Altered fortunes
How 2009 Alabama win over Florida launched the Saban dynasty
As Colin Peek sat in the Georgia Dome stands during the 2008 SEC Championship — watching Tim Tebow lead No. 2-ranked Florida on two fourth-quarter touchdown drives for a 31-20 victory over Alabama, en route to the Gators' second national title under Urban Meyer — he was beyond disgusted.
Peek had committed to transfer to `Bama from Georgia Tech for the following season, so he seethed at the sight of the unbeaten, No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide not closing out the 20-17 lead they took into the fourth quarter.
“I remember talking to guys on the team after the game and saying, `That will never happen again,' “Peek said.
While that might have been a statement of bravado during an emotional moment, it has also turned out to be prophetic. In the last six meetings between Alabama and Florida, the Tide has won them all by an average margin of 25.6 points.
None were bigger than the 2009 SEC title game, where No. 2 `Bama returned the favor by knocking off No. 1 Florida, 32-13. Given what has transpired since then, that outcome is arguably the most landscape-changing game in college football history.
It altered the fortunes of two programs in dramatic fashion. Florida's program under Meyer and subsequent coaches spent the next decade being rather irrelevant, never even flirting with being a national contender until this season under Dan Mullen.
For Alabama, which went on to win the first of its five national championships under coach Nick Saban, that 2009 SEC title win over the Gators launched what is rightfully considered the greatest dynasty ever in college football. The Tide went on to beat Texas, 3721, a month later for the BCS national championship.
“That '09 game changed things for Alabama,” said UF receiver Frankie Hammond, a freshman that season. “Kudos to Saban. Whatever he's got, it's working to a T.”
Now Alabama is a prohibitive favorite to beat Florida Saturday night at MercedesBenz Stadium in Atlanta when
the schools square off for the 10th time in an SEC Championship game. But it's hard to imagine this matchup being anywhere near as impactful as that 2009 meeting.
The loss meant UF missed the opportunity to win its third national title in four years. Truthfully, there may never again be a college football game that simultaneously ignites a dynasty for one program and potentially ends a dynasty for another.
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In SEC history, the 2009 championship game assembled one of the most massive collections of talent to step on one field, buoyed by Florida quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Tebow and linebacker Brandon Spikes electing to return for their senior seasons.
Tebow and Spikes were among eight Gators in that game who went on to be NFL first-round or second-round draft picks. Alabama, which has had a record 32 first-round selections since 2010, featured a lineup with 10 first-rounders and three second-rounders.
“I was one of the new guys coming in that year, similar to the freshmen class of Mark Ingram, Julio Jones and Marcell Dareus,” Peek said of the `Bama 2009 newcomers. “You just knew with that class that something was changing, something very special was
about to happen. I think people didn't see it coming.”
Certainly no one could foresee the genesis of prolific dominance, with `Bama now positioned to win an unprecedented sixth national title in 12 years under the same coach. Only the legendary Bear Bryant has won five national crowns, but that happened over a span of 19 seasons (1961-79) in his 25-year career with the Crimson Tide.
Florida, which had been on its own run of excellence under Meyer, carried a 22-game winning streak into that SEC Championship rematch. The Gators had a fairly potent offense and a juggernaut defense that returned its entire two-deep chart. Charlie Strong's unit was No. 1 in the country, holding opponents to a microscopic 9.8 points per game entering the contest.
But on that Dec. 5, 2009 day in Atlanta, the revenge-minded Tide was determined to exorcise the demons from the hurt administered the previous year by UF skill players Jeff Demps, Louis Murphy, Riley Cooper and Tebow, along with a stout Gator defense.
“The whole offseason for us before that year was how we blew the game against Florida [in 2008],” Peek said. “We looked ourselves in the mirror and said, `Florida did not beat us. We beat ourselves.' Coming back the next year, we all
wanted Florida to be undefeated. We wanted them to be perfect because we wanted to show the country they would never be able to stand on the same level with us.”
Saban, like most coaches, didn't put nearly as much emphasis on revenge as the primary motivator — at least not publicly — but the players were completely driven by atonement.
“That was our motivation, that failure [from 2008],” said Ingram, the Heisman Trophy winner that season, in a web series documentary produced by al.com.
