You Couldn't Draw This Up Any Better

   Ultimately, it doesn't matter if Florida is ranked only fourth in the BCS while getting No. 2 recognition by the Associated Press poll.

   The winner of the SEC title face-off Saturday is surely headed to the national championship game.

   It's essentially a BCS semifinal at the Georgia Dome, with the winner playing Oklahoma, Texas or Southern Cal for all the marbles. Alabama is in with a win, of course, and Florida's computer ranking jumps up with a victory over No. 1.

    Now that the BCS ratings have settled that much, we're left to wonder on the point spread for Saturday (Gators by a touchdown over Bama?) and the status of Percy Harvin (will an ankle injury sideline the scary receiver/running back?).

   And ask ourselves: Is this the most anticipated league title showdown ever? (It is to me.)

   One loss between them, Florida against Ole Miss. Two sky-high rankings. Two brilliant coaches, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer. A delicious contrast in styles, Bama's traditional offense and the Gators' spread.

   Both did their part with wins by 30 points or more Saturday. Alabama flat-out crushed Auburn 36-0. Florida overcame adverse weather conditions and a hatin' crowd by smacking Florida State 45-15.

   Six days to kickoff. Counting down the seconds already.

   What's your key to the outcome?

   Would Harvin's absence make a big difference?

   How much would you pay for a seat in the Georgia Dome?

    

He's No Saint Nick

   Alabama coach Nick Saban supposedly uttered a four-letter word that rhymes with spit and snit last week at fans' suggestion that the Crimson Tide might be looking past Mississippi State to the Auburn and Florida games.

   The $4 million man apologized, to a degree, but got his point across. The Tide pounded Mississippi State to maintain their No. 1 rating.

  Does Bama deserve it?

   Saban's lads can pour more sodium in Auburn's wounds by officially denying the Tigers a bowl bid in what could be their seventh loss. Not that Tommy Tuberville would wish to extend this dreadful season.

   Can Auburn gather the troops to ruin Alabama's season and salvage something for itself?

    

Alabama-Florida: Start The Drumroll

   Let me be the first (or maybe the second or third) to say Florida will flummox Alabama in the SEC title game at the Georgia Dome.

   A standing O to the Crimson Tide for an amazing win at LSU under immense pressure. (Didn't Nick Saban have more state troopers protecting him from the LSU loonies than the quarterbacks had linemen surrounding them?) Credit to the stout Tide defense and to resourceful quarterback John Parker Wilson.

   Still, Bama won in large part because of an LSU hole at quarterback. Freshman Jared Lee ain't ready for SEC prime time, yet the Tide still had to go into OT for the win.

   In Nashville, Florida led Vandy 35-0 after 18 minutes. The Gators have beaten their last four SEC foes by 30-points-plus each. Tim Tebow is playing like the Heisman Trophy winner he was last season.

   Nick Saban has a young squad that has exceeded expectations by a country mile. Urban Meyer has a championship-ready team that is ripping through the SEC like a tornado.

   Go (to the national title game), Gators.

   Who's your pick?

   

Alabama-LSU: Tighter Than A . . .

I want to pick LSU over Alabama. I really do. Sometimes, you can just smell an upset coming. Let's see if my nostrils are deceiving me.
1. Tigers fans, notoriously intimidating under normal circumstances, will unleash flat-out hatred for Bama coach Nick Saban. )Which I don't get. The guy delivered a national title to Bayou country.) The Crimson Tide are unbeaten on the road. (Not to mention at home.)
2. LSU has the No. 1 rusher in the SEC, based on yards per carry: Charles Scott (6.7). The Crimson Tide has the next best: Glen Coffee (6.6).
3. LSU ranks third in the SEC in rushing defense. Bama's offensive line averages 308 pounds per man and creates holes that an elephant could burst through.
4. LSU has allowed 50 points in two of its games. No. 1-ranked teams are 2-2 the past four weeks.
5. Tigers premier linebacker Darry Beckwith is back from injury. The Tide's ferocious nose tackle, Terrance Cody, is expected back from injury.
For each point, there is a counter-point. I think the difference will be (a.) Bama's cool quarterback, John Parker Wilson, and LSU redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee, who has thrown five picks returned for touchdowns, and (b.) Nick Saban somehow outfoxing the estimable Les Miles with a team relying on only nine scholarship seniors.
Bama by a touchdown.

