Alabama vs Florida: SEC Championship prediction and game preview.
Alabama vs Florida: SEC Championship Broadcast
Date: Saturday, December 19
Game Time: 8:00 pm
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
Network: CBS
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Alabama (10-0) vs Florida (8-2) Game Preview
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Three Reasons Why You Should Watch The SEC Championship
– Let’s not dwell on what this game could’ve been. Okay, fine … dwell away – and without mentioning the shoe.
This could’ve and should’ve been a huge moment for the SEC, for Florida, and for fans who wanted to see this as some sort of a College Football Playoff quarterfinal – at least for the Gators.
Oh it’ll be fun, and we’ll all have a good time, but Florida’s total gag 37-34 loss to a mediocre LSU team that embodied the It Just Means More attitude of the SEC changed the narrative.
Now, unless Alabama gets blown out, it’s in the College Football Playoff win or lose – it was almost certainly in before Florida lost to LSU – and it’s going to take something like a 30-point dominant blowout for the Gators to get back into the CFP discussion. However …
– While the playoff ramifications for this are almost certainly gone, the Heisman is up for grabs. No, Trevor Lawrence isn’t going to win it. No, it’s not going to be Justin Fields, either – the sample sizes for both are too small. Your 2020 Heisman winner will come from this game, and it’s going to be …
Alabama has QB Mac Jones and WR DeVonta Smith, and RB Najee Harris deserves more credit than he’s getting. All three are good enough to win it, and all three might cancel each other out.
Florida’s Kyle Trask has thrown 40 touchdown passes in ten games and averages 372 yards per outing. Expand that out to 15 games, and he’ll have almost identical numbers as 2019 Joe Burrow, but with a lot more picks.
Florida doesn’t have to win for Trask to take the Heisman, but he’s got to do that whole 400-yard, three-plus touchdown thing that he makes look so routine.
It’s time for the stars to put on a show, because if they don’t, the Heisman talk next week will be thrown into a tailspin.
– The SEC Championship really is a big deal. Of course if you’re in the SEC and you’re good enough to play this game, it’s more about the snazzy t-shirt than anything else – considering you’re probably good enough to win the national title, too – but this is it. This is the conference championship that started it all when Alabama picked off Florida 28-21 back in 1992.
Alabama has won eight of these things, and Florida checks in with seven. Nick Saban is going for his sixth in nine seasons, and Dan Mullen is going for a win that might not get Florida to the College Football Playoff, but would be a tone-setter for the program.
Why Alabama, Florida Will Win
What’s Going to Happen, Prediction, History
NEXT: Why Alabama Will Win, Why Florida Will Win, Alabama vs Florida Prediction
Why Florida Will Win
– Kyle Trask. Yeah, a few of his five interceptions have been really, really bad, but he’s been able to make up for them with a whole lot of big plays. He started out the season with four or more touchdown passes in his first six games, and then he took things up a notch by connecting on more big shots down the field.
He might not be the most talented quarterback in college football, but he might win the Heisman, Kyle Pitts is the best tight end in the game and is a mortal lock to win the Mackey Award, and Kadarius Toney, Trevon Grimes and the rest of the receiving corps have gone off.
Alabama’s secondary hasn’t been pushed all that hard since early in the season when it allowed back-to-back 330-plus yard passing games to Texas A&M and Ole Miss. It’s about to be in for an interesting day.
– It’s been lost in the various issues on defense, but the Gators get to the quarterback. They lead the SEC in sacks and are as good as anyone at generating tackles for loss, with the pressure coming from all sides.
15 different Florida defenders have produced at least one sack, and now they get to bring it against an Alabama quarterback who’s used to enjoying a light lunch while waiting for his receivers to get open. The pressure is going to be there from the defense, and …
– The pressure is sort of off the whole Florida team. It wasn’t expected to win this game no matter what happened against LSU. Now that the College Football Playoff is almost certainly off, it can just let it rip and hope that Alabama can’t handle being in a close game.
