Florida vs. Alabama

GAME TIME:	8 p.m. ET Saturday, ABC
LAST MEETING:	1999 (Oct. 2) -- Alabama 40, Florida 39 (OT)
SERIES:	Alabama leads 18-12

Obviously, Alabama beat Florida at The Swamp in the first meeting this year. That should plenty of motivation for the Gators, along with playing for the SEC championship. But the big question is whether or not Florida can recover from its loss to Florida State.

Can the Gators get excited about another game after being so close to a potential Sugar Bowl berth and a shot at the national championship? They made too many mental mistakes against Florida State, and now they must be ready for another formidable opponent in Alabama. Their offensive miscues have been due more to a lack of concentration than a lack of talent.

I expect Jesse Palmer to get more playing time than Doug Johnson at quarterback for Florida because he is an underclassman and the Gators need to groom him for the future. This will be the first time since the opening week of the season that Florida will have its three running backs -- Earnest Graham, Robert Gillespie and Bo Carroll -- healthy and ready to play. I expect the Gators to rely on the running game. Receiver Travis Taylor will also need to make some plays, but since he injured his ankle, he hasn't proven to be tough enough to come back and make plays.

Alabama will challenge Florida's offense with an improving defense. The Tide has battled through injuries and played well on defense. Coach Mike DuBose was ridiculed by many Crimson Tide fans and the media for his off-the-field problems. But, as a fan, who do you believe is the SEC coach of the year? In my mind, DuBose has earned that title. I salute him for having a great year and being able to block out the troubles and put his team in he SEC championship game.

The key to the game will be early tempo, since the Tide tend to thrive when they get off to a quick start. It will be up to 'Bama's defense to shut down Florida and rely on a balanced attack, led by running back Shaun Alexander. The last time the two teams played, Florida's defense was very conservative because of youth and concerns over crowd noise at The Swamp. The Gators were making blitz checks at the line of scrimmage, but because of the noise not everyone was on the same page. They went away from their blitzes early in the game and got conservative, and Alabama took advantage of it.

In the rematch I would expect Florida to be much more aggressive with its blitz schemes. How will the 'Bama quarterbacks and the offense handle the Florida pressure? That remains to be seen. The matchup to watch will be All-American tackle Chris Samuels of Alabama against big-game performer Alex Brown of Florida. Brown didn't have a sack in the first meeting. The Gators will play inspired football and beat Alabama for the same reason Nebraska will beat Texas -- the difficulty of beating the same team twice.   BACK TO TOP