Alabama Football: 3 predictions for Crimson Tide against Florida

Sep 11, 2021; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 11, 2021; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports /
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In the biggest game in Week 3 of the college football season, Alabama football heads to the swamp, and here are three bold predictions.

Dating back to the first-ever SEC Championship game, there’s always been an interesting rivalry between Alabama football and Florida.

Last season, the two teams met in the SEC title game and they have numerous times since Nick Saban became the head coach. There were those legendary battles with Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow and last year’s classic where Kyle Trask nearly did the unthinkable.

On Saturday afternoon, Alabama football heads to the Swamp as the clear No. 1 team in the country and the prohibitive favorite to win the national championship. Bryce Young, despite having just two starts, has also vaulted himself to the top of the Heisman race.

Florida football hasn’t looked great. The defense appears better but against non-Power 5 competition, it’s hard to tell. The Gators have the best rush offense in the country but have struggled to throw the ball.

What will happen when top-ranked Bama travels to Florida, here are three predictions for the Tide against the Gators.

Tide contains Florida’s vaunted run game

Through two games, Florida football is averaging 381 rushing yards per game and a big reason for that is having two dynamic quarterbacks.

Emory Jones has struggled to throw the ball with two touchdowns and four interceptions, but he has155 yards on the ground which is second only to backup quarterback Anthony Richardson who has an eye-popping 275 yards on just 11 carries.

Malik Davis has been the top option out of the backfield running the ball, but the Gators have a few talented options there too.

However, Alabama is stout against the run and has allowed just 68 yards per game and two yards per carry. It’s rare for teams to get more than 150 yards rushing against Alabama and while Richardson will pop off some long runs, the Gators won’t pass 150 total.