Coaches meet with media in advance of SEC Championshp Friday

Florida head coach Jim McElwain is playing with house money, and he knows it.

Robinson was suspended for last week’s loss to Florida State for an undisclosed violation of team rules. The largest SEC Championship Game spread was in 1995, when the Gators were 24-point favorites over Arkansas and covered in a 34-3 win. But don’t forget the committee is empowered to inflict all the illogic it so chooses, so nothing’s a cinch. “We’ve got to take it one step at a time, so we’re just focused on this game”. But don’t forget No. 6 Ohio State, with a giant fan base, national profile and Urban Meyer is a team that 48 percent of those polled by ESPN think should be in the playoffs despite losing to Michigan State.

If Clemson and Alabama win as expected, things will be relatively peaceful at the top of the charts.

No matter how you want to watch this clash of old rivals, we’ll have you covered. You’ll need a TV, a smartphone and a computer or pad, and double-check your router and Wi-Fi.

That was the second of 11 straight games in which Stanford scored at least 30 points as Hogan and Heisman Trophy contender Christian McCaffrey have put the Cardinal in position for a possible playoff berth if either Clemson or Alabama is upset Saturday in their conference title games.

Certainly not Florida, which will face the No. 2 Crimson Tide on Saturday. A low-scoring slugfest in the only type of game Florida has an opportunity to win.

Today a new Gators coach, Jim McElwain, is in Atlanta with the shocking possibility of an SEC title in reach and seemingly no offensive capability whatsoever, tricky or traditional or anything in between, capable of closing the deal.

“For Florida to have a chance against Alabama, that is going to be the key”. Or the night it did everything but beat LSU in Tiger Stadium.

Confirming reports that first surfaced in the middle of the week, Miami announced Friday that Richt has indeed been hired as the Hurricanes next head football coach.

“We’re getting ready to play a football team that arguably is the best football team in all of college football”, McElwain said. After all, the nation’s leading rusher Derrick Henry has rushed for 1,797 yards behind that O-line, and the Crimson Tide have only surrendered 17 sacks this year, which is tied for the third-fewest in the SEC. Isn’t he paid millions of dollars to make decisions and take responsibility?

You know, everybody’s so certain Alabama’s going to waltz through this one, it makes Couch Potato’s Spidey-sense tingle. He can’t take the big losses and he can’t force the football. He found one statistic to back up his point: a win on Saturday would be Alabama’s first this season over an opponent with double-digit wins. He’s sound in how he goes about doing the things we do, and we’ve worked together for a long, long time.

The Trojans are so loaded with talent, they can be breathtaking at times. He throws a lot of passes to JuJu Smith-Shuster who has 74 receptions for 1,300 yards, 10 touchdowns and the coolest name this side of a Star Wars movie. OJ Howard could be a massive weapon for the Tide in this game as well though Kiffin and the passing game, for some reason, just doesn’t seem to be able to fully utilize Howard in the passing game.

Clemson is rolling. Dual-threat quarterback Deshaun Watson completes 7 out of every 10 passes and has 27 TDs against a slightly troubling 10 interceptions. The SEC defense is also the only defense in the SEC to allow less than 100 yards rushing per game, under 80 yards in fact.

To date, Clemson has not suffered a gut-wrenching, unexpected, season-destroying loss – a term that came to be known as “Clemsoning”.

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re selling popcorn or calling plays, everybody’s got to be on the same plays trying to improve in the same direction”, McElwain said. He called this game “a set up”, insisting that Florida is the best team the Tide has faced all season.