Saban and Mullen, who was in his last season as the Gators' offensive coordinator before taking the Mississippi State job, agree Florida knocking off the Crimson Tide in '08 was also a catalyst for the `Bama dynasty.
“The 2008 game probably had somewhat of a significant impact on the program here, in the fact we lost to a very good Florida team with Tebow,” Saban said on Thursday's SEC Championship video call. “[Florida] went on to win the national championship. I think our players learned a lot from that.
“The next year, for us to be able to play a similar Florida team, and to win the game, probably was a significant confidence-builder, in that we couldn't win games [before]
like that against good teams. I think it did change the culture of the program in a positive way, which I think was just another one of those step that you take when you're trying to build a program to national prominence.”
**** Though Florida was No. 1 and a six-point favorite in the '09 title game, it was `Bama that set a tone of control from the outset. The Tide never trailed as their defense repeatedly kept Tebow in check whenever he got into the red zone, where the Gators managed just three points in three trips.
Florida's offense also had two three-and-outs, one fourand-out of minus-4 yards, and a five-and-out of 12 yards. It converted only 4 of 11 third downs, and went 0 for 1 on fourth down. In Tebow's six years as a full-time quarterback in high school at Nease and in college, the only time his offense had been stymied that much was a 13-3 win two months earlier at LSU.
“It wasn't a thought in my mind that we weren't going to win that game,” said UF'S Hammond. “Yeah, it was a big game, but I felt like it was nothing new. Just make our plays and everything would take care of itself.
pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
He still has burst off the edge as he contributed 12 tackles, two sacks and 12 quarterback pressures in limited playing time over the last seven games.
Considering it was a span of 652 days between games for Gregory, dating back from the end of 2018 to Oct. 25 when he made his season debut against the Washington Football Team, some rust remains.
But he believes the best is yet to come, especially with the anticipation of a full offseason heading into 2021 for the first time since his rookie season.
“I appreciate everything that led up to me coming back and obviously I do appreciate being here,” Gregory said. “I’ve said in the past football’s probably the most natural thing there is on this planet for me. I love the game. I’m just real grateful, I really am. It’s honestly an honor to be on this team and still be valued in this league.”
While Gregory has always loved the game, he said he hasn’t always loved and respected what it meant to be a professional in the NFL.
At 28, he believes he is better equipped to handle things thanks to weekly counseling sessions with Dr. Dina Hijazi. Through treatment, he realized that anxiety issues led to his coping problems, which ultimately proved to be what triggered his marijuana use that caused the repeated failed tests.
His parents moving to Dallas to help stabilize his home life with his girlfriend and his two children has also been key to the equation.
“I’d say I am a little bit better equipped,” Gregory said. “I think that goes with maturity, just getting older, experiencing different things in life, on and off the field so I’ve always said it. It’s a day-today thing. It’s something I’m constantly working on and trying to better myself not only for the sake of my career but my personal life, for my family. Very proud of myself, proud of the individuals who helped me get here and I just take it one day at a time.”
Gregory said his happiest moment of the season came in a 41
16 loss to Washington on Thanksgiving. All the people who meant the most to him were in attendance and he had a two-sack performance to officially announce his return before a national television audience in the most
watched game of the season.
“I had my girlfriend, my daughter, my parents, some other close friends at that game,” Gregory said. “My birthday is that week as well. I would say that probably the best part about coming back this year is being able to go out there during the holidays. I’m happy that my family was there to be able to see me flourish individually out there.”
Gregory is also appreciative of his Cowboys family, led by team owner Jerry Jones, for never giving up on him and supporting him when they could have looked the other way.
“Mr. Jones, the whole Jones family, they know how much they mean to me,” Gregory said. “I think at this point, I understand how much I mean to them. Just seeing them stick by my side and helping me any way that they could when they could, just stick this thing out with me, it’s been real big. I can’t say enough about them.”
It goes without saying that Gregory’s talents as a football player played a role in the Cowboys continuing to show patience with him.
Jones said the credit for his return goes to Gregory himself.
“It’s been quite a road for him,” Jones said. “It’s a long way from over, but ... he’s got this great opportunity in his life to rehab everything about it.”