The (5-0) Alabama Crimson Tide still remains the No.1 team in the nation. The 2009 junior Heisman Trophy winner, Mark Ingram, smashed through the line of scrimmage with two scores on 12 carries for 47 yards in front of the 101,821 people in attendance. The Tide neutralized the Florida Gators on two field goals with a 31-6 victory at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa Alabama last week, proving that they are the most dominate force in the SEC Conference (2-0) thus far and trailing the LSU Tigers by one game in the standings (3-0).
24 points were put in the first half as the Tide made this game an absolute riot from start to finish, as the defense buzzed around the ball by pressuring junior quarterback, John Brantley, into making two costly interceptions in this contest. Brantley was 16 for 31 and had 202 passing yards on the night. “I was very, very pleased the way we played in the first half,” Alabama head Coach Nick Saban said, according to ESPN.com. “I thought we played physical, played with toughness, and played strong. I was really encouraged.”
The Crimson Tide is on a 19-game winning streak by outscoring their opponents 638-209, a 429 point advantage. In the first five games, the Tide scored 189 points to their opponents’ 44, a 144 difference in point total. This rivalry has gone on for 37 years; both of these squads haven’t faced each other in the regular season since 2006, but both teams played in the title game seven times. Whoever won the matchup went on to win the BCS National Championship. The Tide won the 2009 SEC Championship game (32-13). However, the Gators couldn’t avenge their loss as Head Coach Urban Meyer’s club was blown out by a marginal difference of 25 points. Overall, Alabama against the Gators have outscored this 1005-537, a 468 point advantage. They are looking to punish the offensive juggernauts in the SEC with their defense.
“We got beat by a very good team,” Meyer said, according to ESPN.com. “We just didn’t play very well.” Trey Burton had six rushing touchdowns against Kentucky last week, the most in Florida Gators history, breaking Tim Tebows’ record. However, Burton couldn’t execute on a fourth-and-goal play from the 2-yard line, as the Tide’s defense sniffed it out with Nico Johnson picking it off in the red zone. “That was a huge play in the game. It was an aggressive call,” Meyer said. “I do it again,” according to ESPN.com.
Greg McElroy, Senior Crimson Tide quarterback, was 11 for 17, with 84 yards passing and a completion percentage of 64.7%. He has a quarterback rating of 106.21. McElroy hasn’t lost a start since the eighth grade. The Tide will travel to the South Carolina Game Cocks and will be lead by Head Coach Steve Spurrier and his running-back Marcus Lattimore, who has 84 carries, 366 rushing yards, and six touchdowns, even though he is only a freshman. The Tide is looking for their six consecutive victory as they continue to play the toughest schedule in the nation. Their goal is to possibly get back to the BCS National Championship. The Crimson Tide had a total of 273 yards, 170 rushing, 103 passing and forced the Gators to turn the ball over four times in this contest.
