SEC Championship: Speed...Speed...SPEED
Of all the games this weekend, the SEC Championship game is one I don't want to miss. I've watched enough track meet Big 12 games this year for my liking, now I want to see what the SEC has to offer. We've heard it all year long that Florida is the fastest team in the country, and their opponent Alabama, who is undefeated, comes into the game as a 10 point underdog. I sent my scouts to Gator practices to see just how they get so much speed on their team, and here is some top secret tape of Urban and his team.
On a more serious note, Alabama has to be relishing the fact that they are the underdogs here. They are the undefeated team in this game, yet like Rodney Dangerfield, they get no respect, and haven't really all season. According to Mark Schlabach, the Tide have the perfect ingredients to beat the Gators, and that is -- a stifling, physical defense and a punishing, ball-control offense -- to slow the Gators down. Alabama has its goals clearly in front of them, if they win Saturday night, they are one of the two teams that will be playing for the BCS National Championship. Florida on the other hand, does not have the same luxury.
Dr. Saturday points out that even with a win against Alabama, it still might not be enough for the Gators to jump Texas in the BCS Standings. Two years ago, people were totally against the fact that Ohio State and Michigan could play in a rematch in the Championship game, so a certain coach (whos name rhymes with Murban Ueyer), threw his weight around and got his team in the title game. Will he be able to do it two times in 3 years? That remains to be seen. I can see the voters making a big shift, but Florida still ranks behind Utah in many computer polls, so that will be a little harder to persuade Mr. IBM.
All that aside, I'm looking for Alabama and Florida to be a great game, maybe one of the best this season. While some bloggers are predicting a blowout, others don't care if they make the BCS title game because the SEC Championship is more important, I think it will a close one where we'll find a lot out about these teams. Because in reality we don't know how good they are since both teams have combined to play exactly two teams ranked in the BCS Top 25 at this moment. I bet that's a big of a shocker!
