SEC Championship Game

I have been waiting for this Alabama/Florida rematch all year. I think these are the two best teams in the nation and this game should really be the National Championship game. I feel confident in saying either team will beat the brakes off Texas in the Championship game and it won't be close.

My pick for the winner of this game is....

Alabama

I think this will be a defensive struggle and to me that favors Alabama. They have the perfect personnel to play Florida's offense. Their interior D Line is massive which means those inside dive plays won't have a lot of room for Florida's backs. And their Linebackers are big enough to take Tim Tebow to the turf one on one in space. That is something you can't say for most college football teams. In particular I think the game within a game I am most looking forward to is Alabama's all world linebacker, Rolando McClain, against Florida's all everything QB, Tim Tebow, one on one in the open field. That in and of itself will be worth the price of admission for me.

Their secondary is also underrated and I think people are going to be surprised how few opportunities there are tonight for Florida's receivers to get behind them. Javier Arenas might end up being the player of the game today as he shows off his cover corner skills and his physicality making tackles versus Florida's option game.

As for Florida's defense, they are great against the pass but suspect against the run in my opinion. Both LSU and Tennessee had success running down hill right at them and I would suspect that will be Bama's game plan. I think the triumvirate of Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson, and Roy Upchurch are going to pound Florida all game and in the 3rd and 4th quarter you will begin to see them break some tackles and get to the second level.

Now the X factor in this game is the offensive game plan of the Crimson Tide. If they stick to the run and only throw occasionally they will be fine. But if they try to put the game in the hands of Greg McElroy in an effort to get the ball to their excellent receiver Julio Jones, they are gonna be in trouble. The Gators are built to play the pass. They have fast guys up front and at linebacker to harass the quarterback and their secondary is full of ball hawks. If Bama throws more than they run then the Gators will pick off McElroy at least twice and they will lose.

But I think Saban realizes this and will adjust his offensive gameplan accordingly. Ball control and ball security will be the buzz words for this game.

Final score: Alabama 24 Florida 21.

What say you?