And Then There Were Three (We Think)

   What do Alabama and Obama have in common, besides their similarity in name?

   Both are close enough to the prize to taste it.

   The Crimson Tide can clinch the West with a victory in its next league game. Won't be easy -- at LSU Nov. 8 -- but the Tigers are struggling ay quarterback and have allowed a 50-spot to Florida and Georgia.

   Is it in the bag for Bama?

   Even with a loss to LSU, the Tide should walk over Mississippi State and slap around fading Auburn, which would put them in the league championship game against . . .

   Florida? Georgia? We should find out Saturday in a monster match-up between the league's most explosive offenses and inventive coaches.

   Urban Meyer placed a gag order Sunday on the Gators, which speaks loud and clear on the importance he places on the game. Don't expect Mark Richt to follow suit -- he doesn't want to be seen as an imitator -- but he surely will warn the Dawgs to watch their words.

   The main pollsters and the BCS people differ on the worth of the teams. AP (writers) and USA Tuday (coaches) view the Gators better -- by three slots, in AP's case. The BCS prefers Georgia, in front of Florida by two spots.

   Who do you like?

   Those anticipating the SEC championship can start gearing up for the winner versus Nick Saban's crew. Maybe President Obama will toss the coin.

     

     

Survive and Advance: What It's All About

   With the Florida Gators sunning themselves all weekend, the league's other three title aspirants won. Two of the trio staged muted celebrations, having cast doubts as to whether they have gotten off-track entering the season's second half.

   Nick Saban, a natural worry wart, is justifiably concerned that Alabama cannot finish off opponents on life support. Ole Miss, down 24-3, was a long completion from beating the Crimson Tide.

   Should Alabama be smiling coming out of this game?

   Georgia hits the road for a month with little momentum from a 10-point win over Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs have come a long way -- in the wrong direction -- from their preseason No. 1 ranking.

   Is too much expected of Georgia because of its lofty rating before the first kickoff?

   LSU will take a win at South Carolina any way it can. Steve Spurrier, who exhibits signs of  Tourette's Syndrome when asked anything about his quarterbacks, says he may have placed too much responsibility on first-time starter Stephen Garcia. If so, the Tigers thank him for that.

   Georgia vs. LSU on Saturday could, but not necessarily would, reduce the championship contenders to three. So, last weekend's hopefuls are happy for the W, no matter how it came about. 

   Who do you like in this possible elimination game?

1st Weekend Lesson: The Tide Keeps On Rising

   Prior to the season's first kickoff, Alabama was an afterthought in the discussion of potential SEC champions. Maybe, the thinking went, but not likely.

   Before September is out, the Crimson Tide have been the most impressive SEC team, pounding Clemson by 34 points, Arkansas by 35 and Georgia in a less-closer-than-it-looks 11.

   Nick Saban stunned the Dawgs by assigning underappreciated quarterback John Parker Wilson to use the pass to set up the run, a reversal of the Tide's usual approach. On the second play, Bama came out in a five-receiver set, which surely had Georgia coaches futilely scrambling through their game plan for a solution.

   Georgia's multiple momentum advantages -- all-black uniforms, ESPN "GameDay" presence, chance to return to No. 1 -- collapsed in a heap early. Halftime: 31-0. You could have turned out the lights then. But with all the Dawg fans dressed in black, they could not have found their way out of the stadium.

   Any explanation for what happened to UGA?

   Good for AP poll voters to award Bama a No. 2 ranking, thanks to the top spot on 21 of 65 ballots. Curses to the USA Today voters who lifted the Tide only to No. 4, with a lone first-place ballot. Me, I would not hesitate placing the Tide No. 1.

   Anybody wanna talk me out of it?