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By B.J. Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com Senior Editor
SouthernPigskin.com Senior Editor B.J. Bennett wonders who is better, Alabama or Florida? Follow us on Twitter at Twitter.com/SouthernPigskin
Blondes or brunettes?
Alabama or Florida?
Both questions that can make the most decisive man stutter. When your buddies ask you which direction you are leaning, in either of the above quandaries, the response sounds more like an overweight adult league softball star stretching rather than men talking about crucially important issues.
“Eh, uuh, ahh…,” nobody’s quite sure what to say.
That pretty much sums it up.
The hype has been building towards an Alabama v Florida SEC Championship Game all season long and, on Saturday, fans and media members alike got their wish. Florida clinched the SEC East with their win over rival Georgia last weekend and Alabama recently held up their end of the bargain with a home victory over LSU. Though both the Gators and the Crimson Tide have a couple of games left to go, it looks like the two national championship contenders are poised to meet each other in Atlanta with both teams bringing undefeated records and top national billings to the Georgia Dome.
Two undefeated teams, two passionate fan bases, an SEC and national championship berth on the line? Yes, please.
Though we will get an on-field answer come early December, we have nearly a month to overanalyze every single play both teams make, nitpick all of the coaching decisions and make all of the odd and irrelevant statistical comparisons we can to try to figure out which team is better.
On paper, these teams are a lot more similar than they are different. Both Alabama and Florida boast elite defenses nationally and likely Heisman Trophy finalists in Mark Ingram and Tim Tebow. Both the Gators and Crimson Tide have head coaches who have won a national championship. Both programs have long, proud traditions and mammoth, national fan bases.
The undefeated records and consistency aside, what is really amazing is how close the numbers line up. Florida ranks second in the nation in total defense, allowing 232.4 yards per game. Alabama ranks fourth allowing 243.9 yards per game. Florida leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing 10.1 points per game. Alabama ranks sixth, giving up 11.8. Les than 12 yards and two points per game separate these two defenses.
Ingram and Tebow are the offensive catalysts and national superstars for the offenses. Depending on who you talk to, both may be Heisman Trophy frontrunners. Some look at Ingram’s consistency and propensity to step up in big games and circle him as the favorite at this point. Others point to Tebow’s winning ways and how valuable he is to the UF team and deem him poised to win a second Heisman Trophy. With three regular season games left, Tebow has rushed for nine touchdowns. Ingram has rushed for eight.
The similarities really are uncanny. Both teams’ biggest test to date has been LSU. Florida beat the Tigers by ten, Alabama by nine.
"It kind of hit us after the game that we won the West,” Alabama senior Javier Arenas told reporters after the victory. “I wouldn’t say we’re used to it, like we’ve been dominating forever, but we know how it feels.”
The Crimson Tide may know how it feels to win the west, but nobody on the current roster knows how it feels to win the SEC Championship. The last league title came in 1999 for Alabama, ten years ago with Sean Alexander and company. Winning the SEC crown would undoubtedly set the Crimson Tide up for a chance at the national championship. Though ‘Bama has won eleven national championships, they haven’t won one since 1992.
Florida, who defeated Alabama 31-20 in the Georgia Dome last season, knows how it feels to win it all. They know the feeling very well. Urban Meyer has won two of the last three national championships and his Gators are currently ranked number one in the nation as we move towards the middle of November. Tebow and his fellow seniors are eyeing a third ring; an unthinkable accomplishment in college football today.
So which way do you lean? The defending national champions, fit with perhaps the best player the game has ever seen, or the hungry program that hasn’t lost a game in two straight regular seasons but has suffered postseason disappointments? Both teams have Heisman Trophy frontrunners leading their offenses, unbelievable defenses fit with future first round NFL Draft selections and championship caliber coaching staffs.
It's beyond a tough call. Scary considering SEC refs will be officiating this end of the year clash.
Whether you're talking women or football, sometimes you have to take a wait and see approach. Bide your time, let the game come to you and just play the field. Soon enough, the Gators and Crimson Tide will do just that.
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