GAMEDAY '09 ALABAMA (12-0, 8-0) vs. Florida (12-0, 8-0)
12.5.09 TIME: 3:00 p.m. TV: CBS
Reaching
for a second chance
After having time to examine its fourth quarter mistakes in last year’s title game, Alabama takes another shot at the Gators and a national championship berth.
Also inside:
• Buy or Sell
• Position matchups
2009 Schedule Date
Opponent
Result
9/05/09
Virginia Tech
W 34-24
9/12/09
Florida International
W 40-14
9/19/09
North Texas
W 53-7
9/26/09
Arkansas
W 35-7
10/03/09
Kentucky
W 38-20
10/10/09
Ole Miss
W 22-3
10/17/09
South Carolina
W 20-6
10/24/09
Tennessee
W 12-10
11/07/09
LSU
W 24-15
11/14/09
Mississippi State
W 31-3
11/21/09
UT Chattanooga
W 45-0
11/27/09
Auburn
W 26-21
Date
Opponent
12/05/09 Florida
Location Atlanta
GameDay Publish Date 12/04/09
ON THE INSIDE
4 | LEARNING NOT TO CHANGE
By Jason Galloway
GameDay 2009 • December 4
After being outscored 14-0 in the fourth quarter of last year’s SEC title game, Alabama has learned from its mistakes.
1
Stat of the
week This is the seventh time Alabama has played in the SEC Championship game, and it is the seventh time the Crimson Tide has played Florida for the title. The Gators are 4-2 in the first six matchups.
GAME INFORMATION
CW File
3 | PLAYSTATION SIMULATION
7 | BUY OR SELL
Alabama suffered another SEC Championship defeat at the hands of the Florida Gators in this week’s PS3 simulation, the Tide’s second loss of the simulated season.
Who really deserves the Heisman Trophy? How long will Rich Rod last with Michigan? The last edition of Buy or Sell answers these questions and more.
By Will Nevin
8 | POSITION MATCHUPS
9 | COLUMN
With the teams so evenly matched, this week’s position matchups are more intriguing than they have been all season.
Even though the winner of Saturday’s game goes to Pasadena, the importance of the 2009 SEC Championship extends beyond this season. By Spencer White
Alabama Crimson Tide (12-0) vs. Florida Gators (12-0)
• Field: Georgia Dome • Place: Atlanta • Time: 3 p.m. • TV: CBS • Radio: 1420 AM (Eli Gold, play-by-play; Phil Savage, color analyst; Barry Krauss, sideline reporter)
GAMEDAY STAFF • Jason Galloway, GameDay editor • Spencer White, assistant GameDay editor • Amanda Peterson, editor-in-chief • Will Nevin, managing editor • Brandee Easter, design editor • Emily Johnson, assistant design editor • Aaron Gertler, graphics editor • Jerrod Seaton, photo editor • Bethany Martin, photographer • John Michael Simpson, photographer Cover photo: CW File
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CAMPUSWAYUA.COM
2
PICKS, POLLS AND PERSPECTIVE
December 4 • GameDay 2009
CW PICKS | WEEK 14 Jason Galloway
Spencer White
Cyrus Ntakirutinka
Aaron Gertler
Amanda Peterson
GameDay editor
Asst. GameDay editor
Senior sports reporter
Graphics editor
CW editor
53-31
55-29
49-35
51-33
54-30
Will Nevin
Drew Gunn
CW managing editor Advertising manager
#2 Alabama vs #1 Florida #5 Cincinnati at #14 Pitt #3 Texas vs #22 Nebraska #10 Georgia Tech vs Clemson #23 West Virginia at Rutgers Arizona at #18 USC #19 California at Washington Season record
the
student
SECTION
UA students talk about their expectations for the upcoming Crimson Tide game. CW | Jerrod Seaton
AP POLL
54-30
54-30
BCS STANDINGS
1. Florida (46)
1. Florida
2. Alabama (7)
2. Alabama
3. Texas (7)
3. Texas
4. TCU
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati
5. Cincinnati
6. Boise State
6. Boise State
7. Oregon
7. Oregon
8. Ohio State
8. Ohio State
9. Iowa
9. Iowa
10. Penn State
10. Georgia Tech
11. Virginia Tech
11. Penn State
Brittany Purpura Senior Journalism
Miles Cobia Senior Biology/psychology
“I just donʼt think Coach Saban lets Tebow beat his defense in the 4th quarter this year.”
“Mark Barron is the X-factor. Bama takes control and doesnʼt let up.”
12. Georgia Tech
12. Virginia Tech
Jack Huguley Senior Political Science/ philosophy
Jeremy Owens Junior Business
13. Oregon State
13. LSU
14. Pittsburgh
14. BYU
“Weʼre so evenly matched itʼs going to come down to the special teams. The key is Arenas vs. James.”
15. LSU
15. Pittsburgh
16. BYU
16. Oregon State
17. Miami
17. Miami
18. Houston
18. USC
19. California
19. California
Brytney Snow Senior Biology/psychology
20. USC
20. Oklahoma State
21. Nebraska
21. Houston
22. Oklahoma State
22. Nebraska
23. Stanford
23. West Virginia
24. West Virginia
24. Stanford
25. Clemson
25. Utah
“If we play well for four complete quarters, then we will win. It should be a great game.” Willie Powell Freshman Business management ”Top two teams in college football playing for all the marbles. “
“I donʼt feel bad for a Dunlap-less Florida. Weʼve been playing without Hightower.”
PS3 SIMULATION
GameDay 2009 • December 4
PS3 SAYS | ALABAMA 13, FLORIDA 27
SIMULATION STATISTICS
BY WILL NEVIN Managing Editor Alabama had the momentum, and the Tide was rolling down the field on its first possession of the Southeastern Conference championship game against the Florida Gators. On a third-and-goal from the Florida 3-yard line, quarterback Greg McElroy faked a handoff to running back Mark Ingram and ran a bootleg to the right. McElroy looked for wide out Julio Jones and tossed the ball to the corner of the end zone. Right to Florida cornerback Joe Haden. Haden returned the pick 92 yards, emphatically ending the Tide scoring threat, and Alabama never threatened after that, losing the SEC title to Florida in a 27-13 game dominated by the Gators. Quarterback Tim Tebow made up the rest of the distance after Haden’s pick, finding Riley Cooper on a 10-yard touchdown pass. He added a touchdown run later in the first to put Florida up 14-0. The Tide closed the gap with two Leigh Tiffin field goals in the second quarter to go into the break down 14-6. Florida kicker Jonathan Phillips hit a 28-yard field goal in the third, and Tebow added a 30-yard touchdown strike to pull ahead 24-6. Tide return man Javier Arenas found the end zone on a 96-yard return, but Florida answered
Alabama
• Passing: Greg McElroy, 9-of-19, 95 yds, INT
• Rushing: Mark Ingram, 17 rushes, 106 yds
• Receiving: Julio Jones, 3 receptions, 43 yards
• Top Defensive Performer: Rolando McClain, 7 tackles, 2 TFL
Florida NCAA 2010 screenshot Florida defensive back Joe Haden intercepts a pass on Alabamaʼs first drive of the game, returning it to the 10-yard line to set up a touchdown.
• Passing: Tim Tebow, 15-of-17, 208
with a field goal in the fourth quarter to remain comfortably ahead 27-13. On the stat sheet, the game wasn’t even close as the Gators outgained the Tide 342-163 in total offense. With the loss, Alabama drops to 11-2 (8-1) on the simulated season.
• Receiving: Deonte Thompson, 3
yards, 2 TD
• Rushing: Tim Tebow, 13 rushes, 74 yards, 1 TD receptions, 68 yards, 1 TD
• Top Defensive Performer: Dustin Doe, 5 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks
3
Learning not to change The Crimson Tide now knows that discipline is the key to containing the Florida offensive attack. BY JASON GALLOWAY Sports Reporter f you ask any Alabama defensive football player how to stop the Florida Gators’ offense, they would probably give the same answer. It is not a knowledge gained from watching film or defending the scout team. It was obtained through experience. “The key to stopping them is discipline,” said senior cornerback Javier Arenas. “Just keep doing what we’ve been doing.” They discovered it a year ago. After holding a 20-17 lead to begin the fourth quarter of the 2008 SEC Championship game, the Crimson Tide fell victim to two late touchdown drives orchestrated by defending Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, which stripped Alabama from its No. 1 ranking and denied a national championship game birth. The comeback may have derived from the explosive offense’s ability to execute down the stretch of the biggest game of the season, but junior linebacker Rolando McClain said it was lack of execution on the Tide’s part. “Everybody was trying to be the hero,” he said. “In the fourth quarter, everybody was
I
Florida quarterback Tim Tebow fights through a tackle in last yearʼs SEC Championship game. CW File
6
December 4 • GameDay 2009
trying to do extra things. You’ve just got to do what you’ve been doing. If we had done what we had been doing, we would have been fine.” As Florida drove 62 yards on 11 plays to take the lead on the first possession of the fourth quarter and then 65 yards on eight plays after the next Alabama three-andout to push the game out of reach, the Tide defense looked vulnerable for perhaps the first time during its 12-0 season. It allowed thirddown conversions on the ground, big plays through the air and the two most costly touchdowns in the past decade of Alabama football. “I think we lost some of our way in the fourth quarter last year, and that’s all there is to it,” Arenas said. “We learned from our mistakes last year, and I think we know what we don’t need to do in the fourth quarter.” The experience of last year’s disappointing fall in the fourth quarter did more than drop Alabama into an unwanted stop in New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. It showed the Tide that sticking to the game plan may have been all it needed to do to secure a trip to Miami. “If you’re covering the guy, don’t let him get on top of you,” Arenas said. “If they run the ball, play your assignments, take on
