Rosenbush Cafe

ATLANTA, Ga.—The Alabama Crimson Tide won their 22nd SEC title and will play for their first National Championship since 1992 with a thoroughly convincing dismantling of the top-ranked Florida Gators, 32-13.

In a much publicized rematch of last year’s thrilling SEC Title Game, won by Florida experts all picked Florida to win if the game was close going into the 4th Quarter. In an exclamation point to Alabama’s total dominance, with a 32-13 lead to start the final period, Alabama would posses the ball for the game’s final seven minutes and twenty eight seconds, finishing with time of possession 39:37 to Florida’s 20:23.

Alabama players were seen carrying roses after the win signifying their next playing field: the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for the BCS championship game in January. Florida will most likely represent the SEC in the Sugar Bowl. BSC games will be announced Sunday night. Alabama last won a championship against the Miami Hurricanes in the Sugar Bowl after the 1992 season, beating the #1 Canes when ranked second.

If #3 Texas wins its Big 12 game with #22 Nebraska they will meet the Tide in January for the National Championship. UA is 0-7 all-time against the Longhorns.

Alabama took the opening drive and scored, never trailed in the game, and shut out the Gators in the second half.

The Crimson Tide came in ranked #2 against the top-ranked Gators, winners of 22 in a row (their last lost coming in 2008 to Ole Miss, 31-30) and dominated the nation’s top-ranked defense for 490 yards of total offense, spurred by SEC Championship Game Most Valuable Player Quarterback Greg McElroy 12/18 239 yards and 1 TD. McElroy also provided two exciting runs and a key block on a running play to help UA finish the season 13-0, 8-0 in the SEC. Florida dropped to 12-1, 8-0.

Heisman candidate running back Mark Ingram accounted for 189 yards of offense as he rushed 28 times for 113 yards and 3 TDs, an SEC Title Game record.

Alabama won the opening coin toss and elected to receive which was opposite of the usual deferring to the second half and marched down the field and took the early lead 3-0 on Leigh Tiffin’s 48 yard field goal capping a 9 plays 47 yards in 04:23.

After holding Florida, Alabama ended their second drive with a 7 yard Ingram run but the extra point hit the right upright for a 9-0 lead. The Gators answered with a 48 yard field goal by Caleb Sturgis for their first points and an Alabama lead of 9-3 to end the first quarter.

In the second, after Tiffin kicked his second field goal of 34 yards to up the lead 12-3 before UF QB Tim Tebow hit receiver David Nelson for a 23 yard TD that cut the lead to 12-10 on a quick 4 play 70 drive in 1:32. Tebow finished 20/35 for 246 yards 1 TD and I INT.

This would be the closet Florida would get. McElroy’s short pass to Ingram, at the Tide 28 yard line, turned into a career high 69 yard reception (he finished with 76 yards receiving) down the right side line to the Florida 3 yard line setting up his second rushing TD ending a quick q play drive in 59 seconds and a 19-10 lead. Sturgis would kick a 32 yarder to bring Florida within six points at the half, 19-13.

After holding Florida to three and out on their opening 3rd quarter drive, Alabama picked up where thye left off in the first half with a 5 play 74 yard drive in under three minutes with a 17 yard TD pass to Colin Peek and a 26-13 lead.

The defining drive, however, would mirror last year’s big drive that gave Alabama A 20-17 lead that evaporated in the 4th when Tebow led the Gators on two long TD drives, a 31-20 win and a bertha against Oklahoma and a second National Championship for the one- time Heisman Trophy winner. This time, however, Alabama took the ball at their own 12 yard line with 7:36 remaining in the 3rd quarter and proceeded to march down the field 88 yards in 17 plays and finishing the drive in the 4th with a Ingram’s 3rd TD, a 1 yard run in 8:47 and essentially ending Florida’s hope for a third championship run in four years.

Tebow would throw his only interception of the game, after leading his team to the Tide 6 yard line, to Javier Arenas in the end zone. Alabama would have no turnovers and only one accepted penalty for five yards that occurred on their first TD drive, while Florida was flagged 5 times for 51 yards, including several that continued UA drives in the second half.

Florida’s number one defense gave up a balanced Tide offensive showing with 239 passing and 251 rushing (the most allowed under coach Urban Meyer) while holding the Gators to 335 yards of total offense (246 passing; 89 rushing with Tebow accounting for 10 carries and 63 yards).

In the Heisman race, Ingram, who broke the single-season rushing record, is a top candidate and in the long Alabama football program there has never been a winner. Ingram returned to top form after his poor performance last week against Auburn where he rushed for 30 yards and was injured with hip pointer late in the game.

Midway through the third quarter, with 65 yards rushing, Ingram broke Bobby Humphrey’s 1,471 yard mark set in 1986 with 1,481 on the season. He finished the season with 1,542 yards.

ATLANTA, Ga.–I cannot, and do not wish to, take football as seriously as most fans. Just to be as silly as everyone else, I’ll make a prediction:

Alabama 28, Florida 20.

The feline consensus is Alabama wins by scores of 20-14, 31-21, 28-24 and 38-28. The cats and I know as much as every expert I listened to this week and all I can say is my ears are bleeding from the hyperbole, re: bull.

Yes, Tim Tebow has two national championships and a Heisman.
Yes, they are number one and Alabama number two
Yes they are riding a 22-game winning streak.

Florida is great and no doubt the hype about the second consecutive year that the SEC Championship between 1 and 2; last year the Crimson Tide was top-ranked and 12-0 before the Gators turned a 20-17 score into a 31-20 fourth quarter win that put them into the #1 spot and a BSC bowl where they won it all.

The video shows the lengths at which fans will go to pump of the mindset of a big game and sisters and brothers of the college football milieu, this is a VERY BIG GAME.

It is also sport. Eleven guys running around; chasing one another for an elusive dream called “National Championship.” So, rather than add to all the migraine-inducing onslaught of stats and who is better I’ll just say this:

“I hope for a game where no one is injured and everyone plays fair and that the CBS announcers acknowledge at least once how much they are Florida-Tebow fans. We already know it from all the telecasts this year and since they are not playing the game they should shut the photon up and just enjoy it like all of us at home.”

Finally, I disagree with most experts that the pressure is on Alabama. Wrong, it is on both teams. Alabama wants to prove its gained experience against a team they could have defeated last year and Florida wants to finish an undefeated season, win a 3rd Tebow-lead #1 team and perhaps another Heisman.

Alabama will have fun, no doubt, and if Arenas, Ingram, Peek and Jones play well Florida may learn what Miami did in 1992: talk is cheap and defense wins championships. Expect it close until the defense pays a visit to the backfield and Arenas intercepts two passes and returns a punt for a Touchdown. McElroy will have a solid game and the Florida defensive line will think about stopping Ingram for rushing for - oh - 148 yards, but will just stand and marvel as he whisks by!

Roll Tide for Alabama
and
Go Gators for Florida

So much fun to predict knowing nothing more than a feeling! Enjoy the game everyone.

POLLS and BSC Standings follow story
12.01.09

AUBURN, Ala.–Listening to commentators in the local television markets you’d think Alabama lost. From the know-it-all comments it is clear that even supporters of the 2nd ranked Crimson Tide (BSC ranking, 2) passed off the 74th Annual Iron Bowl Classic as an easy win for Alabama. It wasn’t easy and Auburn was up to the challenge leading throughout and until the last minute twenty four before falling 26-21.
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