| Matchup: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 2 Florida |
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Preview: Story | Video | Watch on SEC Live |
| Date/Time/TV: Dec. 6, 4 p.m. ET, CBS |
| Series: Alabama leads 21-13 |
| Players to Watch: Alabama: LB Rolando McClain, OT Andre Smith, WR Julio Jones. Florida: QB Tim Tebow, RB Jeff Demps, LB Brandon Spikes. |
| Keys to the Game: Florida is arguably the hottest team in the country right now, which is why it is essentially a double-digit favorite despite being the lower ranked team. Against Alabama, the Gators run defense will need to be at its best. Alabama leads the SEC in scoring drives that take longer than five minutes on the game clock. That is a testament to the Tide's ball-control style. The offensive line will try to pound Florida, keep the Gator offense off the field, and wear Florida down. While the Tide has been left-side heavy, running behind left tackle Andre Smith, last week Alabama went right-side to force defenses to be balanced. The Tide ranks first in the SEC in total defense, and third in the NCAA. They haven't seen a team with as much speed as Florida, but then Florida hasn't played a defense as dominant on the line of scrimmage as Alabama.
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| Notes: This is the Tide's sixth appearance in the SEC title game. Alabama is trying to win its first conference championship since 1999 ... RB Glenn Coffee ranks seventh on the single-season rushing list with 1,235 yards this year ... Alabama is 13-2 under Nick Saban when holding opponents to less than 100 rushing yards ... This is Florida's ninth appearance in the SEC title game, the most of any team in the conference. Florida has won seven league titles ... The starting defense has not allowed a touchdown in five of the last six games ... The defense has returned a school record five INTs for TDs. -- Copyright (C) 2008 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved |