Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Alabama 54, Florida 16
Coach says despite odds, Gators played to win
No. 1 Tide rolls over No. 15 Gators for conference win.
ATLANTA — Coach Jim McElwain’s Florida Gators came to win, even if no one gave them a chance against top-ranked Alabama.
Don’t let the final score at Saturday’s SEC title game fool you, he said.
“They came out and laid it on the line,” McElwain said following UF’s 54-16 loss to the Crimson Tide.
Florida put up a fight and even bloodied the nose of the mighty Crimson Tide. But the SEC’s bully did not back down and just got angry.
Coach Nick Saban’s Alabama squad turned back the scrappy Gators during a 54-16 win to continue the Tide’s march toward a perfect season.
“I will tell you this: I didn’t come here to be close,” McElwain said. “We came here to be champions of the SEC. That’s what you do when you’re at the University of Florida.”
But the 2016 Gators needed to play a perfect game against what could become Saban’s best team in 10 seasons at Alabama. Instead, UF (8-4) gave the Crimson Tide (13-0) too many easy points and failed to cash in at the game’s most-critical juncture.
“I think this is the best 85 that they’ve probably traveled with to the SEC championship game,” said McElwain, who was Saban’s offensive coordinator at Alabama from 2008-11. “I mean, that’s a real ball squad.”
Even so, a game expected to be an Alabama blowout from the jump delivered a good bit of drama at the Georgia Dome.
“They came out and laid it on the line.” Jim McElwain, UF coach
The first quarter featured wild momentum swings and heart-stopping highlights to energize an announced crowd of 74,362. With UF trailing 33-16, the Crimson Tide stopped the Gators four times from the Alabama 2-yard line or closer.
On third-and-goal, Bama linebacker Rashaan Evans knocked back leaping UF tailback Jordan Scarlett, rekindling memories of Barry Krauss’ hit against Penn State in the 1979 Sugar Bowl. That play earned Bear Bryant his record sixth national title.
Evan’s hit Saturday took the air out of the Gators.
“It was very disappointing to be that close,” left tackle David Sharpe said.
Saban is now two victories away from national title No. 6 himself following his team’s 25th consecutive win — and sixth consecutive victory against the Gators.
The Crimson Tide’s latest win showcased their ability to beat teams in a variety of ways.
Alabama scored two touchdowns and led 16-7 before they had even managed a first down, highlighting a first quarter featuring a little of everything.
The scintillating 15-minute stretch began with UF quarterback Austin Appleby’s most impressive series of downs this season. The fifth-year senior was cool-headed and on the mark to open the game against the nation’s top-ranked defense, leading the Gators to the first touchdown scored against the Crimson Tide since an Oct. 22 win against Texas A&M.
Facing third-and-14 after a falsestart penalty and a sloppy start, Appleby found Antonio Callaway for 18 yards. The Gators did not manage a third-down conversion against Alabama during the entire 2015 SEC title game.
Appleby and the Gators were not finished. Twice facing third down, Appleby found Brandon Powell for 13 yards and Callaway for 24 yards to the Alabama 5. On the next play, Appleby hit a leaping Callaway in the end zone on a slant pattern.
But Appleby could not maintain his stellar play and soon became Alabama’s best offense.
Following a three-and-out by Alabama on its first drive, Appleby forced a first-down throw into the middle of the field and into the hands of Crimson Tide linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton, who returned it 40 yards to set up a 31-yard field goal by Adam Griffith.
“Felt a little pressure and let it hang high over the middle late,” McElwain said of Appleby’s throw. “That’s the No. 1 rule of playing football, not a good deal.”
The Gators’ next series ended with another Appleby interception, with Alabama safety Minkah Fitzpatrick returning it 44 yards for a touchdown and a 10-7 Crimson Tide lead.
The touchdown was Alabama’s 13th nonoffensive touchdown — tops in the nation — and epitomized the many ways Saban’s team can beat an opponent. To drive home the point, the Crimson Tide scored off a blocked punt on UF’s next series.
“I think it speaks to the playmaker type guys that we have, the good job the coaches do putting them in position,” Saban said.
The Gators answered with a block of their own on the extra-point attempt, and linebacker David Reese returned it the length of the field for two points to keep the game close.
But the Crimson Tide’s offense then came alive.
Leading 16-9 when the first quarter ended, Alabama had minus-7 yards of offense. The Crimson Tide ended the first half with 171 yards and a 33-16 advantage.
Following a face mask by UF defensive end Jabari Zuniga, Alabama AllSEC receiver Calvin Ridley turned a screen pass into a 52-yard gain to the Gators’ 9. Three plays later, Hurts scrambled right while under pressure and calmly floated a perfect pass to Gehrig Dieter in the end zone.
Hurts, the first first-year freshman quarterback to start in the SEC title game, opened the game 2-of-5 passing for nine yards, but completed six of his next 11 throws for 103 yards.
The Gators tried what they could to keep up, but little seemed to work.
Alabama All-SEC linebacker Reuben Foster, the game’s most valuable player, blew up a flea-flicker play in the UF backfield for a 12-yard loss. Later, the Crimson Tide sniffed out a fake punt and stuffed Johnny Townsend for an 11-yard loss.
“We had a pretty good game plan, I felt,” McElwain said. “We put some dents in them.”
The Gators did score late in the first half on a 25-yard touchdown catch by tight end DeAndre Goolsby. But following the Tide’s goal-line stand, the Gators began to wear down. UF ultimately yielded the most points it has since the 1995 Fiesta Bowl loss and left McElwain 2-7 at UF against ranked teams.
The Gators now face the possibility of another three-game losing streak to end the season if the team does not bounce back during UF’s bowl game. Last season, the Gators ended with a 41-7 loss to Michigan in the Citrus Bowl.
UF will find out Sunday where it plays its final game of the season. McElwain expects his team to show up this time.
“I was really disappointed, obviously, in the effort last year, but this is a different team,” McElwain said. “We’ve got some guys that are in for a lot more than just themselves.”