It's alive! Mad scientist Saban will create way to beat Gators
Freeman: McElroy is no Tebow
I could have made a heck of a case for Alabama in Saturday's SEC Smackdown.
Then Carlos Dunlap did it for me.
All it took was some Captain Morgan (or whatever) and the worst judgment since Tiger Woods started chatting up cocktail waitresses.
"Stunning," Florida coach Urban Meyer called Dunlap's (alleged) sloppy-drunk episode at a traffic light earlier this week.
Stupid is more like it. Dunlap was a team leader, a force off the edge, the defensive MVP of last season's BCS title game. Those are the strategic issues. Lord knows how the Gators deal with this emotionally.
Even without Dunlap, Florida is loaded. We know that. It's hard to pick against the Gators in this game. But the task here is to make a case for Alabama. That's why I'm here, Freeman, and this is why you're wrong.
When did this game become a boat race? That seems to be the vibe out there. This is 'Bama-Florida, 1-2 in the country, not Florida-Charleston Southern.
The talent is similar. The coaches are über. But here's my biggest case for the Tide: Long before Dunlap ordered his first double this week, Nick Saban was at work in his secret basement laboratory breaking down film, from Sept. 19.
That was the day Tennessee defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin provided Saban a juicy template on how to beat the Gators. Remember how Kiffin's Tennessee defense mostly stuffed Tim Tebow and the Gators? Remember that 23-13 Florida result -- OK, we'll go ahead and call it a "victory" -- in the Swamp? There was speculation that week that Florida would score 60. Gator Nation choked on its pom-poms when the Vols were in it with five minutes left.
Kiffin used safety Eric Berry all over the field, helping stop the run, harassing Tebow. The Tennessee linebackers had a great day. All this didn't dawn on me this week. Let's quote from my game column that day: (The result) hurts (Florida) because ol' St. Nick had to be watching too.
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That was almost three months ago. Señor Saban has had some time to sharpen his defensive knives. He got a first-hand look at Monte's brilliance when 'Bama snuck out with a 12-10 over Tennessee on Oct. 24. If not for Terrence Cody's big paws, the result might be different from that day.
Start with the assumption that Auburn last week was an anomaly, the product of playing on the road in a bitter rivalry. Alabama still has a top three defense. Only Florida (11) has allowed fewer touchdowns than the Tide (15).
Continue with the R-word, revenge. Sounds trite. It isn't in this case. Don't forget the Tide led Florida 20-17 in the fourth quarter of last year's title game. That's before Mark Ingram became Mark Ingram. That's when Julio Jones was a freshman. That's when Cody still had most of his baby fat.
OK, maybe Mount Cody is still slimming down, but you get the point.
Cody has gotten stronger, as has the rest of the 'Bama unit. They know the game plan -- Tebow left, Tebow right, Tebow up the middle. And they are sick of it. If the fourth quarter decides the game, then it will be in Alabama's favor. Saban will make sure of it. His team was outgained 117-1 in the fourth last year in Atlanta.
R-word? The Sabanator is 12-3 in revenge games as a college head coach (rematches after losing to a team).
I have a vision, several of them, in fact:
• I have a vision of Ingram breaking loose for 150 and winning the Heisman.
• I have a vision of a Javier Arenas sampler platter -- a pick and a punt return for a touchdown.
• I have a vision of Jones breaking loose once, just once, against Florida's secondary because that's all it will take in a low-scoring game.
• I have a vision of Saban being Saban.
That jaw has been clenched way too long. The bitterness has stewed for a year. The man with the basement lab has something cooked for the Gators this time.
