Gators vs. Tide: 10 Things to Keep an Eye on
Saturday, October 1, 2011 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – This is a game that has been circled on the calendar by fans of both schools since the schedule came out.
It's Florida-Alabama. What else can you ask for, right? Well, how about an 8 p.m. kickoff at The Swamp and a national television audience on CBS.
This one has the ingredients to be one of those special SEC regular-season games that people talk about the rest of the season. There's the added storyline of it being the first head-to-head meeting between Gators coach Will Muschamp and his mentor, Alabama's Nick Saban, since Muschamp replaced Urban Meyer at Florida.
Both coaches have shown tremendous respect toward one another this week as they talked about the matchup between two teams ranked in the top 12 – Alabama ranked third and Florida 12th.
“Both programs – the tradition speaks for itself as far as the championships and the tradition and the history of the two programs,” Muschamp said.
“This is the biggest challenge we've had all year which also makes it the greatest opportunity for our team in terms of playing a really good Florida team that has played extremely well in the first four games,'' Saban said.
This is the Crimson Tide's first visit to Gainesville in five years, a 28-13 Florida victory on the way to the Gators' second national championship. They met again in the SEC championship game in 2008, and Florida won 31-20 on the way to its third national championship.
Alabama, in Saban's third season, returned the favor in the 2009 SEC championship game as the Crimson Tide beat the Gators, 32-13, before knocking off a Texas team with Muschamp as defensive coordinator in the national title game.
A year ago in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide rolled 31-6 as four Florida turnovers proved too much to overcome, snapping the Gators' 24-game regular-season winning streak.
Can the Gators avoid similar mistakes and provide Muschamp with a signature victory five games into his UF career? Or will Saban have the final word on Saturday night against his former pupil?
To help you get ready for kickoff, here are 10 things to keep an eye on in Saturday's game:
THE QUARTERBACKS
Florida fans want to see Gators quarterback John Brantley unleashed in offensive coordinator Charlie Weis' pro-style offense. Alabama fans are still wondering how good of a passer first-year starter A.J. McCarron is under pressure.
Much of the talk leading up to the game has been on the running backs, but Brantley or McCarron could end up being the difference in the game, especially if forced to make plays in the passing game. The one with the fewer mistakes is the one who will likely be on the winning side.
BALL SECURITY
Despite the lopsided score in Florida's loss to the Crimson Tide last year, the Gators actually outgained Alabama 281 yards to 273. However, an interception in the end zone on a jump pass by Trey Burton on Florida's opening drive set the tone for what kind of night it was going to be for Florida.
Brantley later tossed two interceptions and Alabama's defense and running game did the rest, preventing the Gators from ever recovering from the early miscues. Both defenses preach winning the turnover battle, so if the game is close, look for the winning team to seize the momentum with a turnover at a critical juncture.
FLORIDA'S CONFIDENCE LEVEL
Alabama was picked to contend for the national title before the season started. Most pundits pegged Florida as the third-best team in the SEC East.
However, with the first month of the season out of the way, the Gators have earned some respect by looking good in four consecutive wins, including a pair of victories over SEC East foes Tennessee and Kentucky. Now we get to see the Gators face their toughest opponent yet and it will be interesting to watch how a team loaded with underclassmen responds.
Both Muschamp and Weis sounded confident in the Gators' approach during practice this week.
“The last thing we're doing is hoping to win,” Weis said Thursday night on the Gator Hotline show. “There's a difference between hoping to win and expecting to win. And I promise you, we expect to win. We're not hoping.''
DEFENSIVE LINE PLAY
Muschamp has said what makes the SEC such a tough league is the play up front. He repeatedly refers to the SEC as a line-of-scrimmage league. That means this is a line-of-scrimmage game considering the talent in the trenches.
On Florida's side, defensive linemen Jaye Howard, Dominique Easley, Sharrif Floyd and Ronald Powell will be counted on to make big plays. For Alabama, the stars up front are Jesse Williams, Josh Chapman, Damion Square and Courtney Upshaw, who plays a hybrid linebacker/defensive end position like Powell.
Both offensive lines have played well up to this point, so making noise up front could be difficult for both teams.
HOMEFIELD ADVANTAGE
Make no mistake, when all things are considered this is a good game for the Gators to play at home. They are a young team looking to hit their next growth spurt.
The victory over Tennessee was a hurdle cleared, but Alabama is an entirely different challenge. If the Gators can defeat the Crimson Tide, they will take a huge leap across the bridge from where they were at the end of last season to where Muschamp wants to lead them.
Playing at home in front of 90,000 rabid fans is a plus for any young team.
RUNNING LANES
The winner of this game will have to develop a strong rushing attack. Neither Brantley nor McCarron have proven they can win with their arm alone, so look for both teams to try and establish the run early.
The Gators will try to do it with an assortment of backs, mixing in speedsters Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey with Burton and others. Meanwhile, Alabama's Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy offer a nice blend of power and speed that makes them as dangerous a combo as any in the country.
Finding room to run likely won't be easy for either team. Alabama is surrendering just 1.8 yards per carry, and Florida is allowing just 2.1 yards per rush.
INJURY FACTOR
Florida enters expecting all its key players to be available except for junior cornerback Jeremy Brown, who has not played this season due to a slow recovery from a preseason knee injury.
Meanwhile, Saban said Thursday that the Crimson Tide will likely be without starting inside linebacker C.J. Mosley because of an elbow injury.
“C.J. is the perfect kind of guy to have for this kind of game … because he can run,'' Saban said on his weekly radio show.
If Mosley can't play, the trio of Jerrell Harris, Nico Johnson and Trey DePriest will be counted on for more snaps.
SPREADING IT AROUND
When Brantley does drop back to pass, look for him to try and get everyone involved to keep Alabama's defense as off balance as possible. That means using the middle of the field and tight ends Jordan Reed, Gerald Christian and A.C. Leonard. That could also keep the ball away from Alabama's excellent cornerbacks – DeQuan Menzie and Dre Kirkpatrick.
Christian had a 45-yard touchdown reception last week against Kentucky that helped the Gators offense wake up in a rout over the Wildcats. Alabama also uses a pro-style attack, but with Richardson and Lacy offering more size than Demps and Rainey, it's imperative for Florida to use the entire field to open up as much space for its playmakers as possible.
GAME ADJUSTMENTS
Which coaching staff will make the best adjustments during the game? With so much familiarity between Muschamp and Saban and others on each staff, there will be some serious chess matches going on.
With Saban considered one of the premiere defensive minds in football and Weis perhaps the game's top offensive play caller, watching how the game unfolds could be a good study for a future coaching clinic.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Both teams rely regularly on special teams to make big plays. The Gators have blocked two punts in four games and kickoff return Andre Debose, second in the SEC a season ago, is expected back after missing the Kentucky game.
Alabama punt returner Marquis Maze is averaging 16.8 yards a return, including an 83-yarder against Arkansas last week. If this game comes down to a field goal like some expect, Florida's Caleb Sturgis is 11-for-11 on the season and Alabama's Jeremy Shelley is 7-for-9.
GATOR GAMEBOX
No. 3 Alabama at No. 12 Florida
Kickoff: Saturday, 8 p.m. (Ben Hill Griffin Stadium)
Records: Alabama 4-0 (1-0 SEC); Florida 4-0 (2-0)
TV/Internet: CBS/CBSSports.com
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (click here for affiliates); XM Channel 99
Bottom line: Alabama jumped on Florida early a year ago to run away with a 31-6 win. Look for Florida to play much better in this one, which I expect to be a defensive battle that could come down to the final minutes.
