ATLANTA -- You can't spell failure without a "U" and an "F." And now it can be said -- 1999 was a failure for the University of Florida.

The Southeastern Conference title game was supposed to be Steve Spurrier's salvation, a chance to win a ring and say he squeezed everything he could out of a team with less-than-superior talent.

It didn't happen.

Alabama (No. 8 ESPN/USA Today, No. 7 AP) dominated the No. 5 Gators 34-7 Saturday night, beating Florida for the second time this season.

For the Gators (9-3), the game offered haunting similarities to their 40-39 loss to the Crimson Tide at The Swamp on Oct. 2.

The similarities showed up mainly on defense. Like last time, the Gators couldn't stop Alabama on third down and couldn't do much to control receiver Freddie Milons.

The Alabama receiver lined up all over the field and finished with 116 yards rushing, incuding a 76-yard reverse-field run that put the game out of reach. The Tide controlled the ball for 40 minutes and converted six of 15 third downs.

Late in the second period, Alabama's Andrew Zow hit Jason McAddley for a 27-yard touchdown on third-and-16. Then, in the third quarter, the Tide used up more than seven minutes on a drive that resulted in a field goal and a 15-7 lead.

In the old days, it was the kind of deficit the offense would have eaten up with one flick of Danny Wuerffel's wrist.

Instead, things just got worse. The Gators finished with only 114 yards and six first downs, both the worst in Spurrier's 10 seasons at Florida.

Jesse Palmer started at quarterback for Florida and went went 7-for-20 for 80 yards with three interceptions.

The second interception caused Spurrier, who wasn't wearing a visor indoors, to peel off his headset and flip it in the air. It was his way of conceding that, indeed, his quarterbacks haven't learned a thing from him this season.

One-time starter Doug Johnson also got his chance. He came in for one drive to start the third quarter and short-armed a pair of passes. Later, sophomore Kevin McKinnon got his chance. The result: an interception on his first throw.

Actually, running back Earnest Graham was the most effective passer for the Gators. He took a pitch and flipped a 3-yard touchdown to Erron Kinney to give Florida a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.

For that brief moment, it seemed the good times were back for Florida.

They weren't.

It means the Tide will likely roll straight to the Orange Bowl, while the Gators will probably find themselves back at the Citrus Bowl for the second time in three years.

It's a destination Spurrier used to make fun of, back when Florida used to win the SEC and Tennessee headed to Orlando all the time. Now, it's Florida's home away from home, a place where good teams -- not great ones -- find themselves on New Year's Day.