“
your blockers the way you’re supposed to take them on and do what you have to do. Don’t try to do too much.” Offensively, Alabama only mustered one total yard in the fourth quarter against the Gators last year. Once the Tide was trailing, it did not have enough playmakers in the passing game to mount a comeback. In last week’s victory over Auburn, however, Alabama proved it can move the ball through the air to notch a comefrom-behind victory when Greg McElroy connected on 7-of-8 passes to lead the Tide on a 79-yard game-winning trek in JordanHare Stadium. “We knew all [last] year that we weren’t really a come-frombehind, two-minute type offense that we needed to turn into in the fourth quarter against Florida,” said senior guard Mike Johnson. “Hopefully we’re better equipped for that this year having been through that last year.” But driving down the field against 7-5 Auburn is a much different task than defeating No. 1 Florida in a see-saw fourth-quarter battle. The Gators have AllAmerican caliber athletes scattered across the field on offense, defense and special teams. They have won two of the past three
Everybody was trying to be the hero. In the fourth quarter, everybody was trying to do extra things. You’ve just got to do what you’ve been doing. — Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain
”
CW | Bethany Martin Running back Roy Upchurch catches the game-winning touchdown against Auburn. Alabamaʼs final drive to beat the Tigers proved it is capable of putting together a come-from-behind victory, something the Tide was unable to accomplish last year against Florida. national championships. They have still not lost a game since Tebow’s speech after the Ole Miss game last season. But Alabama is confident. Saturday’s game is expected to be much closer than the SEC Championship was heading into last year’s game, and the Tide was just one quarter away from beating Florida and advancing to the national title last season. “The teams that don’t get it done
in the end, they stop doing what got them there in the first place,” McClain said. Considering Alabama held a 20-17 lead after three quarters last year, the Tide players are right if Alabama had played like it did the first three quarters, the Tide would have come away with a victory. Many believe Alabama must adapt to defeat the Gators this year. The Tide believes just the opposite.
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BUY OR SELL SPENCER WHITE Assistant GameDay Editor
GameDay 2009 • December 4
TOBY GERHART DESERVES THE HEISMAN TROPHY
7
JASON GALLOWAY GameDay Editor
SELL
BUY
Gerhart had an outstanding year— don’t get me wrong. Anytime a player gets more than 20 touchdowns on the ground, he deserves some sort of commemoration, whether it be the Doak Walker or something else. But the Heisman is a different sort of animal, and deserves to go to the best player on a great team, which Stanford is not.
He has scored a touchdown in every game but one and three or more in five games. He has broken the 100yard mark 10 times and the 200-yard mark three times. He has singlehandedly won games (Notre Dame, Oregon, UCLA). I don’t care what Stanford’s record is, he is the best player in the nation, and that should be the criteria for the Heisman.
MCT Campus
JIMMY CLAUSEN WILL ENTER THE 2010 NFL DRAFT BUY Consider the “Golden One” gone. With the departure of Charlie Weis, Clausen really has no clue exactly who will be coming in to coach the Fighting Irish and how his philosophy will affect Clausen’s draft status, which is probably higher than it will ever be after an outstanding season. Clausen doesn’t need to make Brady Quinn’s mistake and cost himself millions of dollars.
BUY
MCT Campus
2010 WILL BE RICH ROD’S LAST YEAR AT MICHIGAN
It has been a disappointment from day one for Rodriguez, and the Big Blue deserves better than what they’ve gotten from the former West Virginia coach. A 3-9 record was bad enough, but offseason controversy over workout hours and a poor 1-7 finish after opening the season with four straight wins will not earn Rodriguez a lot of support in Ann Arbor.
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BUY As a projected top 10 pick, he would be giving up too much money if he stayed for his senior season. Notre Dame is nowhere near competing for a national title, and I think Ryan Mallett will come out next year and would be projected higher than Clausen. Clausen needs to learn from the mistakes of people like Matt Leinart and take what he can get after this season.
