No. 1 Alabama Crushes No. 7 Florida, 31-6

This is the Alabama everyone feared Nick Saban would build.

Whine about oversigning if you want. Complain about how bloodless Saban can seem if it makes you feel better. But don’t dispute this: Alabama is the best team in college football right now, and a team that can turn a squad full of fleet five-star recruits into mincemeat despite all but forgetting about the accelerator in the second half.

Florida (4-1, 2-1) had won 24 straight regular-season games, with their last such loss coming against Ole Miss on September 27, 2008.

These two teams have met in each of the past two SEC Championship Games and the winner went on to capture the national title (Florida in 2008 and Alabama last year).

John Brantley evaded death, and then got sandwiched by two big guys in crimson. And he didn’t even get the first down!

Brantley side-stepped a rushing Darrington Sentimore, scrambled for eight yards, and got met by two ‘Bama defenders who crashed into him from either side. He ended up on his back, in obvious pain, and Florida ended a fifth drive in Alabama territory without a touchdown.

There’s really no good time for any mistakes by Florida right now, but it suffices to say that goal to go fumbles are exquisitely painful.

And yet, a fumble, this partly on John Brantley and partly on Emmanuel Moody, happened on second and goal from the Alabama 1, and the Gators committed a second turnover from a yard out.

John Brantley has a touchdown pass tonight.

Sure, it was to Alabama’s C.J. Mosley, and sure, it means Alabama’s defense has more points than the Florida offense. But it was a touchdown pass!

Cody Mandrell’s first punt on the night went 26 yards and set up a Florida field goal.

The second one is far less likely to do that.

Florida came out throwing in the second half, and was almost throwing punches, until that last roundhouse whiffed and a jab was tacked on for style.

The Gators drove 79 yards to the Alabama 4, and got three passes of 17 or more yards from John Brantley, but the drive stalled and Chas Henry added another field goal to cut Alabama’s lead to 24-6.

How good is Alabama’s offense? Try better than the one that won a BCS Championship in 2009.

Alabama’s averaging 8.12 yards per play against Florida at the half. That’s a better clip than Alabama produced at in any game in 2009, including the SEC Championship demolition of the Gators.

Alabama’s lone mistake of the night turned into Florida’s only score.

A Cody Mandell punt traveled just 26 yards, and Florida capitalized with a Chas Henry field goal. It’s 24-3 in Tuscaloosa at the half, and there might just be hope for Florida if the Gators can score on the opening drive of the second half.

It’s beginning to feel a lot like last December in Tuscaloosa.

Except it’s going even better for Alabama this time.

Mark Ingram just keeps scoring touchdowns against Florida.

The Heisman Trophy-winner capped a nine-play, 80-yard drive with a six-yard scamper to the outside that gave Alabama a 10-0 lead.

Alabama is very good at playing football.

I know this because the Crimson Tide rolled up 114 yards on Florida in the first quarter, and snagged a pick at the goal line to prevent an interception, and had five of their 17 plays go for 10 or more yards.

Florida pulled out old pages of its playbook for an impressive opening drive against Alabama.

The improvised John Brantley run worked. The option worked. The deep pass to Deonte Thompson worked. The reverse to Omarius Hines worked. But the jump pass didn’t.

Alabama may be trying to use Florida’s defensive speed against it again.

If Florida is going to go into Tuscaloosa and beat Alabama, it will do so without one of its special teams stalwarts.

Florida kicker Caleb Sturgis was not on the team flight to Tuscaloosa, and will miss the game, and perhaps the next six to eight weeks, with a herniated disc and a stress fracture in his back. Punter Chas Henry will handle kicking duties.