Who’ll win SEC? Florida or Alabama?
It doesn’t get any better than that.
Arguably the biggest game of the weekend, the top two teams of the nation, both still yet to taste defeat this 2009 NCAA college football season, collide as No.1 Florida Gators take on No.2 Alabama Crimson Tide for the SEC title.
That’s right, the SEC championship game will pit two undefeated teams against each other in order to decide who wins the conference this season. The 2009 SEC championship game will also most likely decide who will play for the national title come January.
This title game between the Florida Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide is dubbed as the most anticipated matchup in college football since Florida and Oklahoma played in the BCS title game last year. It’s the game people started talking about in the preseason and have been pointing to ever since and now it’s finally here.
The Florida Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide are in a battle between two high-profile coaches; Florida’s Urban Meyer and Alabama’s Nick Saban. This contest will also be about two Heisman trophy hopefuls Tim Tebow and Mark Ingram, not to mention a war between two of the nation’s best defenses with a spot in the national championship game on the line. The winner advances to the BCS title game in Pasadena, Calif. The loser still gets a BCS berth, almost certainly in the Sugar Bowl.
In a game this huge, who should you pick?
Let’s look at Florida. The Gators, the defending national champions, were the unanimous choice to win the Eastern division, while No.2 Alabama was a popular pick in the West. The Gators needed a last-second field goal to beat Arkansas and played close games against Mississippi State and South Carolina. They secured a spot in the SEC title game in late October.
Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide edged Tennessee on a blocked field goal in October, and then clinched a spot in Atlanta with a controversial win against LSU two weeks later. The Tide eked out a 26-21 victory over rival Auburn on Friday thanks to a game-winning drive in the closing minutes.
However, the fact that the SEC’s leading rusher, Mark Ingram, may not be at a hundred percent come game time for the Crimson Tide is huge. Ingram bruised a hip against the Tigers and sat out most of the game-winning drive. But Saban said he expects him to be healthy against Florida.
Ingram was held to 30 yards on 16 carries. He probably will need a better performance against the Gators to have a shot at winning the Heisman.
The fact that Tim Tebow appears to be back in the hunt for college football’s most prestigious award, Ingram definitely needs to come up with his A-game. He accounted for 311 yards and five touchdowns in Saturday’s 37-10 win against Florida State. He completed 17 of 21 passes for 221 yards and three TDs, and ran 15 times for 90 yards during a triumphant home finale.
Florida and Alabama played in the first three SEC title games and have met six times in the 17 previous championship games. Florida holds a 4-2 advantage.
Can the Florida Gators beat the Alabama Crimson Tide to win the SEC championship? SPORTSBETTING.com has the odds.
Florida Gators 5/9
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