ATLANTA — About six Alabama players — all wearing “2016 Southeastern Conference Champions” hats and T-Shirts — ran from the field to their locker room after the game hollering down the hallway.
For them, winning never gets old.
And if they can blow a team out? Even better.
“This is what we like to do,” defensive end Jonathan Allen said of his team’s shellacking of the Gators. “This is what we do.”
Saturday’s lopsided final score of 54-16 was the second-largest score disparity in SEC Championship Game history, trailing only Auburn’s 56-17 win over South Carolina in 2010.
The 38-point domination of the Gators was also better than the Crimson Tide’s 28-point average margin of victory this season. And it marked Alabama’s sixth-consecutive win over Florida.
But does 13-0 Alabama, which hasn’t lost since Sept. 9, 2015, ever get tired of of not playing close games? Of not having it come down to the final seconds? Of knowing that the victory is sealed before the fourth quarter begins?
“Let me put it to you like this,” Alabama defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand said after the game. “Let’s say you’ve been going to work four hours every day. You’re getting a paycheck. Are you gonna be upset when you get a bonus?”
He went on to answer his own question. No, of course blowouts never get old.
Even though his team hasn’t lost in over a year, though, Hand said he still remembers what it felt like losing to Ohio State in the first round of the 2014 College Football Playoff.
Avoiding that feeling, he said, keeps his teammates motivated to demolish every opponent.
“Because nobody wants to feel that feeling of losing,” he said.
Florida’s bowl destinations more limited
The Gators entered Saturday’s game as contenders for the Sugar Bowl, one of the most prestigious bowl games in college football. But after their flop against Alabama, they’re likely eliminated from Sugar Bowl contention.
That leaves the Citrus Bowl in Orlando or the Outback Bowl in Tampa as likely bowl destinations. Regardless of where his team ends up, though, Florida coach Jim McElwain expects his players to win the game, whatever game it is.
“We've got to go to win this bowl game wherever we do end up,” he said. “We're going to put a plan together and get the players out there to go play that and go win a game.”
Last season, the Gators followed their SEC Championship loss to Alabama with a 41-7 stomping against Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. And despite losing to Florida State and Alabama to close the season two years in a row, McElwain hopes for the bowl game to be different this time.
“I was really disappointed, obviously, in the effort last year, but this is a different team,” he said. “We've got some guys that are in it for a lot more than just themselves.”
Davis returns, Bryan leaves
One such “guy” McElwain mentioned by name was senior linebacker Jarrad Davis, who played in his first game since Florida’s loss to Arkansas. He amassed four tackles in the loss.
But despite not showing up much in the stat sheet, McElwain was impressed with his effort and willingness to play in the first place.
“I thought what Jarrad Davis did today was fantastic,” he said. “That speaks a lot about a guy who was willing to lay it all out there for his team and for his family.”
Defensive lineman Taven Bryan, meanwhile, had to leave the game in the fourth quarter. He was ejected with about 10 minutes left for a personal foul.
Contact Ethan Bauer at ebauer@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @ebaueri.
Nick Saban celebrates after winning the SEC Championship on Saturday, Dec. 3, in the Georgia Dome.
