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Alabama coach Nick Saban and his players spoke like they had lost after Saturday night’s 31-6 blowout victory over No. 7 Florida.
No one seemed entirely pleased with their performance in which the top-ranked and defending national champion Crimson Tide rolled to a 24-0 first-half lead and were then relatively punchless over the game’s final 36 minutes en route to their 19th straight win.
So much that Saban’s rule of enjoying a win for 24 hours had seemingly been reduced to less than 30 minutes. He questioned whether his team had shut it down too early against the overmatched Gators.
And after Saban said at halftime, “That’s what we’ve been waiting on to get out of our players,” he was somber after the game.
“We have a high expectation and high standard for how we want to play and what we want to do,” Saban said. “I’m not pleased with the way we finished the game.”
Maybe part of the apathy had to do with the obvious: This Florida team isn’t nearly as good as the ones the Gators have had in recent years. The truth of the matter is that they’re at best probably a borderline top 15 team in this first season of A.T. — After Tebow.
Florida (4-1, 2-1) is still breaking in new starting quarterback John Brantley, who was 16-of-31 passing for 202 yards with two interceptions, and simply doesn’t have the playmakers needed around him.
Last season after losing to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference title game, Florida coach Urban Meyer was so distraught that he was hospitalized with chest pains. He’s no doubt unhappy about this loss, but after this defeat stood at midfield with his hands on hips and stared up in to the stands of Bryant-Denny Stadium while looking more frustrated than upset.
After this thumping, Florida doesn’t want a rematch against Alabama (5-0, 2-0) in December’s SEC title game and it may not even get that chance, despite the Eastern Division being weaker than usual.
But this was hardly a fair fight. Alabama’s loaded offensively with the dynamic tailback duo of reigning Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson, as well as wide receiver Julio Jones. And Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy, a Rhodes Scholar candidate, is smart enough to realize that all he must do is be a game manager who gets the ball to the stars and doesn’t turn it over.
Yet if you looked solely at the stat sheet, you’d have guessed that Alabama lost this game. It was actually outgained by Florida in total offense by 281-273.
Alabama players like offensive lineman Barrett Jones seemed disappointed that the Crimson Tide offense didn’t dominate Florida more than it did.
“We definitely have a lot of things to work on,” Jones said. “We’re going to look at the film and see that the only times we really got stopped was when we stopped ourselves.”
But after many questions, Alabama’s youthful defense with nine new starters showed its promise on this night. It forced four turnovers, which included an interception of Florida freshman quarterback Trey Burton’s jump pass in the Crimson Tide end zone on fourth-and-goal during the Gators’ first possession and linebacker C.J. Mosley’s 35-yard interception return for a touchdown.
“The defense played with a lot of chip on their shoulders because everybody said they’re not as good as good as last year,” Ingram said. “I believe that they did silence some critics tonight.”
No doubt, Alabama impressed Saturday night in the first half and proved again it is the nation’s best team. The Crimson Tide seem poised to have a great shot at being the first consensus repeat national champions since Nebraska in 1994 and 1995.
And them not believing they’ve played a complete game is downright scary for the rest of college football.
“We’re real tough to beat if we’re on the same page,” Ingram said.
But before we crown Alabama yet, remember it still plays next Saturday at No. 20 South Carolina (3-1), at mercurial No. 12 Louisiana State (5-0) on Nov. 6 and closes the regular season against No. 10 Auburn (5-0).
“It was an important win for us,” Saban said of beating Florida. “But we’ve got to reload.”
After this win, Saban talked about his team being able to play with passion, energy and intensity for an entire game. That’s usually cliché, but it’s perhaps a real concern for his team.
“We need to continue to focus on that all the time,” Saban said. “Not some of the time, but all the time. That’s what we’re going to continue to work on.”
If that happens, Alabama might finally get to celebrate a victory again — in the national championship game.
