GAINESVILLE, Fla. — As undefeated Alabama and iconic coach Nick Saban entered Davis Wade Stadium, Mississippi State offensive lineman Stewart Reese had to pinch his 6-foot-6, 350-pound frame.
Managing the mix of emotions when the Crimson Tide roll onto the field can be as daunting as matching their talent and coaching once the game begins.
Now the starting right guard at Florida, Reese faced Alabama three times with Mississippi State. He still vividly recalls when he first caught sight of the program that rules the SEC.
“It can overwhelm you,” Reese said. “I remember my first time playing Alabama back in 2017, my eyes got so big when I saw them out there. I was like ‘Dang, I’m really playing Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide! Really, I’m doing this?’
“I mean, it’s one of those experiences, you just have to go out there, you just have to step out on faith.”
Reese and his new teammates’ faith, resolve and playing ability are sure to be tested time and again when the No. 7 Gators (8-2) square off against the No. 1 Tide (10-0) during Saturday night’s SEC title game. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. and the game will air on CBS.
Saban’s 2020 Crimson Tide can beat teams a number of ways: with the SEC’s leading offense, a swarming defense now finding its stride and superior depth built on a steady stream of top-ranked recruiting classes.
Many opponents are defeated, or least deflated, by the Alabama mystique before the game even kicks off.
While Reese is familiar with the challenge, this will be the first time for the rest of the Gators.
UF last met Alabama during the 2016 SEC title game, a convincing 54-16 win by the Crimson Tide featuring touchdowns by Saban’s team on its final three possessions.
First-year freshman quarterback Kyle Trask signaled in plays that day from the sideline to Austin Appleby, who threw three interceptions and suffered four sacks. Other than Reese, no one on UF’s current roster has come closer to facing Alabama than Trask did four years ago in the Georgia Dome.
“I think it was pretty cool because the year before you were playing at Manvel [High] in Texas and the next year you were able to signal for the Florida Gators,” Trask recalled. “That was a huge thing for me my freshman year in college.”
Trask now is the Gators’ best hope to upset the Crimson Tide, a 17-point favorite and winners this season by an average score of 50-17.
Trask leads an offense averaging 41.2 points and featuring ample playmakers, led by the nation’s top tight end, Kyle Pitts, and one of the game’s most dynamic playmakers, Kadarius Toney. The duo combined for 22 touchdowns.
Alabama tailback Najee Harris, though, has scored the same number of touchdowns himself. Meanwhile, superstar receiver DeVonta Smith has 17 scores for an Alabama attack averaging 49.2 points.
Defensive breakdowns cost the Gators tremendously during narrow losses at Texas A&M and this past Saturday in the Swamp against LSU. Similar miscues on defense could lead to an embarrassing final score Saturday night in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“I think they’re one of the most dynamic offenses that I’ve had the opportunity to face,” veteran UF defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said. “They can win games in a lot of different ways. They can win it running, they can win it throwing it, they can kind of take the air out of the game and shrink the game when they have a two-possession lead, they can get explosive plays.
“They have very talented players at every position.”
Mullen is sure to use his mastery of X's and O's to orchestrate a game plan to test Saban’s celebrated defensive acumen.
The Gators just might not have the players up front to hold off a surging Crimson Tide defense and open enough holes to generate any semblance of offensive balance.
Since a 63-48 shootout Oct. 10 to Ole Miss followed a week later by a 41-24 comeback against Georgia, Alabama has put down the clamps on opponents. The Crimson Tide have allowed their past six opponents to score an average of 8.8 points per game. During last weekend’s 52-3 win at Arkansas, Alabama sacked former UF QB Feleipe Franks seven times, giving Saban’s squad 15 during the past three games.
“You’re looking at guys that are more in the football mode, more comfortable with what’s going on, they’re comfortable with the schemes,” Mullen said. “They’re playing at a much higher level now than they did earlier in the year.”
Meanwhile, Mullen’s attack has slowed down a bit.
Trask’s Hesiman campaign sustained a hit against LSU with three first-half turnovers, one fewer than he’d committed during nine previous games. The expected return of Pitts, a game-time scratch against LSU, will make a big difference.
The Gators also must capitalize on their opportunities a week after eight trips to the Tigers’ red zone yielded just four touchdowns, along with two field goals and a pair of turnovers.
“You’re not going to win many football games playing that way,” UF offensive coordinator Brian Johnson said.
A flawless performance by Florida still might be enough to stun an Alabama squad without any glaring weaknesses.
Reese nearly tasted a rare victory against the Tide close during his first brush with them at Mississippi State. A 26-yard pass from Jalen Hurts to then-freshman DeVonta Smith with 25 seconds to go proved the difference during a 31-24 Alabama win. The next two games were Alabama victories by a combined score of 62-7.
The Gators, Reese said, just need to make the most of their one shot. The school’s first SEC title since 2008 and an outside shot at a College Football Playoff semifinal berth could be 60 minutes of football away, but many anxious moments remain just to reach kickoff.
“It’s the SEC Championship, we have nothing to lose,” Reese said. “We literally just have to go out there and put it all out on the line.”