SELL It has been a rough, dissapointing two seasons for Rodriguez thus far at Michigan, but I think the Wolverines will give him at least two more years. The Michigan roster was simply not fit for his spread offensive system when he took over in 2008, and once Rodriguez gets a full four years of his own recruiting on campus, things will begin to turn in Ann Arbor.
8
POSITION MATCHUPS
December 4 • GameDay 2009
Position Matchups ALABAMA SECONDARY VS. FLORIDA WIDE RECEIVERS The departure of NFL’ers Louis Murphy and Percy Harvin took Florida’s two best deep threats, and the Gators have struggled to replace their production all season. Riley Cooper has proven himself more than adequate, but there hasn’t been another consistent vertical threat for Florida. Meanwhile, Alabama’s secondary ranks second in the Southeastern Conference in yards allowed per game (156.8) and interceptions (19).
EDGE CW |Bethany Martin
MCT Campus
ALABAMA OFFENSIVE TACKLES VS. FLORIDA DEFENSIVE ENDS Although Carlos Dunlap is out, Florida defensive end Jermaine Cunningham can be as fearsome of a pass rusher as anyone in the country, recording seven sacks in 2009 on a squad that leads the SEC in sacks. They won’t be facing slouches in Atlanta, however, as Tide tackles Drew Davis and James Carpenter have provided outstanding protection for the most part as cogs of an offensive line that has surrendered only 14 sacks this year.
EDGE CW | Bethany Martin
MCT Campus
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GameDay 2009 • December 4
9
Title game more important than 2008 On occasion, a football game is more important than it appears to the casual observer. Even a juggernaut match up like Saturday’s Southeastern Conference Championship game, which will once again pit the nation’s top two teams in combat, means more to the dichotomy of the Florida and Alabama programs than a trip to the 2009 national title game. For many fans and people associated with the Capstone, it is the opportunity to settle a four-year grudge with Gators quarterback Tim Tebow, the one-time phenom recruit who spurned the Tide for home state Florida and who, in his final year in Gainesville, has the Gators poised to claim their third national title in four years and earn himself a second Heisman trophy. Tebow was the instrumental cog in the ruination of the Tide’s title dreams in the 2008 season, orchestrating a fourth quarter for the ages to rally the Gators past a fourth quarter deficit and
propel them to a 31-20 victory in Atlanta. The Gators used the momentum to push past the Oklahoma Sooners in the ensuing SPENCER WHTIE national title Assistant GameDay matchup. However, Editor Alabama’s beef with Florida goes back to before Tebow’s arrival. Since the inception of the SEC title game in 1992, coincidentally close to the rise of the Gator program under former coach Steve Spurrier, the Tide and Gators have squared off six times, not counting the upcoming contest. In those six encounters, Alabama, unaccustomed to anything but conference dominance throughout the program’s illustrious history, has seized only two victories. For these reasons, the 2009 SEC
championship contest is a statement game to establish control of the best conference in football. It is a chance for Nick Saban to push the Crimson Tide’s meteoric rise in the last three years past regional contender to national powerhouse. For a Tide program that has seen its shares of ups and downs in the nearly 30 years since the retirement of Paul “Bear” Bryant, Saturday represents a benchmark in the history that is perhaps only rivaled by the 1926 Rose Bowl. Alabama returns to the Georgia Dome with larger prizes at stake than earning a BCS Championship game trip. A championship lasts, but only as a microcosm of one season’s work. What the Tide really stands to gain is a regained image, one that was wrested from them over the course of the 1990s. Powerhouse. The first steps were made in 2008’s LSU game in Baton Rouge, where Alabama defeated the Bayou Bengals to regain the Western
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Division from a Tiger squad that had captured four in seven seasons. The next stage was a resounding 36-0 Iron Bowl victory over a hated Auburn program that had humiliated the Alabama program for six consecutive seasons. With a repeat performance in 2009, the Tide has established itself as the premier program of the SEC West. But the crushing loss to the Gators last season served as more than a knockout blow to Alabama’s 2008 title hopes. It was a not-sosubtle reminder that there still remains a bigger fish in the SEC pond, and they weren’t going anywhere. Saturday, the Tide will head into dangerous waters once again. If there is hope for the Alabama program to ascend past the stages of conference contender and into the spotlight of national juggernaut under the watch of Nick Saban, the haul in Atlanta this weekend needs to be a big one.
KEY PLAYERS
ALABAMA
Greg McElroy, QB
Tim Tebow, QB
In last year’s SEC Championship game, Alabama could not execute in the passing game after it was down in the fourth quarter. This year, the same situation could present itself, and McElroy is the man who would need to lead the Crimson Tide down the field. McElroy and the Alabama offense proved they can win a game with a last-minute drive against Auburn, but having to drive the length of the field against the Gators’ defense would be a task far tougher than the Tide’s Iron Bowl heroics.
