Tide, Gators have unfinished business

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Urban Meyer stood amid the postgame, midfield swirl, with his hands planted on his hips and his gaze zooming off into the emptying Bryant Denny grandstands. The scoreboard read Alabama 31, his Florida Gators 6. The rest of the combatants were congratulating each other.
Urban Meyer left Tuscaloosa shell-shocked after his Gators were run off the field by Alabama.
(Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Meyer just stood there, the 1,000-yard stare from the 50-yard line.

Soon he’d jog off the field and be heckled in an avalanche of crimson noise – mock Gator chomps and middle fingers. He looked shell-shocked; a loss like this hardly still seemed possible to his Florida program. Yet over a few hours on a beautiful Southern night the Crimson Tide had overwhelmed his team and left his program in the dust.
Tide, Gators have unfinished business 1286084593

Tide, Gators have unfinished business 1286084593

“It was real disappointing,” he’d say later.

Across the stadium Nick Saban was finishing a television interview and jogging briskly toward the tunnel. Cheers were hurling down on the Tide coach, yet he took just a moment to wave his hand in recognition and broke neither stride nor a smile. Soon enough he’d address his triumphant locker room and then the media and his them was consistent – we’ve got to play a lot better than this.

“I didn’t like the way we finished the second half,” the Alabama coach said. “We got a little sloppy.”

The team that had just humiliated the Gators and flummoxed its head coach wasn’t at all pleased about how its 60-minute performance ended. Yes, the dominant first half was something to celebrate. The balanced offense, the turnover creating defense, the way the entire team swarmed at every opportunity was also very good.

It just wasn’t good enough for long enough and if there’s a reason that Saban’s program is undeniably the nation’s best right now, it’s that no one is ever satisfied around here.

The 100,000-plus who screamed through the night here Saturday were allowed to hog the giddiness but all across the program they talked about this victory like it was something to build off, something to learn a lesson from, not something to throw a parade for.

You’ve never seen an annihilation of Florida taken so casually.

“We beat a great team in Florida,” running back Mark Ingram said. “But we still have a lot of work to do.”

“We haven’t played our best game yet,” defensive end Marcell Dareus said.

You’d have thought this was the San Jose State game.

“It’s not about how fast your opponent can run,” Saban said, getting philosophical. “It’s how fast you can run.
Mark Ingram had another big game, but he and the Tide still aren't satisfied.
(Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

“I was very pleased with the way we played in the first half. We played with toughness. We were motivated. We need to focus on doing that all the time, not some of the time. … Our younger guys have to realize you have to do that every play. It’s not a sometimes thing. It’s every play.”
Tide, Gators have unfinished business 1286080457.jpg?x=220&y=300&xc=1&yc=1&wc=220&hc=300&q=100&sig=vRCb1

Tide, Gators have unfinished business 1286080457.jpg?x=220&y=300&xc=1&yc=1&wc=220&hc=300&q=100&sig=vRCb1

Saban may be a killjoy. He’s also a master motivator and teacher. This entire program is proof of his genius. It misses nothing. It makes few mistakes. It never stops raising the bar on its players, who follow along in lock step because he’s proven he’ll deliver them to the promised land of a BCS title.

When they start hanging crepe on punishing Florida for the program’s 29th consecutive regular-season victory, you’re dealing with a team that’s chasing a completely different level of play.

“I figure we can do what we want to do,” Dareus said. “It’s about worrying about playing the best ball you can play.”

Saban has managed to convince his guys in two seemingly dissimilar concepts – that the Tide is great enough to dominate any team in America, yet not nearly good enough to assume they can beat anyone. It’s a combination of outrageous confidence and a deep fear of failure. When packaged together what you get is this – a team that is physical, fast and focused.

It’s a program that dismisses the ability of its opponents, although not with any noticeable malice, just an appreciable, and justifiable, self-worth.

“We believe when were on the same page and play with the intangibles that Alabama football is built on, we’re tough to beat,” Ingram said. “Line it up, rock ‘em, sock ‘em. They knew what we were going to do. We knew what they were going to do.”

Yet only one team did it. The other team entered the game ranked seventh in the country and left wondering whether it deserved to be on the same field with No. 1.

“We’re anxious to get back to work tomorrow with a Sunday practice,” Meyer said. “We have some things to work on.”

Saturday night couldn’t have gone differently for Meyer and Saban. One delivered a show of force victory. One was exposed as non-competitive. One continued to push for another unbeaten season. One claimed that it was just thinking “about getting on a plane safely and going home.”

And yet “some things to work on” was the common theme. In decisive defeat for Florida and in overwhelming victory for the defending champions, who appear to be only picking up speed in their quest for perfection.

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Tide, Gators have unfinished business

Tide, Gators have unfinished business

Tide, Gators have unfinished business :: Comments