Florida 16 - 54 Alabama (SEC Championship) (Final)

Just another example of total domination by Alabama, which continues to roll through its opponents with breathtaking ease.  Alabama crushes Florida to win the SEC Championship, keep the UCFC, and move into the College Football Playoff.  This means for the first time since the 2010 season, the team that wins the National Title will also hold the UCFC.

Florida v. Alabama (Atlanta) (SEC Championship)

The very first SEC football championship game took place in 1992, and featured Alabama and Florida.  In fact, the first three SEC title games featured Alabama and Florida, and this will be the ninth time that these two schools have met for the title.  Here are the previous results (AP rankings at time of game in parentheses; national champions in bold):

1992:  (2) Alabama 28, (12) Florida 21
1993:  (9) Florida 28, (16) Alabama 13
1994:  (6) Florida 24, (3) Alabama 23
1996:  (4) Florida 45, (11) Alabama 30
1999:  (7) Alabama 34, (5) Florida 7
2008:  (2) Florida 31, (1) Alabama 20
2009:  (2) Alabama 32, (1) Florida 13
2015:  (2) Alabama 29, (18) Florida 15

As you can see, these have been some big-time games featuring big-time teams and big-time coaches. Five times the winner of this fixture has won the national title, and the games in 2008 and 2009 show where Nick Saban took control of the SEC from Urban Meyer and the Gators -- they are two of the most important games in SEC history.  Florida has won the SEC East 12 times since the SEC title game began; they've played Alabama in 9 of those games.  Alabama has won the SEC West 11 times, and faced Florida almost every time.

If you think about it, it's not surprising that Florida and Alabama meet so often in the title game.  It's not only that Florida has the best program in the East and Alabama has the best program in the West.  It's also how the schedules work.  Alabama plays Tennessee every year -- if the Tide wins the West, then they probably beat Tennessee, which makes things easier for Florida.  Florida plays LSU every year -- if the Gators win the East, then they probably beat LSU, which makes things easier for Alabama.  Also, Florida and Alabama rarely play each other in the regular season, which is fortunate for them both.

Alabama and Florida are both original members of the SEC, but for most of their history they didn't play each other very often.  In the old SEC -- that is, the league as it was before expansion in the early 1990's -- each team played six conference games per year, five against traditional rivals and one against another team.  Alabama's traditional rivals were Auburn, Tennessee, LSU, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt.  Florida's traditional rivals were Georgia, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, and Kentucky.  So they didn't play very much.  They didn't meet at all from 1932 to 1947, or from 1952 to 1962.  Even now, they don't play often outside the SEC title game.  Alabama leads the all-time series 24-14, and is currently on a five-game winning streak against the Gators.

This year's Florida team is solid but not spectacular.  They have a very solid defense that delivered seven mostly easy wins over UMass, Kentucky, North Texas, Vandy, Missouri, Georgia, and South Carolina.  They had a really bad loss on the road at Arkansas, where the Razorbacks hammered them 31-10.  They had two other disappointing losses in big road games -- 28-38 at Tennessee, and 13-31 at Florida State.  One of their games was cancelled due to the fact that bad weather forced them to reschedule their game with LSU.  It was originally scheduled for October 8 in Gainesville but was moved to November 19 in Baton Rouge.  In their best game of the year, the Gators beat LSU 16-10, winning the East and setting up today's game.

The oddsmakers do not believe that solid but spectacular will be enough against the Tide.  They have Alabama favored by 24 points in a game where they expect 41 points to be scored.  That would be a score of something like 33-9.  I think Florida will keep it closer than that, but then again I thought the same thing about Auburn last week.

I have a lot of errands to run today, so I will not live blog this game.  But I will give an update sometime tomorrow.

Florida 14 - 36 S. Carolina (Final)

OK, I was totally wrong. Carolina not only won, they won in style. Against all expectations, the SEC title game will be S. Carolina v. Auburn.

This is a great triumph for Steve Spurrier, who completes a very sweet double with wins over Nick Saban and Urban Meyer, and takes the SEC East title in the very Swamp that he made famous.

So, for the fifth time this year, we have a new holder of the UCFC. We started off with Alabama, who lost to South Carolina, who lost to Kentucky, who lost to Georgia, who lost to Florida, who lost to South Carolina. What a crazy year.

Florida's record in UCFC games falls to 25-15. South Carolina's record in UCFC games improves to 5-12.

Next week, the Gamecocks will defend the title in their last home game of the season, they will be taking on the Troy Trojans.

Florida 14 - 29 S. Carolina (6:33 left in 4th Quarter)

The Gators finally go their offense in gear (they still only have 169 total yards), but it's probably too little, too late.

Florida 7 - 29 S. Carolina (13:35 left in 4th Quarter)

Well, they've put it away now. Florida threw an interception -- the first turnover of the game -- giving the ball to Carolina at the Gator 30. And the Gamecocks made them pay, going in for a game-clinching score.

This is one of the most surprising results I can remember in years. The Gator fans on ESPN look absolutely stunned, and I don't blame them.

Anyway, the Troy Trojans need to get their game face ready, because they will be contesting the UCFC in Columbia, South Carolina next week.

Florida 7 - 22 S. Carolina (53 seconds left in 3d Quarter)

The Gamecocks do not put the game away. Florida holds them three and out, and the Gators take over at their own 20 after a Gamecock punt.