His fourth-quarter performance in last year’s SEC Championship game is what sprung the Gators to a victory over Alabama and a second national title in three years. This year, Tebow is trying to cap off one of the most successful careers in college football history with a second Heisman and a third national championship. His importance to Saturday’s game is obvious, and the Tide will just look to limit his production.
Mark Ingram, RB
Brandon Spikes, LB
The Heisman candidate is coming off an abysmal performance against Auburn, rushing for just 30 yards on 16 carries. If he does not have a great game against Florida, it would put too much pressure on McElroy to air it out against a Florida secondary filled with All-SEC and AllAmerican talent. The Alabama passing game has improved dramatically in the past four games, but the Tide’s offensive success still needs to start with Ingram, especially against a defense as good as Florida’s.
Florida would love nothing more than to shut down Mark Ingram like Auburn did last week. If the Gators are successful in accomplishing that, Spikes will be the man in the heart of Florida’s defense directing the charge. Spikes is one of the best, if not the best, linebackers in the country, and he will have a chance to prove his worth against one of the nation’s best running games. Alabama’s ability to move the ball on the ground could be the difference in Saturday’s game.
Rolando McClain, LB
Riley Cooper, WR
Florida’s downfield passing game was the main component of the Gators’ offense that flustered the Tide in last year’s SEC title game, but McClain will play as big of a role as anybody on Saturday. With speedsters Jeffery Demps and Chris Rainey looking to find room to the outside, McClain’s speed and ability to play sideline-to-sideline will be key. McClain and the Alabama linebackers will also need to be aware of Tim Tebow’s running ability.
With Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy absent from the Florida offense this season, Cooper has emerged as the Gators’ top option at the wide receiver position. Florida’s downfield passing game put a hefty dent in the Alabama defense in last year’s SEC Championship game, and although the Gators do not possess as many deep threats as last season, Cooper is a player with the ability to get behind nearly any defensive back in the country.
OFFENSIVE STARTERS
LT LG C RG RT TE HB QB RB WR WR
77 78 73 75 79 84 85 12 22 8 4
James Carpenter (Jr.) Mike Johnson (Sr.) William Vlachos (So.) Barrett Jones (R-Fr.) Drew Davis (Sr.) Colin Peek (Sr.) Preston Dial (Jr.) Greg McElroy (Jr.) Mark Ingram (So.) Julio Jones (So.) Marquis Maze (So.)
DEFENSIVE STARTERS
DE DT DE JACK WILL MIKE SAM CB FS SS CB
95 62 97 32 35 25 13 3 27 4 28
Brandon Deaderick (Sr.) Terrence Cody (Sr.) Lorenzo Washington (Sr.) Eryk Anders (Sr.) Nico Johnson (Fr.) Rolando McClain (Jr.) Cory Reamer (Sr.) Kareem Jackson (Jr.) Justin Woodall (Sr.) Mark Barron (So.) Javier Arenas (Sr.)
SPECIAL TEAMS STARTERS K P PR KR
99 7 28 28 8
FLORIDA
Leigh Tiffin (Sr.) P.J. Fitzgerald (Sr.) Javier Arenas (Sr.) Javier Arenas (Sr.) Julio Jones (So.)
OFFENSIVE STARTERS
LT LG C RG RT QB RB TE WR WR WR
73 57 56 55 76 15 2 81 6 11 83
Xavier Nixon (Fr.) Carl Johnson (Jr.) Maurkice Pouncey (Jr.) Mike Pouncey (Jr.) Marcus Gilbert (Jr.) Tim Tebow (Sr.) Jeffery Demps (So.) Aaron Hernandez (Jr.) Deonte Thompson (So.) Riley Cooper (Sr.) David Nelson (Sr.)
DEFENSIVE STARTERS
DE DT DE LB LB LB CB S S S CB
49 6 94 16 51 41 1 10 35 21 5
Jermaine Cunningham (Sr.) Jaye Howard (So.) Justin Trattou (Jr.) A.J. Jones (Jr.) Brandon Spikes (Sr.) Ryan Stamper (Sr.) Janoris Jenkins (So.) Will Hill (So.) Ahmad Black (Jr.) Major Wright (Jr.) Joe Haden (Jr.)
SPECIAL TEAMS STARTERS K P PR KR
38 17 25 25 33
Jonathan Phillips (Sr.) Chris Henry (Jr.) Brandon James (Sr.) Brandon James (Sr.) Kestahn Moore (Sr.)