No. 1 vs. No. 2

By Michael Casagrande

For the TimesDaily

ATLANTA - If the historical implications of Saturday's game were gnawing on Tim Tebow's psyche, he certainly didn't show it Friday afternoon.

Smiles wide and tongue wagging, the Gator talked a little trash while running routes and catching passes on the Georgia Dome turf at the beginning of Friday's practice on the eve of the SEC Championship Game.

It was a lighthearted setting Friday that will turn into the grandest stage in all of college football today.

An SEC title and a spot in the BCS national championship game is not all that's at stake, though.

Reputations are on the line as Florida looks to nose closer to the lofty perch that hovers above the rest of college football - a position held by Alabama for generations. A Gator win would be its second straight over Alabama in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in the SEC title game. It would also put Florida one win from a third national title in four years.

On the other side, should Alabama knock Florida from its pedestal today, the pendulum of public opinion will have swung back in favor of the Crimson Tide and put the Nick Saban reconstruction efforts close to completion.

The possibilities of the moment aren't lost on Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, a self-proclaimed historian of the game who "idolizes" Bear Bryant.

"Just the history is phenomenal," Meyer said. "And I don't want to say I'm overwhelmed to be a part of it, but there's a part of me that I am a little overwhelmed when you start mentioning those names and you start talking about the Alabama Crimson Tide and Florida Gators playing for the Southeastern Conference for the right to play for the national championship. You're probably lying if you're not overwhelmed by the whole deal."

Today's game is the seventh between the Tide and Gators in the 17-year history of the SEC Championship. Florida won four of those previous meetings, including last season's 31-20 decision that sent the Gators to their third national title and the Tide to a disappointing Sugar Bowl loss.

Alabama's objective is to reclaim its spot atop the college football world, and if the 10 minutes of Tide practice open to the media is any indication, the challengers are taking a businesslike approach to the proceedings.

A stark contrast to the loose, playful setting in Florida's time before the cameras, Alabama players jogged straight to their positional groups and got right to work when their turn to practice came up. There were no linemen punting or quarterbacks running pass routes after Saban led the team out wearing a suit and tie (Meyer wore shorts and a t-shirt).

Saban compared Saturday's game to a "title fight" before saying his team did not sit around brooding after last season's disappointing loss in Atlanta. He's also avoiding any debate of which program is the South's king of football, but understands what today means to the pride of his adopted home state.

"We sort of know that the expectations at the University of Alabama are relatively high relative to the tradition that they have there and the passion that they have there," he said. "And I would probably go as far as to say our fans think that's unique and they're proud of that.

"But the fact of the matter is there's a lot of passion, a lot of other places for their football too, and we understand that all the love we get is conditional on one thing. And that's that we win the game."