Who's got a secret?

Alabama coach Mike DuBose does. So does Florida coach Steve Spurrier.

	Doug Johnson has thrown 62 TDs in his Florida career.

They both don't want to reveal a starting quarterback for Saturday's Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta's Georgia Dome.

DuBose said he knows who he'll pick between Andrew Zow, who has started nine games, and Tyler Watts, who has started twice and who steadied the sinking Tide in a second-half comeback win over Auburn on Nov. 20.

Spurrier has been confused all year about his QBs. Doug Johnson started the first nine games, Jesse Palmer started the 10th and Johnson started the season finale in a 30-23 loss against Florida State two weeks ago but alternated plays with Palmer.

Both coaches have varied reasons for hesitation for naming their starters.

"I wanted to see how both guys handled the offense for a couple days in practice this week," DuBose said. "Both quarterbacks have played well."

Zow opened the season as the returning starter with the promise that Watts would get work. But as the year progressed, Zow was clearly the man until he sprained an ankle in the 21-7 loss to Tennessee on Oct. 23.

That opened the door for Watts to start and lead 'Bama to wins over Southern Miss and LSU.

Zow healed enough to start and play the entire game in the Tide's 19-7 win over Mississippi State Nov. 13. Watts said afterward he was disappointed in not playing and said he hadn't ruled out transferring.

Against Auburn, 'Bama fell behind 14-6 at the half with Zow as the starter. The problem: Auburn was dropping into a zone coverage and Zow wasn't correctly reading his progressions.

Watts opened the second half as a starter and hit 5-of-6 passes for 57 yards, including three third-down conversions.

All of which leads to the question of which quarterback Florida will see.

"There's no question they are two different quarterbacks," Florida defensive end Derrick Chambers said. "Watts is more of a traditional, drop-back quarterback. Zow has a good arm, but he has the ability to step away from the rush and run."

Zow has completed 138-of-247 for 1,665 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Watts is 44-of-76 for 477 yards, two TDs and four interceptions.

Quarterbacks coach Charlie Stubbs appreciates Watts's heady play, but he realizes Zow has the speed to face the Gators' pass rush. Watts didn't play a down in 'Bama's 40-39 overtime upset at Florida on Oct. 2.

"You have to have a mobile quarterback who can move in the pocket," Stubbs said. "You have to be able to move to find the passing lanes."

DuBose said he'll start and stick with whoever has the hot hand. He said he expects Spurrier to do the same, but DuBose has been a lot less publicly critical of his quarterbacks than Spurrier.

Johnson is third in the SEC in total offense, and has completed 190-of-335 passes for 2,574 yards. But what irks Spurrier is Johnson has just seven more TDs than interceptions (20 to 13).

Palmer is 37-of-75 for 485 yards, two interceptions and two touchdowns. In his only start against South Carolina, he threw for 161 yards with one TD and one interception.

"We'll get both of them ready to play and I may not announce who I'm going to start," Spurrier said. "I want to avoid those guys getting bombarded with a week's worth of questions."

Though Florida leads the SEC in total offense and scoring, averaging 434.6 yards and 32.9 points, Spurrier is most bothered by the dropoff in his passing game.

The Gators have thrown for 3,083 yards and 22 touchdowns this year compared with 3,807 yards and 35 TDs last year.

"Decisions by our quarterbacks haven't been super and our receivers aren't making a lot of tough catches," Spurrier said. "That's why we haven't thrown it around the way we have in the past."

Unlike 'Bama's varied QB duo, there doesn't seem much difference between Johnson and Palmer.

"It's more the system than the quarterback and both are good quarterbacks," Alabama defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin said. "We've got to put pressure on them. Neither of them can throw if they are on their backs."

Ron Higgins writes for the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn.