October 1 is just too early for Alabama and Florida to be battling in still another Southeastern Conference championship classic. But the clash in Gainesville this weekend may well be a warmup for the 2011 SEC title match in December. Of more urgent interest, is the game's impact on the national rankings.
That's one reason the Florida-Bama game headlines the fifth week of college football, a weekend that also includes a crucial match between seventh-ranked Wisconsin and eighth-ranked Nebraska. The nation's other top teams seem headed for much easier tasks as October begins its tradition of separating the real contenders from the pretenders in the race for collegiate supremacy..
The Crimson Tide is ranked third in the nation and Florida is ranked 12th. Both are 4-0 in 2011. A convincing win over the surprising Seminoles could give Alabama a creditable claim to either Louisiana State University's No. 1 ranking or Oklahoma's No. 2 rating in the nation's polls.
This is the 41st football meeting between the neighboring state teams. Alabama leads the series and is a four-point favorite in the 2011 game. Since Alabama is a co-favorite with LSU in the SEC West Division and Florida a strong contender in the East Division, it's possible that both could wind up in the SEC's 20th championship game in December, despite a loss in this week's match.
Florida has appeared in 10 of the 19 conference championships. Alabama has been in seven of the SEC title games, each time against Florida. That means the Tide and Seminoles have met each other in more than a third of the conference championships since 1992.
Despite key losses in 2010, Coach Nick Sabin seems to be building the kind of dynasty that Alabama fans became accustomed to under the legendary Paul "Bear" Bryant.
Meanwhile Coach Will Muschamp is in his first year at Florida, trying to build on the 65-15 (81%) winning tradition that Urban Meyers left before retiring last season. Muschange brought 16 years coaching experience to the Florida job, most of it as one of the nation's leading defensive coordinators at Texas, LSU and Auburn. The 4-0 start has the Seminoles sharing the lead in the SEC's East Division with Steve Spurrier's 10th ranked South Carolina.Gamecocks.
In one of the few other top games on October 1, South Carolina takes on Auburn. That's a replay of the 2010 SEC championship, which the Tigers won in route to their national championship.
The nation's other top teams are expected to have easier times this weekend. Top ranked LSU is a four-touchdown favorite over Kentucky; No. 2 Oklahoma is a five touchdown favorite over Ball State; No. 4 Boise State is favored by 27 points over Nevada; No. 5 Oklahoma State is idle; and No. 6 Stanford is a three-touchdown favorite over UCLA.
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