Derrick Henry breaks Herschel Walker’s SEC single-season rushing record

It knocked the Bears out of the Allstate Sugar Bowl, and you wondered if it was lighting the fuse for a insane day. Florida finished out the pre-bowl season having scored 70 points in their final five games, averaging just 14 per contest in that stretch. Of that group, only Tennessee had the ability to, intermittently, press the Tide on both sides of the ball.

The Florida defense started to bend late, giving up 24 yards on those last five runs. “To be honest, I had some questions in my mind as to whether we’d wind up here”.

The Georgia Dome wasn’t one of them.

Florida’s defense came out with high energy and a great game plan, but wore down in the second half against an elite running back.

The confetti fell on another Alabama championship, just not the one the Crimson Tide really wants. “Though the Gators” run defense entered Saturday seventh in the country (111 yards allowed per game), UF had problems against bruising runners.

“I’m disappointed… but they worked their tails off. We’ll have a good football team here and a lot of them in the future”. “They’re very physical, very disruptive, very fast on the defensive line”.

Alabama’s team goal remains the same: Win a national championship.

After running the ball nine times in the first quarter, Alabama ran it 15 times or more in each of the remaining three quarters, burning time on the clock and taking advantage of a Florida defense that was wearing down from being on the field so much.

A year ago, the Tide played in the inaugural playoff but was upset by eventual national champion Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl. I don’t care about where an opponent was ranked when the teams played, or what was once considered a big game.

Normally a Florida fan has an air of confidence about them. And if the whole league is down, the dominating West must be down too, right?

In addition to more big, strong linemen, the first-year coach will also be looking for special teams help. “We got behind the sticks”.

It was a two-touchdown victory that seemed like a 10-TD beatdown, but it didn’t start that way.

Defensive back Jalen Tabor, left guard Montez Ivey and defensive end Brian Cox Jr. all sustained injuries at some point during the game.

Florida had 83 yards of total offense in the first quarter. “… We’ve just got to make plays, got to make stops”.

Florida certainly did that. Coker didn’t turn into a passing machine, but he found ways to make big plays. Time and again, the closing speed and ferocious hitting of the Gators’ defenders were on display.

Alabama’s offense lumbered through the first three and half quarters on Saturday. Henry earned Most Valuable Player honors for his performance.

Henry tied the SEC record for touchdowns in a season (23) and eclipsed Herschel Walker’s 34-year-old conference mark for rushing yards in a year. Some folks punch a locker and break their hand and some people say stupid things to the media, Florida quarterback Treon Harris is part of the latter category.

After halftime, Alabama made Florida invisible. He broke the record on a 7-yard run up the middle with about four minutes left in the third quarter. With the win, the Tide improved to 12-1 and 7-1 in the SEC, potentially solidifying their number two ranking and a spot in the College Football Playoff. Bama may be the No. 1 seed when the CFP parings are announced Sunday morning.

Alabama coach Nick Saban said one of the most important factors was that his guys got what they expected from the UF ground game.