After a decade of looking up at the Florida Gators, Alabama is back atop the SEC.
The Crimson Tide obliterated top-ranked Florida 32-13 in the SEC Championship game Saturday, earning a spot in the national title game and snapping the Gators’ 22-game win streak. They also earned their revenge against Florida, which ended Alabama’s undefeated season a year ago with a 31-20 victory in the 2008 SEC Championship game.
The championship was Alabama’s 22nd SEC title – and first since 1999. They also became the first team to win an SEC title in every decade.
In the process of making history, Alabama’s sophomore sensation – running back Mark Ingram – staked an emphatic claim to the 2009 Heisman Trophy by rushing for 113 yards and three touchdowns against the nations’ No. 1 defense.
“Everything we did all year long was to beat them, to be better than them,” Ingram said after the game.
They were. Much better, in fact.
And while no Alabama player has ever won the Heisman, Ingram has come out of nowhere to become one of the front-runners for the award, along with Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and Stanford running back Toby Gerhart.
Behind a bruising ground game and a punishing defense that held Florida in check all night, Alabama jumped out to a 9-0 lead early and never looked back. The Crimson Tide defense – led by defensive tackle Terrance Cody and linebacker Rolando McClain - held the high-octane Florida offense scoreless in the second half.
Meanwhile the Tide offense chewed up a whopping 40 minutes of the game clock, including a 17-play, 88-yard touchdown drive during the late third and early fourth quarters that took nearly nine minutes off the clock – and the wind out of Florida’s sails.
Florida’s hopes for a late rally were dashed when 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow’s pass was intercepted by Javier Arenas midway through the fourth quarter. Tebow had a receiver wide open in the back of the end zone, but he underthrew him on the play – which could have narrowed the Alabama margin to 32-20.
Based on the proficiency with which the Tide ground up yards – and the clock – it probably still would have been a mountain too steep for the Gators to climb.
Alabama put up 490 total yards of offense – more than twice the 223 yards per game Florida had been giving up this season. The Tide’s 32 points were also the most scored against the Gators all season.
The victory brought tears of joy to Alabama head coach Nick Saban, who has turned Alabama’s program around in just three seasons. Of course, the stinging defeat brought tears of sorrow to Tebow – who came back for his senior season hoping to play for his third national championship.
Pics: Getty, Reuters
By John December 5, 2009 at 10:10 pm
ROLL TIDE!!!!!
By Liberty For Me December 5, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Any given Saturday in the SEC..awesome run. Two loses in two years….
By PasserBy December 6, 2009 at 9:40 am
It was a good game, but felt like it was over even before the missed & intercepted passes. Since one of them had to lose, it also (IMO) makes the BCS out to be a joke again this year: this was the national title game.
I even watched the end of the game. Saban’s boys could have (most likely) scored again, but he had them take a knee for the last 2 minutes or so of the game – that’s just classy not to run the score up in that situation, I think.