Coming off one of Florida’s most embarrassing losses in a long time, the Gators head to Atlanta to play against Alabama with the SEC Championship on the line.
The Crimson Tide is a 17-point favorite according to sports books. The following is our staff predictions:
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One week ago this matchup looked juicy. Most fans and media pundits called for last week’s games to be cancelled for both Florida and Alabama, and this is exactly why. After watching Florida get embarrassed against LSU, there aren’t many people picking the Gators to cover the point spread, let alone win the ball game. The Gators have upperclassmen leaders and they will be relied on heavily. It will be up to Kyle Trask, Kadarius Toney, and Kyle Pitts to keep Florida within striking distance. In the end, it seems that even if Florida plays a perfect game, this Alabama team is just too loaded. The Tide rolls, 48-28.
Can Kyle Trask increase his heisman chances? Can Florida pull off the upset against the Crimson Tide? Florida has not beaten Alabama since 2008 in the SEC Championship game. This game is different, Florida now has an offense that can compete with Alabama, but seems to have lost their elite defense along the way and the staff seems to not want to make any kind of changes on defense and hold kids accountable for their play on the field and discipline by not creating penalties (especially with cleats). This will be Florida’s Achilles heel in this game as it’s been all year. Florida’s offense competes with Alabama on a national level. But Alabama has been the more disciplined and consistent team all year and has the talent to back it up as well. Nick Saban holds his kids accountable and doesn’t make excuses in press conferences this is why he has an elite team still to this day after they defeated Florida in the 2009 SEC Championship and they never looked back. Alabama wins 57-45.
The Gators and Tide meet in Atlanta for the first time since 2016. That ended in a 56-19 debacle in Bama’s favor. Florida fans had little hope that day and might feel only slightly better this time with how the offense transformed under Mullen. That’s what can keep the Gators in the game. But it’s hard to stay in a game with the fightin Nick Sabans even if you’re great on both sides of the ball. Florida isn’t. That offense will keep the Gators in it but the defense prevents them from closing the gap. If it’s any consolation, defenses did squat against the Tide all year. They’re back in “Death Machine” mode. Bama takes advantage of some blown coverages, pulls away and heads to the Playoff. Alabama 48-28.
This game lost a bit of its luster after the upset last week. However, this is still two of the SEC’s best going up against each other. Two of the nation’s best offenses will be engaged in a shootout that has Heisman implications laced all throughout. But in the end, Florida’s defense just isn’t where it needs to be to help the Gators win this game. Kyle Trask shines but the Tide will win: 42-31.
I thought this game would be a footnote after LSU’s shocking upset, but the committee only dropped Florida to seventh. If lightning could strike, like Jake laid out in his piece earlier this week, never say never. Now, I don’t think Florida has zero chance of winning this game, but the Gators would have to answer several questions that have lingered all season before they even take the field. The secondary is obvious but without a running game or optimal pass protection, Kyle Trask will have a mammoth task ahead of him as well. I think he may do enough to fend off Mac Jones for the Heisman, but Alabama is a complete football team, and it will take a complete football team to beat them. Florida can’t afford a quarter to settle in, and they may be the difference. Alabama wins, 51-38.
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Florida and Alabama kick off from the Mercedes Benz Dome in Atlanta at 8:00 PM. The game is scheduled to be aired live on CBS.
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