No. 1 Alabama vs No. 15 Florida in SEC Championship game

The Tide handled the Gators 54-16 in the 25 edition of college football’s greatest conference championship game Saturday afternoon in front of yet another sellout crowd. Florida would tack on another touchdown before the end of the half, but the game was already over for all intents and purposes. “I’m focusing on what can I do for our players so we have a chance to win the SEC Championship tomorrow, and that’s really all I’m focusing on”.

On the other hand, the loser of the series has only actually won the SEC Championship once.

Right now the Buckeyes are in line for one of the spot in the College Football Playoff despite not playing for the conference title. Alabama will face No. 15 Florida on Saturday. More likely, they will settle for either the December 31 Citrus Bowl or the January 2 Outback Bowl. Saban already has five national titles, counting his first at LSU, and is one shy of Bear Bryant’s record for the most by any coach. Both seasons that ended with Alabama national championships. The Tide lead the nation in three major categories – allowing the fewest points, rushing yards and total yards. The Gators jumped out to a 7-0 first quarter lead. Alabama 40, Florida 16. The 228 pound running back racked up 91 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. On the next play, Appleby hit a leaping Callaway in the end zone on a slant pattern.

That’s been good enough to lead the Tide to a flawless regular season and secure Hurts a spot among the 10 finalists for the Manning Award as the nation’s top quarterback.

The touchdown was Alabama’s 13th non-offensive touchdown – tops in the nation – and epitomized the many ways Saban’s team can beat an opponent. It looked like they had a chance after stopping Alabama on the ensuing drive, but the Tide then reeled off 16 straight points – despite only getting negative yards on offense.

Florida has already lost three players for the season and could have as many as seven players missing today’s game.

To differentiate yards per rush on offense, the calculated superiority points to Alabama by a jaw-dropping 1.7.

Much like last week’s Iron Bowl, this game will feature two of the SEC’s top defenses and could be another game that is won in the second half after either team makes halftime adjustments.

But who needs competent offense if the Tide can do this with their special teams? He would opt to run the football for the first down, only to be tackled for an 11-yard loss on the play. The Gators have scored miserably in the year 2016 – scoring more than 20 points in only two games in their last 6.

The College Football Playoff selection committee has ranked Alabama No. 1 since it began releasing its rankings on November 1, and the Crimson Tide is the only undefeated Power Five conference team in the nation.

With a likely return to Atlanta for the semifinals of the College Football Playoff, the only bad news for Alabama was the loss of Hamilton, the team’s second-leading tackler.

Alabama: Projected to meet the No. 4-ranked CFP team in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

Despite the criticism, the doubt, the Gators (8-4) turned heads to open the game and showed an occasional glimmer of hope to its fans.