Florida 7 - 22 S. Carolina (3:15 left in 3d Quarter)

Florida just went for it on 4th and 2 at their own 44, and didn't make it. The Gamecocks take over with a great chance to put this game away.

Florida 7 - 22 S. Carolina (10:05 left in 3d Quarter)

This is a staggering result. Carolina took the kickoff and just went straight down the field for another score. What an odd team they are. They threw away an 18-point lead at Kentucky. They were crushed at home by Arkansas. But they beat Alabama and now they're cruising at Florida.

Florida 7 - 15 S. Carolina (Halftime)

The Gamecocks left the ACC in the early 1970s, and then wandered in the world of Independents until finally getting into the SEC in 1992. Since that time, there has been a lot of futility. The Gamecocks have never won the SEC East in football and have never won the SEC men's basketball tournament. They've beaten Florida only once in 18 conference games, and never beaten them in Gainesville. Their all-time record in SEC conference play is a very mediocre 59-91-1. (Florida's conference record over the same period is 121-30.) Now they are only two quarters away from what would be a very sweet victory.

Florida 7 - 15 S. Carolina (Halftime)

On the last play of the first half, the Gamecocks kick another field goal. They've made three field goals, each of which was over 40 yards long. They were much the better team in the first half -- out-gaining Florida 209 yards to only 51. South Carolina also went the whole half without a single penalty. This has been a UCFC-worthy performance. Can they keep it up in the second half and take the title for the second time this year?

Florida 7 - 12 S. Carolina (4:37 left in 2d Quarter)

Since that opening kickoff, the Gamecocks have been by far the better team. They have 13 first downs to only two for Florida. They have 164 total yards, to only 53 for Florida. And they just kicked a 47-yard field goal to pad their lead. However, a touchdown would still put Florida back on top.

Florida 7 - 9 S. Carolina (2:36 left in 1st quarter)

I have to admit that Carolina has been the better team so far. They just had another long drive, and this one ended in a touchdown. But they missed the extra point, which could turn out to be important.

Florida 7 - 3 S. Carolina (9:40 left in 1st Quarter)

The Gamecocks opening drive stalls at the Gator 30, and they take the 3 points.

Florida 7 - 0 S. Carolina (12:19 left in 1st quarter)

Well, this might be even easier for the Gators than I expected; they ran the opening kickoff back for a touchdown.

Florida v. S. Carolina

The Gators lead the all-time series, 23-4-3. The Gators and the Gamecocks rarely played each other before Carolina joined the SEC in 1992. Since then they have played every year, but the Gamecocks have only beaten Florida one time in SEC play. That was back in 2005. The Gamecocks have never beaten Florida in Gainesville (the site of today's game), where they are 0-12. Usually, this game is little more than a speed bump for a Florida team zooming toward bigger games against Florida State and the SEC title game.

This is the second time this fixture has served as a UCFC game. Last year, the Gators took the title with them to Columbia, and kept it with a 24-14 win over the Gamecocks.

This is the most important game ever between the two teams. Both teams are tied for first place in the SEC East with a record of 4-3. Whoever wins this game, therefore, will take the SEC East crown and play for the conference championship. Since the SEC went to two divisions in 1992, only three teams have ever won the SEC East: Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. Add in the fact that Carolina is coached by Steve Spurrier, probably the most famous coach in Florida's history, and you can see that this is a big deal.

Having said that, I don't think this game is really going to be that close. Carolina really hasn't played very well since they beat Alabama a few weeks ago, and the Gators have been rolling in recent weeks. I'm picking the Gators by at least 10.

Vanderbilt 14 - 55 Florida (Final)

As we expected, this was not much of a game. Florida did look sharp, and Vanderbilt did look particularly wretched, but other than that things pretty much went as anticipated.

So Vandy's all-time record in UCFC games drops to 0-8-2, while Florida's record improves to 25-14.

Next week Florida will go home to host the South Carolina Gamecocks, who have already captured the UCFC once this year. That game, which will decide the championship of the SEC East as well as the UCFC, should be quite a battle. At least it will be better than this.

Vanderbilt 0 - 41 Florida (3:29 left in 2d Quarter)

While I was typing the last entry, Florida blocked another punt and ran it back for another touchdown. That pretty much tells you all you need to know about this game.

Vanderbilt 0 - 34 Florida (5:36 left in 2d Quarter)

Well, things got pretty ugly after that. Florida is just rolling up and down the field at will, as they have done so often against Vanderbilt. For the first time in five weeks, the UCFC holder is going to retain the title, thus setting up a very interesting matchup with South Carolina.

Vanderbilt 0 - 7 (3:35 left in 1st Quarter)

Vandy punts, but the punt hits a Gator and Vandy takes over at the Florida 34. The Dores work the ball down to the 14, and on fourth and short Vandy sends out its kicking team. But it's a fake! The Vandy kicker drops back to pass, seemingly has all day to pick out a receiver and . . . throws an incomplete pass. Florida takes over, and Vandy has probably lost its only good chance to tie the game.

Vanderbilt 0 - 7 (8:47 left in 1st Quarter)

And there you are. A blocked punt, a poor decision not to take the safety, a three-yard sweep, and Florida takes the lead.