Associated Press
ATLANTA ó Back in those dog days of August, when the players were just reporting for two-a-days and no school is beyond dreaming of a title, this was the game everyone has circled on the schedule.
Before anyone had taken a snap, Florida and Alabama had already been penciled in for a rematch in the SEC title game.
Well here they are, having survived the gauntlet of 12 grueling games apiece and three months of expectations, scrutiny and pressure with not one slip-up between them.
The Gators vs. the Crimson Tide.
No. 1 vs. No. 2.
The game EVERYONE wanted to see.
“It’s always in the back of your mind,” Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain said. “We want that rematch. They put us out of our run for the national championship last year, and we haven’t forgotten.”
This is the second year in a row the teams have been 1-2 when they clashed for the SEC championship, though the roles were reversed in 2008. Alabama was undefeated and sitting on top, while Florida had clawed its way back up to second spot after an upset loss to Ole Miss.
Both teams made it through unscathed this time, marking one of those rare times in sports when not one, but two teams do everything that was projected of them.
Win big. Win close. Win them all.
“We had a plan to go to the SEC championship. That’s the whole goal. That’s the mindset for the whole team,” Florida defensive back Joe Haden said.