Outside of a few injuries and Nick Saban’s bout with COVID, there’s been almost no adversity whatsoever with this team. Maybe Ole Miss made things a little bit interesting, but not really.
Almost every game has been target practice in the first half, and a light scrimmage in the second. Florida has the offense to keep up, but …
– Championship Week Schedule & Predictions
Why Alabama Will Win
– The Florida secondary got whacked around a bit by Vanderbilt, Tennessee and LSU over the last month. The “it looks like (insert Vanderbilt or Tennessee or LSU) has found its quarterback” chatter on social media was off the charts.
Tennessee’s Harrison Bailey and LSU’s Max Johnson are two potential stars, but they’re not there yet. Florida’s D hyped them up to be the next Peyton Manning and Joe Burrow.
The Gator secondary hasn’t been that bad, but even with the pressure from the great pass rush, it’s struggling. That’s not a plus going against …
– Mac Jones has been brilliant. He hasn’t needed to be as bombs-away like Trask, but he’s not making any mistakes – just three picks spread out over the season – he’s averaging 11.7 yards per throw, and he’s connecting on 77% of his passes. It helps to have DeVonta Smith – he of the 83 catches, 1,327 yards and 15 touchdowns – and John Metchie to throw to, and Najee Harris to take the ball 20 times a game.
It’s Alabama. There are always going to be superstar skill talents, but this year …
– The offensive line is special, even for Alabama. Nick Saban almost doesn’t get enough credit for putting together a factory for superstar college offensive tackles. It’s not really the year to gush too much about anything being the best ever, but this front five is right there with his best. Hold off the Florida pass rush just a little bit, and uh-oh.
NEXT: What’s Going To Happen, Alabama vs Florida Prediction, SEC Championship History
What’s Going To Happen
There will be moments during the first quarter when this will look like an all-time great shootout of SEC shootouts, and then Florida won’t be able to keep up the pace.
Alabama is playing some defense to go along with that O.
Yeah, Florida leads the SEC in sacks, but Bama is second. The run defense is statistically great because everyone has to throw to keep up, but this group is just that good.
There aren’t any killer pick-six mistakes – no offense, Kyle Trask, but just sayin’ – the Tide lead the SEC in turnover margin, and the penalty issue isn’t that big a whoop.
How complete is Alabama? PK Will Reichard has hit all 11 of his field goal attempts.
The Crimson Tide will take this – and the College Football Playoff No. 1 seed.
CFN Experts Picks College | NFL
SEC Championship: Alabama vs Florida Prediction, Line
Alabama 44, Florida 30
Bet on Alabama vs Florida with BetMGM
Alabama -17.5, o/u: 74.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1.5
Must See Rating: 5
5: Mank
1: Saved By The Bell
SEC Championship History
2019 LSU 37, Georgia 10
2018 Alabama 35, Georgia 28
2017 Georgia 28, Auburn 7
2016 Alabama 54, Florida 16
2015 Alabama 29, Florida 15
2014 Alabama 42, Missouri 13
2013 Auburn 59, Missouri 42
2012 Alabama 32, Georgia 28
2011 LSU 42, Georgia 10
2010 Auburn 56, South Carolina 17
2009 Alabama 32, Florida 13
2008 Florida 31, Alabama 20
2007 LSU 21, Tennessee 14
2006 Florida 38, Arkansas 28
2005 Georgia 34, LSU 14
2004 Auburn 38, Tennessee 28
2003 LSU 34, Georgia 13
2002 Georgia 30, Arkansas 3
2001 LSU 31, Tennessee 20
2000 Florida 28, Auburn 6
1999 Alabama 34, Florida 7
1998 Tennessee 24, Mississippi State 14
1997 Tennessee 39, Auburn 29
1996 Florida 45, Alabama 30
1995 Florida 34, Arkansas 3
1994 Florida 24, Alabama 23
1993 Florida 28, Alabama 13
1992 Alabama 28, Florida 21
