Alabama faces explosive Florida team

ATLANTA — It’s the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 meeting in Southeastern Conference football history — but it’s not expected to be close.

Second-ranked Florida is favored by more than 10 points to whip top-ranked Alabama for some obvious reasons — quarterback Tim Tebow, explosive skill players, an underrated defense and a unique offensive system that is difficult to prepare for in a week.

But the Gators have been particularly good in two specific areas that often turn close games into blowouts — turnovers and efficiency in the red zone.

Just how good the Gators have been been is reflected in their final scores. Florida’s closest victory was by 23 points. Its lone loss was by one point to Ole Miss.

Florida leads the nation in turnover margin — with plus-21. The Gators lost eight fumbles and threw three interceptions all season. They recovered nine fumbles by their opponents and intercepted 23 passes.

Alabama is second in the SEC and 21st in the country in turnover margin — plus-nine. They recovered nine fumbles and made 15 interceptions, while losing nine fumbles and throwing six interceptions.

Protecting the football is simply a must when the Crimson Tide and Gators square off in today’s SEC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome.

“Probably one of the telling tales about being successful is being first in the country in turnover ratio, which is always to me one of the most significant things in winning and losing,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said.

Florida coach Urban Meyer said turnover margin is no less significant for his team.

“The one game we failed at we didn’t take care of the ball,” Meyer said. “Alabama’s efficiency, you can tell they work on it because they’re very good at it. So are the Gators.”

Saban said Alabama practices turnovers.

“We have a turnover circuit,” he said. “We really practice taking care of the ball offensively. When we practice against each other, we are constantly trying to create turnovers, defensively, as well as the offensive guys developing an awareness that someone is always trying to get the ball away from me.”

Javier Arenas said it’s a period of practice coaches take seriously.

“At the end of a play, say if Glen Coffee carried the ball in practice, he runs the ball 15 yards,” Arenas said. “It’s hard to go to the end of the play and try to rip the ball out.

“But that’s what he (Saban) wants us to do. After Glen breaks the linebackers and into the secondary, still try to get that ball out. Even when he’s being tackled, still try to get the ball out. ... Or someone break on the ball and get a pick, stuff like that.”

Saban said interceptions are scrutinized, too.

“I think interceptions come from guys that have pretty good ball judgment and confidence in playing the ball,” the coach said. “Not throwing them comes from the judgment of the quarterback. ... We actually do some things in practice, whether it’s how to scoop the ball, how to pick up, how to recover or how to
create — and how not to allow them to do that — is something that we are always working toward.”

Alabama running back Glen Coffee said it doesn’t bother him to be pounded up the field at practice.

“It makes me better as a running back. It’s something I look forward to at practice,” Coffee said.

Of course, creating turnovers is only half the goal. Cashing in opportunities has helped Florida crush its opponents and post spectacular numbers in the process. The Gators haven’t scored fewer than 26 points in a game. They’ve scored at least 42 points in their last seven games.

The Gators have turned 22 of their 32 turnovers into 146 points — 20 touchdowns and two field goals. Florida foes have turned the Gators’ 11 turnovers into 20 points — two touchdowns and two field goals.

They can score quickly and score in bunches. Alabama hasn’t shown that explosiveness for much of the season.

“I think that we’re one of those teams that sort of grind it out and need to play every play in the game for 60 minutes,” Saban said Friday.

“We’re not an explosive team. We don’t make a lot of explosive plays. We don’t score 28 points in three or four minutes. We play good defense; we try to be sound on special teams. We would like to be be a little more explosive on offense.”

Florida’s red-zone efficiency is impressive. In a league-leading 58 trips to the red zone, Florida has converted 44 into touchdowns and nine into field goals.
Alabama has 28 touchdowns and 13 field goals in 49 red-zone chances.

The Gators also lead the SEC in red-zone defense. In 31 situations, opponents came away with 14 touchdowns and seven field goals. Alabama gave up seven touchdowns and six field goals in a league-leading 16 red-zone opportunities.

Saban was asked about the contrast in styles between his pro-style attack and Florida’s spread.

“The contrast in style is because both teams know who they are, and they play to the style that they need to have success,” the coach said.

“What we do allows us to be the most successful, and I think what Florida does with their players allows them to be most successful.”