Tide will try to slow Gator offense

TUSCALOOSA — The numbers are dizzying — and distracting.

Florida leads the Southeastern Conference in scoring (46.3 points per game), total offense (449.4 yards per game) and rushing offense (237.1 ypg).

Their Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback leads the league with 25 touchdown passes and a passing efficiency rating of 173.08, which is more than 20 points higher than runner-up Matthew Stafford of Georgia.

In short, Alabama’s league-leading defense will be tested fully in Saturday’s SEC Championship Game.

“They have a lot of weapons. They have a lot of speed. They have a very good concept, and they are very well-coached,” Tide coach Nick Saban said.

Florida wide receiver/running back Percy Harvin, who is questionable for the game, is the Gators’ leading receiver (with 35 catches, 54 yards per game), all-purpose yardage leader (103 ypg) and scorer (16 touchdowns).

But he is just one of the Gators’ weapons. The arsenal starts with reigning Heisman holder Tim Tebow at quarterback. The junior has rushed for more than 500 yards this season while throwing for 2,299. In addition to his 25 touchdown passes, Tebow has thrown just two interceptions.

“He is a unique quarterback,” said Alabama middle linebacker Rolando McClain, who compared Tebow’s legs to Auburn’s Kodi Burns and his arm to Georgia’s Stafford. “He can throw, he can run, he has power, he has speed, he is good with decision making, he doesn’t make a lot of turnovers. He is unique ... but we will do our part to slow him down some.”

Senior defensive end Bobby Greenwood said Alabama must disrupt Tebow’s rhythm.

“We’ve just got to focus on stopping the run, make them one-dimensional and affect Tebow,” Greenwood said.

“Just take away the run. That’s our biggest thing. Just make it a passing game, and I know we can get to Tebow.”

But just getting to him isn’t enough.

“He doesn’t slide when he’s running for first downs,” linebacker Cory Reamer said. “Nah, he’s a big kid and he runs well and he lowers his shoulder when he goes into players. He’s a tough kid. ... He’s won the Heisman. There’s not much more you can say. He’s won the Heisman.”

Alabama safety Rashad Johnson said Tebow’s strength and his elusiveness puts pressure on the defense.

“For us, the biggest challenge is when he drops back to pass, keep him in the pocket and make sure we cover them down the field,” Johnson said. “Because
some plays I’ve seen him make, a guy misses a tackle and he’ll launch it 60 yards because the defenders will stop playing because they think he’s sacked.
We’ve got to keep playing until the whistle blows because with this guy, he’s able to make any play that a quarterback needs to make to win games.”

Those big plays by the Gators are of particular concern to Saban. This season, Florida has a stunning 72 plays that have gone for 20 or more yards — 34 on the ground, 38 via the pass. Alabama has allowed only 29 plays of 20 yards or more this season — just five on the ground.

“I think it’s important for us to ... control gaps and play smart in terms of how we can keep people cut off and try to minimize big plays,” Saban said. “When you watch this team play, that’s the thing that’s most ... compelling, is the number of big plays that they make. That’s something that’s going to be critical in the game.”

Florida coach Urban Meyer said the Gators committed themselves to the running game after losing to Ole Miss early in the season.

“From that point on, we’ve developed a legitimate run game where it wasn’t just Tim right, Tim left,” Meyer said. “It was getting our running backs involved. And the maturity of true running backs that weren’t here last year began to show between Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps.”

Tebow agreed that the emergence of those other athletes in the backfield took the Gators offense from very good to dominating.

“They make a big difference. We have a lot of guys who can go in there and be key contributors,” Tebow said. “Starting with Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey and Emmanuel Moody, all those guys can really step up and make some big plays for us, and they have.”

Add kick returner Brandon James and receiver Louis Murphy and, of course, Harvin to the mix and Florida presents matchup problems across the field.

“They have a lot of very good personnel that has multiple roles in their offense,” said Saban, who noted Florida is a very balanced team.
“The way they utilize their personnel, they have a lot of finesse and lots of speed to go with that running game,” Saban said. “So that’s a real challenge for anyone to defend.”

McClain said Alabama’s defensive will have to play as a unit, not individual defenders.

“We get big plays from people getting out of position. We have to play assignment football,” the sophomore linebacker said. “We have been doing a good job of that. We just know our assignments and we have to execute.”

Return specialist and cornerback Javier Arenas relishes the challenge.

“It’s what you want to see, what it’s mapped out to be,” he said. “A great offense isn’t talent, a great offense is mentality — ‘let’s get it done.’ A championship attitude.

“So I think it comes down to that — who’s more consistent. I think they have that type of attitude, as well as the talent, and I think we have the same thing on defense. So it’s going to be a clash out there.”