Gators-Tide not only marquee game of weekend

Posted Sep 29, 2010 by Scott Brown

Updated Sep 29, 2010 at 03:07 AM

Week 5 of the college football season offers several appealing matchups, as could be expected from the onset of October. Locally (and perhaps even nationally), Florida’s first trip to Alabama since 2005 is generating plenty of headlines, and understandably so. It isn’t every week, after all, that CBS deems a game worthy of prime time. There are, however, plenty of other tilts on Saturday that will play a huge role in telling the tale of the 2010 season, and we’ll discuss them once we’ve covered the obligatory.

Florida at Alabama

Urban Meyer has often mentioned that ‘05 trip to Tuscaloosa while a rookie Gators coach (ending in a 31-3 dismantling at the hands of the Tide) as his true introduction to SEC football, and a sign of what it would take to succeed in the country’s preeminent league (signing Tim Tebow five months later didn’t hurt that cause, either, naturally).

This time around, of course, Alabama is riding high: the defending national champion, a consensus No. 1 in the polls and sporting a daunting running game led by Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram. And for the time in 18 years - since the first SEC Championship Game, a 28-21 win that vaulted Bama to a national championship game victory over Miami - the Gators take on Alabama as an underdog.

But it’s not like Florida is swimming with the Vanderbilts and Georgias (hey, lose three in a row and this is what you get) of the world itself. UF is 4-0, No. 7 in the AP poll and delighted about what it saw from true freshman quarterback Trey Burton against Kentucky last Saturday night. Burton accounted for six total touchdowns (five rushing), and it will be interesting to see how Meyer and staff use him in combination with starter John Brantley. The red zone is the obvious area of expertise for Burton, but how often will the Gators even be in that part of the field against the Tide?

The ideal scenario, of course, would be for Brantley to have the type success Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett had early against the young Bama secondary last Saturday, then hand the reins to Burton to turn potential field goals into touchdowns. But as usual, the Gators have offensive talent all over the field, so their options are varied.

Conversely, there’s no secret to what Alabama will try to do: pound the ball with Ingram and Trent Richardson, and make enough plays with senior QB Greg McElroy and phenomenal WR Julio Jones to keep the Florida defense honest. That formula has led to 18 straight victories (including last December’s 32-13 pasting of Tebow and Florida to win the SEC championship), and there’s no reason to think Nick Saban will change by Saturday.

Most people figure there will be a rematch between these two in a couple of months regardless of Saturday’s outcome, but that may be a risky assumption: Auburn and LSU, after all, are still undefeated themselves, and if Bama falls to the Gators earning a third straight trip to Atlanta will be perilous. Florida can probably better handle a loss in Tuscaloosa, but South Carolina will have a realistic shot at the SEC East crown if the oddsmakers are right about this one.

Stanford at Oregon

It’s not often that a Pac-10 game not involving USC generates a buzz anywhere east of Las Vegas, but this one is doing it, and it’s easy to see why. The No. 4 Ducks are playing like the memory of last year’s Rose Bowl loss still perturbs them, racking up Nintendo-style offensive numbers over their first four games. No. 9 Stanford has largely done the same, embarrassing name programs UCLA (35-0) and Notre Dame (37-14) along the way.

The reality of the BCS (and the national lack of respect for the Pac-10) suggest that the loser of this Saturday night game in Eugene will have little or no chance reaching of the title game, especially since the conference still doesn’t have its own championship game (not yet, anyway). Jim Harbaugh has given the Cardinal a decidedly Michigan-like physical persona, and the story of this game will likely be told in whether Stanford’s brawn or Oregon’s speed prevails.

Oklahoma vs. Texas

This one, of course, lost plenty of luster when the Longhorns laid an egg last week in Austin against UCLA (and fell to No. 21 in the AP poll as a result), but the winner of the Big 12 South will likely come once again from this rendition of the Red River Rivalry, especially since UT has already beaten Texas Tech.

No. 8 Oklahoma has looked alternately dominant and shaky so far, embarrassing Florida State in Norman but squeaking past Air Force and Cincinnati since then. Quarterback Landry Jones hasn’t been the problem, but the Sooners defense is showing its youth and a strong running game could pose real problems.

Fortunately for OU, the Texas offense is in mid-identity crisis, trying to magically become a run-first unit after years of catering to the passing talents of former QB Colt McCoy. Successor Garrett Gilbert is solid and deserves more respect than he’s getting from his coaches, but he likely won’t be counted on unless the Longhorns fall behind early. Given recent results, that might happen anyway.

Tennessee at LSU

This matchup would have been a lot more intriguing a handful of years ago, but it’s still interesting because of the Volunteers’ recent problems and the fact that these two don’t get together very often (twice every five years).

Derek Dooley inherited a chaotic situation in Knoxville, and it’s no huge risk to say things will get considerably worse before improving. He simply doesn’t have the talent to compete in the SEC right now (evidenced by last Saturday’s embarrassing overtime escape against ... Alabama-Birmingham). Dooley, however, is everything that predecessor Lane Kiffin isn’t: patient, team-oriented and determined to do things the right way.

LSU, by contrast, could have the exact opposite problem: stockpiles of talent but dubious leadership. Talent-rich Louisiana annually provides plenty of skilled players to Baton Rouge (along with surrounding states), but Les Miles continues to draw fire as the Tigers’ offense struggles and losing streaks to key rivals build up (of course, a certain former coach’s success with one of those rivals makes things worse as well).

Some feel that losses to Florida, Ole Miss and Alabama once again this year could spell the end for Miles. If that’s the case, beating up on a weakened Volunteers squad is crucial for LSU, and exactly the sort of opportunity it seems to have mishandled in recent years.