Crimson Red Sports

Will Muschamp has been saying since Day 1 on the job that the SEC is a line of scrimmage league. That if you want to win games and hope to last very long in this tough, fast, physical conference, you better be strong up front.

This testament will be very much on display Saturday night in The Swamp, when No. 3 Alabama and No. 12 Florida match team strength vs. team strength.

In this case, it will be the Gators' defensive front against the Crimson Tide's strong and experienced offensive line and powerful/fast running game.

Florida's No. 1 defensive priority this season has been to shut down the run and make opposing offenses one-dimensional. So far, so good with that through the Gators' 4-0 start.

But the game changes now, the challenge elevates to a much higher level against the tough Tide offensive line and tailbacks Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy.

http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20110929/ARTICLES/110929403?tc=cr

Florida's defense has done well this year, though they haven't faced a power rushing attack as good as the Tide's.  You have to think they have great athletes, considering how well Urban Meyer recruited at Florida.  While Meyer may have recruited the offense for the spread, and lacks the power rushing back needed for a pro style offense in the SEC, the defensive athletes recruited were for playing against SEC offenses, so you have to figure them to be ready.  Sill, I think Meyer focussed more on speed than power, even with the linebackers and secondary, which is why Bama has been able to wear down the Florida defense the last few times the two teams have played.  I think Florida holds Bama early, then the dam breaks and Bama wins going away.  When the Florida offense cannot drive the ball, their defense will crack and then break like a carton of eggs.

Meyer's big mistake was recruiting Brantley for the spread offense. That was painfully obvious to them last year. Weiss now has the pro-style offense in place which is a good fit for Brantley, but the jury is still out on the rest of the offense, until they play a quality opponent. That verdict will come Saturday night.

Agreed.  Florida lacks a power back to carry the rock and pound it between the tackles.  So, even if Florida gets an early lead, they cannot hold the ball on long, time consuming drives.

Weiss has done a good job avoiding the issue so far by using their two speedsters and creating space, mostly through screens and power sweeps (pulling five blockers for around the end, because the little fast guys cannot break tackles.)  However, this type of offense will be dominated by Bama's fast, physical defense.  Florida doesn't have the athletes at this time to fully run their system, and therefore advantage Bama.

I think it is big play or bust for Florida offense against our defense. I do not see them keeping a drive alive for 10-15 plays.

I agree.  They may be able to bust a play early, but Bama has a veteran defense this year and is playing relatively mistake-free.  I don't see Florida being able to hang with Bama for 60 minutes.