10 fascinating facts from Florida football’s matchup with Alabama

This is the Saturday fans and players have been pointing to – Alabama. Of course, sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for. The Tide rarely loses a regular-season game and even its younger players have been around some big-time atmospheres. This will be one for sure.

Much has been made about Alabama making its first appearance in the Swamp in 10 years and let’s hope that changes with the new scheduling format once Oklahoma and Texas are brought on board.

And that’s the way we’ll start this look at Alabama both as a program and as the 2021 team, which, as you know, is ranked No. 1 in the country.

Here are the records of Florida’s modern-day coaches against Alabama

... and remember that modern-day for me means that I was alive when the games took place.

Ray Graves – 1-1 Doug Dickey ­– 0-5 Charley Pell ­­– 0-1 Galen Hall – 1-1 Steve Spurrier – 6-3 Ron Zook ­­– 0-0 Urban Meyer – 2-3 Will Muschamp – 0-2 Jim McElwain – 0-2 Dan Mullen – 0-1

Mullen is actually 0-10 against Nick Saban

... from his time at Mississippi State when he was bringing a slingshot to a gunfight. Alabama under Saban has won seven straight against four different Florida coaches. Florida’s last win over the Tide came in the SEC Championship Game in 2008 on its way to a national title.

You want a weakness for this Alabama team?

Well, it’s only been two games but Alabama ranks 10th in the SEC in rushing yards per game at 152.5. Of course, Florida leads the conference in rushing and in total offense, but we have to remember who the Gators have played. Although, is Miami really any better than FAU? And remember how Alabama’s defense was going to slip this year because of the personnel losses? The Tide is 10th in the nation in total defense.

Yes, Alabama is an eating machine, consuming everything in its path.

This stat is a great example – Alabama has scored 30 or more points in 29 straight games. The all-time record is 31 straight. So, the Gators could put an end to an impressive streak. The other streak is that Alabama has won 16 in a row coming in.

You’re not getting depressed are you? Streaks are made to be broken, a wise man once told me.

There will be a familiar face on the other side of the field tonight.

Former Gator Major Wright’s brother Daniel is a defensive back for the Tide. He’s a senior who had a nice year in 2020 with two interceptions after a knee injury sidelined him for 2018 and left him rusty for 2019. Already this season, he has seven tackles and had one interception called back because of a penalty. Yes, Florida tried like heck to get him, but fell short.

And then there is Robert Gillespie

... the former Gator running back who coaches that position at Alabama. And Sal Sunseri worked with Florida’s defensive linemen in 2018 and helped the Gators terrorize quarterbacks. He now coaches outside linebackers for the Tide. There are plenty of analysts on staff including Chris Mortensen’s son Alex, and two former NFL head coaches on staff (Bill O’Brien runs the offense and Doug Marrone the offensive line.) But make no mistake about it. There may be a lot of headsets on that sideline, but there is only one voice.

One thing that is admirable about Alabama’s program

... is its discipline and one thing to watch is the way the pass rushers stay in their gaps and try to close down the pocket to make it more difficult for the quarterback. It’s what they did to D’Eriq King in the opener and you can even go back to the 2009 title game when they contained Tim Tebow by not letting him scramble. Of course, the scramble play has been a big part of the Florida rushing attack with both quarterbacks being in the top eight in the SEC in rushing. King was sacked four times in the first game of the year and only rushed for 10 yards.

So why the red elephants?

If you are the Crimson Tide, what is the deal with the pachyderms? Many if you know why the red elephant is the mascot of the team coming to town Saturday, but indulge me. Atlanta Journal-Constitution writer Everett Strupper wrote about the incredible 1930 team as only writers could back in the day. “At the end of the quarter, the earth started to tremble, there was a distant rumble that continued to grow. Some excited fan in the stands bellowed, ‘Hold your horses, the elephants are coming,’ and out stamped this Alabama varsity.” Poetry, really. And so, eventually, it caught on and some started calling them the red elephants. It wasn’t until the 1980 Sugar Bowl that the costumed "Big Al" made an appearance.

Nick Saban hasn’t made many appearances in the Swamp

... but more than you may think. Although he has only been here for one game as Alabama’s coach (a 38-10 win for the Tide after Florida scored on the first play of the game), Saban was here three times as the head coach at LSU. He lost to Steve Spurrier in 2000 by a score of 41-9 (LSU had four turnovers), beat Ron Zook in 2002, 36-7, and then beat him again in a 24-21 comeback in 2004.

After Saban’s first season at Alabama, let’s guess very few Alabama fans were watching the NFL draft.

That draft saw zero-point-zero Alabama players taken. Since then, the Tide has made the draft its personal party. In this year’s draft, Saban broke the record for most players drafted from an SEC coach's program. [lawrence-related id=54056,49585,48560] [vertical-gallery id=46337] Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

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