Alabama doesn’t travel to Atlanta for football games. It comes here for coronations.
It opens seasons in this city, the way Godzilla starts his work day by stepping on buildings. It crushes unfortunate souls from the SEC East, which are just this side of a tax deduction, in conference championship games. Soon, it will return to Atlanta for a national semifinal against a sacrifice to be determined.
Some people go to resorts for nirvana. Nick Saban goes to the Georgia Dome. He sees Northside Drive the way we gaze at sunsets and softly breaking ocean waves.
Alabama opened this college football season by crushing USC 52-6. The Crimson Tide continued their path of destruction in the Georgia Dome on Saturday, dismembering Florida 54-16 to win another SEC championship.
This makes eight consecutive wins and 9-1 overall in the Dome for Saban since landing in Tuscaloosa. It will be a wonder if he doesn’t handcuff himself to a lamppost outside the building in protest of it being scheduled for a wrecking ball.
Alabama has won five SEC titles, including the past three, under Saban since 2009 and likely is on the way to a fifth national championship.
This also makes 25 consecutive wins for Alabama (13-0 this season), during which the Tide have outscored opponents by 634 points (944-310).
Uncle.
There are more numbers.
Really. Do you need more numbers?
Florida coach Jim McElwain referenced his team’s three interceptions and blocked punt for a touchdown in the first half, saying, “Obviously you’re not going to win if you give the ball to anybody four times, especially a team like the one that Nick has put together, which in my opinion is the best team he’s had since he’s been there.”
Nobody is in a position to argue.
Florida scored first. It was so cute.
Alabama scored the next 33 points.
Referencing the Gators’ early touchdown, Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster said, “We had to overcome some hard times.”
There’s your perspective on this team and this season. Alabama falls behind 7-0 and one of the team’s players is all but likening it to the Great Depression.
After that first TD, the Gators’ next seven possessions went interception (set up a field goal), interception (pick six), punt (blocked, return for a touchdown), punt, insanely-stupid-botched-fake-punt, punt, interception (set up a touchdown). The Florida offense finished with a net of zero yards rushing.
Alabama led 33-9 in the second quarter, and it accomplished that without a great functioning offense. Alabama had zero first downs and a net of minus-7 yards in offense in the first quarter. It had two touchdowns and a field goal before the offense produced anything on its own. But the Tide led the nation in non-offensive touchdowns this season, with 12, and it added Nos. 13 and 14 in the first quarter on a pick-six by safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and a 27-yard punt return following a blocked punt by Josh Jacobs.
“This group has scored more non-offensive touchdowns than any team I’ve been associated with,” Saban said.
The drama left this game early. Florida threatened to get close when it scored a touchdown near the end of the first half, then drove into Alabama territory early in the third with a chance to make the score 33-23. But the drive died on the Tide’s 2-yard line, and Alabama’s offense responded with a 98-yard touchdown drive.
Saban: “When they scored at the end of the half it gave them momentum. But we had that great goal-line stand and then the 98-yard drive. I think that was the turning point of the game, psychologically, for our team and for their team.”
“Turning point” — that’s probably overstating it.
The SEC isn’t nearly what it used to be. But Alabama is everything it has been, and more. It would be stunning if the Tide didn’t win two more games.
Alabama will return to its pleasure palace on New Year’s Eve. The Dome will be wrecking-balled soon after.
Kinda funny. This idea for an SEC Championship game was hatched by former conference commissioner Roy Kramer in 1992. He was there for the first two title games that were played in ancient Legion Field in Birmingham, which opened in 1927. The game was moved in 1994 to the Georgia Dome, a toddler among sports venues. Before the game, Kramer mused that he never would’ve expected the Dome would be leveled before Legion Field.
Saban hates to see the Dome go. Then again, this team could win on Neptune. This Alabama senior class has now won 51 games, three SEC titles and a national championship, with a potential second one coming.
“They created a situation for themselves where they have a chance to do something to create a legacy for this team,” Saban said. “So that’s something they should think about, how important that is, what are they willing to do to do it. Because all of the teams you play from here on out are really, really good.”
Just a thought: The three other playoff teams really, really won’t matter.
