McElwain: Florida Gators Have Opportunity in SEC Championship Game to Face the

The Gators haven’t won the SEC title since defeating the Crimson Tide 31-20 in 2008. The Crimson Tide now turns its focus to this Saturday’s 2015 Southeastern Conference Championship Game against Florida. Alabama should cruise to another easy win and cover over the Gators this Saturday to secure the SEC championship.

Nick Saban certainly knows how the game is played leading up to a big game like Saturday’s SEC Championship. They suffered a 35-28 loss against the LSU Tigers earlier in the season and are coming off an embarrassing 27-2 loss against the Florida State Seminoles during rivalry week in their last game. “We’re a program on the rise, and we’re a program that’s going to continue to get better”.

“It was awesome in both years we were in it”, McElwain said. He didn’t play against Hargreaves in high school, but they saw each other previous year in Alabama’s 42-21 win over Florida.

The Crimson Tide are heavily favored as expected; however, the Gators have enjoyed a strong season with just two losses to their credit, and they own a victory over the only team to beat Bama thus far in Ole Miss.

Alabama is riding a nine-game winning streak since losing at home to Ole Miss, 43-37, on September 19. “And he did a fabulous job here with the players that we had at the time, developing a very productive, consistent offensive group that helped us win a lot of games”.

Saban said Taylor was a fantastic high school player, and he tried to flip him from Florida. “We’ve improved as the season’s gone on”. “I’m proud he’s a Gator”.

McElwain still wonders why Saban did and took a chance on McElwain back in 2007, a move that set the stage for a meteoric rise that has reached the University of Florida. Offensively is where Alabama has a decisive advantage.

The Gators are second in the SEC in rushing defense, giving up just 111.2 yards a game. Florida is 7 for 30 the past two games (23.3 percent) on third down.

Of course, McElwain and the 2009 Crimson Tide would have their revenge, overtaking No. 1 Florida 32-13 for the SEC title to start an incredible run of success that saw Alabama claim three of the next four national championships, beginning with that 2009 BCS title. He inherited a program that had totaled 11 wins in two seasons and was picked to finish fifth this season in the SEC East.

The question heading into the SEC championship is whether Florida is able to have any semblance of offense against Alabama’s front seven.

At the same time, though, McElwain stressed the importance of Harris making plays when they are there for the taking, per Thomas Goldkamp of 247Sports.

“There were backs ahead of them and they had to pay their dues”.

In the process, the SEC West would rise above its second-class status to the East and become the best division in the nation.

“Treon is going to have a great week of practice”, McElwain said. “We’ve got to do an outstanding job of trying to keep them off-balance”.

After all, Smart’s defense is among the best in the country.

“Look, he made a choice, OK”.

“When you lose your starting quarterback, it’s always a tough transition”, Thurman said.

“Treon is going to prepare this week and go in there and play a heck of a game”.

“For us to be where we’re at, that’s pretty cool”.

The challenge in downgrading Florida is there is no clear-cut answer for what team is better. How’s he doing because a lot of people are putting the failures right on his shoulders and we’re talking about a young guy.