservative game plans that Florida dialed up this year, this one was the most risk averse of all. Thanks to LSU having just one sustained drive and not looking good on offense whatsoever, Urban Meyer was content to let his defense win the game. The Gators' offense played its part by rushing for nearly 200 yards and gaining a 13 minute advantage in time of possession.

The game shouldn't have been as close for Alabama, as the Tide had a sizeable lead in yardage. You can see where some issues arose: third downs. Bama was just 4 or 14 on those, though the defense turned around and did about the same to LSU. Also, Greg McElroy didn't have one of his better days. He completed only about 55% of his throws, and absent the 73 yard touchdown from Jones that had nothing to do with the guy tossing the ball, he barely broke 200 yards on the day. Despite everything Bama had going for it, this one wasn't over until Jones' score. You somehow knew Jarrett Lee wasn't leading a comeback on that defense.

Florida's offense wasn't exactly at peak performance either. The Gators only punted once, but they also missed a field goal, turned it over on downs, and Tebow threw an interception. They went about as vanilla as possible, as this was the game where "dive play" became a dirty word to Gator fans. Meyer was just running clock all game, something that was frustrating to no end for those watching the game. LSU was never truly out of it until Florida's field goal with a little over seven minutes to go, but with consistently bad field position and no coherence on offense, LSU wasn't really in it for much of the game either.

It's tough to say who had the better performance. Alabama couldn't really take over until late. Florida led for most of its game, but the Gators were never more than a single defensive breakdown from getting tied up for most of it. UF probably could have tried to make the score a little prettier, but with a still recovering quarterback and a dominating defense, they never seemed to feel the need to. Alabama wasn't just running out the clock from the second quarter on because it was in control though, and that's the difference between the games. Plus, Bama was at home, Florida was on the road, and two key cogs for LSU went out injured during Alabama's game.

Better performance: Florida, but not by much.

See also: Arkansas, FIU, Kentucky.