The game that Dan Mullen and his No. 7 (College Football Playoff rankings) Florida Gators have had their eyes on for three years is at the doorstep.
Florida will face the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide, an undefeated and rolling team entering Atlanta. Meanwhile, Florida is fresh off of a crushing loss to LSU, who owns a losing record on the year after winning the 2019-20 national championship. After the loss and given struggles to play a complete game this year, the Gators are 17-point underdogs to the Crimson Tide.
Will head coach Dan Mullen and quarterback Kyle Trask be able to whip up enough magic to unseat Alabama as kings of the SEC? It's hard to imagine, but crazier things have happened.
Below, you'll find the Sports Illustrated-AllGators' staff score predictions and takes ahead of the SEC Championship. Records are not against the spread.
Zach Goodall (8-2): Alabama 45, Florida 34
As the week has gone on and Florida has removed itself even further from the loss to LSU, my score prediction has narrowed. I still think Florida will lose this game by double digits, but nowhere near the 17-point spread.
So long as tight end Kyle Pitts does take the field - on Sunday, Mullen said that UF's trainers "expect" Pitts to be cleared, then on Thursday said that "hopefully" Pitts will be cleared - Florida's offense should perform well. That has held true all season long, and even Alabama will struggle to slow Pitts and Co. down while having to dedicate resources all across the field.
At the end of the day, however, Florida will be tasked with much of the same against the likes of Devonta Smith, Najee Harris, John Metchie III, and others. And Florida's defense has proved this season that it can't be trusted against two of the worst teams in the conference in LSU and Vanderbilt, among others.
The Gators will have to match scores, get the ball to roll their way once or twice defensively, and all-in-all play a complete game to win on Saturday. Across ten opportunities this season, UF never once shown that it can do that.
Demetrius Harvey (8-2): Alabama 50, Florida 37
The No. 7 Florida Gators look to take on the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide in what will surely be one of the most viewed contests of the year. Two high-powered, explosive offenses go head-to-head in order to determine who will be crowned the winner of the SEC.
This is likely the only week predicting a Florida loss will not o my be the right thing to do, but likely what will occur. Florida has been incredible offensively this season, however, there have been far too many inconsistencies as of late to give them the edge against Alabama. Defensively, Florida will likely struggle to slow down the Crimson Tide, too.
In all, Florida makes this one interesting for most of it, unable to ever pull away, however.
Brandon Carroll (8-2): Alabama 49, Florida 38
In Florida’s first SEC Championship Game appearance under Dan Mullen, the Gators will be facing off against an Alabama team who has consistently proved their standing as the best college football has to offer during the 2020 season. With a dynamic offense and drastically improved defense carrying the way for the Crimson Tide, Florida looks as if their return to Atlanta will end the way it did in their last three appearances, poorly.
While I predict Kyle Trask and the Gators offense to be clicking the way they were earlier in the season—leading to Florida sticking around later in the game than many expect—at the end of the day, the Gators defense containing the rolling offensive attack of the Tide is a task too tall to ask. The talent gap between the two squads proves large as Alabama is simply too much for the Gators to handle, resulting in them falling by double digits in defeat.
Donavon Keiser: (8-2): Alabama 42, Florida 31
I just don’t see how Florida’s defense will be able to stop one of the most explosive Alabama offenses in school history. The already underperforming Florida defense is going to be matched up with the likes of Najee Harris, Devonta Smith, John Metchie III, and other weapons that the ‘Bama offense has at its disposal.
The Gators have yet to play a complete game across all three units this year, and now would be one heckuva time to step up and do so, in an attempt to knock off No. 1 Alabama for UF’s first SEC title since 2008. Florida's offense should be able to move the ball on the Alabama defense, but there have been struggles in the past few weeks, and Trask did not look the sharpest last week in the 37-34 loss to LSU. That can't carry over.
All in all, I think both teams will put up points due to the lack of defensive production from both sides, as two of the best offensive minds in the sport in Dan Mullen and Steve Sarkisian will be cooking up against coordinators that have struggled all season. I like Alabama here, but Florida should cover the 17-point spread.
Michael Knauff (8-2): Alabama 48, Florida 31
Florida may be motivated from their loss last week to LSU, but it probably won’t be enough to win the SEC title this weekend.
With Kyle Pitts being back, while it certainly should make things easier for the Gators' offense, it won't be enough to keep up with the Alabama offense. The Tide will probably elect to pound the rock for most of the game, and Najee Harris should have a big day because of it.
However, Kyle Trask and the Gators will hang around for most of the game, keeping it within 10 points through the first three quarters, before Alabama ends up winning by three scores.
Graham Marsh (7-3): Alabama 63 Florida 40
The idea of Florida's secondary covering Devonta Smith and John Metchie III while simultaneously trying to slow down the rushing attack from Najee Harris is frightening. This defense has not proven capable to do that successfully this year, at all.
Early on, Kyle Trask and Kyle Pitts will match the Crimson Tide score-for-score and make Gator Nation hopeful. But as the game wears on, the running game of Alabama and the non-existent running game for Florida will rear its ugly head. I like the Gators to make this one fun early, but they don’t have the dogs to stay in it late.
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December 19, 2020 at 12:46AM
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Florida Gators vs. Alabama Crimson Tide: SEC Championship Score Predictions - Sports Illustrated
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