Alabama 32 – Florida 13 (December 5, 2009)
An Epic Disaster
The Gators and the Crimson Tide officially locked their spots in the 2009 SEC Championship Game in early November. But these two teams had been on a collision course for Atlanta since the season started. Everyone knew it. Alabama wanted revenge for the fourth quarter humiliation they received in the 2008 SEC Championship Game at the hands of the eventual national champion Gators. Florida — led by Tim Tebow — had a single goal for 2009: an undefeated season and an inconceivable third national championship in four years.
There’s a reason the word inconceivable exists.
Florida was riding an absurd twenty-two game winning streak and entered the game 12 – 0 and ranked #1.
Alabama followed its crushing loss to Florida the previous year with an embarrassing loss to Utah in the Sugar Bowl, but then reeled off 12 consecutive wins in 2009 to guarantee and #2 ranking and their chance at revenge.
ESPN, Sports Illustrated, ABC, and even the USA Today billed it as “The Game of the Decade”, “The Game of the Century”, “The Biggest Game in the History of College Football”, and “The Apocalypse”. The two greatest defenses in the country were going to square off in what was expected to be a knock-down, drag-out, back-alley brawl.
Unfortunately only one of the teams bothered to bring their fighting spirit to Atlanta.
The Gators were manhandled the entire game, tossed around and beaten down like rag dolls. The Crimson Tide steamrolled around, over, and through the Florida defense as if they were playing Florida International. Alabama controlled the ball the entire game, finishing with a 2-to-1 advantage in time of possession, and midway through the 3rd quarter it felt like the game was already decided.
This loss was more painful than any other because it ended the string of winning that began with “The Promise”, Tebow’s post-game speech after the early-season loss to Mississippi that fueled their run which culminated in the 2008 national championship and wasn’t supposed to end until a victory in Pasadena.
“There is no more appropriate summary of Tim Tebow’s impact or career than the fact that yesterday, on the list of Google’s top trending searches, ‘John 16:33′ was No. 1 and ‘Tim Tebow Crying’ was No. 2.” — Dan Shanoff
See also:
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
RE: “Losing Sucks”………………..yeah, but it builds character
I keep thinking that if I don’t think about it or read about it…then maybe it will feel like it did not happen….it didn’t happen…..only thinking about the 22 in a row…..the feeling all season that we were #1 and could take it all again……but like you said, we were raised Red Sox fans…..and while “losing sucks”….to some degree…….we are used to disappointment……………..man………that sucked.
Good list but I would have included the Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame in 1992. We had no answer for “The Bus” at all.
Yikes!!!!! I am sure the Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee fans would love to read this. I would rather forget these as well as the losses we had to Georgia in the 1980′s. GOOOOOO GATORS!
Yeah I remember watching that game in January 1996 playing our first national championship game against Nebraska. Out of the times that we’ve lost, I’m not sure I felt more pain in defeat than I did that night. Yeah we’ve had our butts kicked before but, not as thouroughly as that evening. It hurts to watch your team just get run over. I was in the 8th grade and I wanted to sit and support my boys till the end but my dad said I had to go to bed for school the next morning lol.