The more things change the more they stay the same

Everything was different. Tim Tebow was outplayed by an opposition quarterback. Urban Meyer was completely out coached and Florida was dominated. From the very first play it was obvious that this was a very different game to any we have seen for at least three years. Nick Saban is renowned for deferring when winning the coin toss, not Saturday. He grabbed that ball to make a statement. Alabama is very possibly the last college team in the country that doesn’t run a spread offence, first play Saturday they just did. That play was an indicator of how the rest of the game would go. Everything Alabama did was a statement, from the kick off, to the spread, to scoring first drive. The game plan was obvious, punch Florida in the nose and leave them bloody. Every time the CBS camera’s zoomed on Meyer or Tebow there was a concern I have never seen before. Did they panic? Get confused? or scared? Whatever, they had no answer. How did ’Bama blow away the reigning national champions? It’s a question that every member of ’Gator Nation has been asking since about 7pm in the Georgia Dome. Florida lost all the key match ups, and these a just some of them;

QB; Greg McElroy vs. Tim Tebow

If this was your first ever college football game and you were told the best player in the country was on the field, you would have thought it was Alabama’s number 12. On Saturday night it was. From the first pass to the when he ran off the field McElroy was in complete control of the football, almost every pass was where it needed to be. In fact McElroy attempted less passes than Tebow completed, but ended with only 8 yards less. Whether it was the coach who panicked or the player, Florida completely lost control, they lost perspective and forgot the game plan. Tebow had 10 rushing attempts to 35 passing attempts. Last week against Florida State he had 21 passing attempts and 15 rushing. Tebow looked like a wide eyed freshman not a senior Heisman winner. While McElroy made the big plays, either with his arms or legs, they were completely taken away from Tebow. As Pat Forde wrote for ESPN McElroy "out-Tebowed" Tebow, and this match-up boils down simply to that.

CB; Javier Arenas vs. Joe Haden

Arenas was supposed to be more dangerous on special teams than defence. Florida’s approach to Arenas on special teams was perfect he was shut down. As a defender he shut Florida down. This was not the predicted story line in regards to the two corner backs. It was predicted the Joe Haden could have a potentially huge game while covering Julio Jones. It was telling that it was against Haden Jones managed to get open on the very first play of the game. All game either Maquis Maze or Julio Jones were managing to get open, wide open. No receiver could consistently do this. You only have to compare two end zone passes, Arenas put himself in perfect position to steal Tebow’s last gasp heave. With 10 minutes left in the Third Quarter Colin Peek, the Alabama Tight End, escaped Haden’s coverage to catch McElroy’s perfect pass into the end zone. Arenas didn’t do what he was supposed to do, he did what he needed to do, Haden couldn’t.

WR; Julio Jones vs. Riley Cooper

This was supposed to be the big receiver match-up, like many predictions it didn’t happen that way. In fact this was the one key contest Florida won. That straight head-to-head shows Jones has 2 catches for 28 yards and Cooper had 3 for 77. Saying that negates the impact that Marquis Maze and Mark Ingram made as receivers for Alabama. Maze had 5 of ‘Bama’s 12 receptions and made 96 yards and Ingram went 2 for 76. Despite both Riley Cooper and Aaron Hernandez’s big games the Tide receivers all made big plays when it mattered and the Gators didn’t.

RB; Mark Ingram vs. Florida

Was this ever a real match-up? It turned out not. It’s impossible to measure Ingram against any other Florida rusher, Tebow is the Gators running back regardless of what he’s listed as. This, plus the fact Ingram alone ran the ball twice as much as the whole Gator team, shows the imbalance in this argument. Ingram had his Heisman game all over the Florida defence, whether catching or running it was all about Mark Ingram making big plays. He beat Tebow rushing, he beat Demps rushing and he beat the Florida defence in general.

Was there a defining match-up that won the game for Alabama? You could say it was Saban vs. Meyer and have a great case. But in the grand scheme of things it seems that on a day when the past met the present, a day when everything changed but stayed the same, the Crimson Tide as an entity was better than Florida, nothing more nothing less. It was the first time in a long time that Alabama emerged the bear shaped shadow, just for a day. If they win on January 7th there may be a new shadow looking over Tuscaloosa.