Alabama played four full games — three against SEC opponents — without allowing a team in the end zone. Alabama closed the game with three straight touchdown drives — including back-to-back possessions of at least 90 yards — to break down Florida’s defense and roll to a 54-16 win in front of an announced crowd of 74,632 inside Atlanta’s Georgia Dome. They’ll face off Saturday in the Southeastern Conference championships game, with the top-ranked Crimson Tide (12-0, 8-0 SEC) heavily favored to lock up its third straight trip to the College Football Playoff with a victory over the No. Yes, the Gators (8-3) are a 24-point underdog about to face a Crimson Tide (12-0) team on a 24-game win streak. Florida’s 16 points and 261 total yards were above the Crimson Tide’s season averages, but the Gators finished with 0 rushing yards on 30 carries. “It was a rough start at first, but we had to overcome it, show mental toughness and really just dominate for real,” Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster said. Appleby opened the game by marching Florida down the field on a 10-play, 64-yard drive capped by a 5-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Callaway — the first touchdown Alabama (13-0) has given up since Oct. 22. “If I don’t get there I know JA (Jonathan Allen) going to get it, if JA don’t get it then Ryan Anderson or Dalvin (Tomlinson) going to get it. “So it's going to be a real exciting game.”

For McElwain, the tall task in defeating Alabama comes down to this:

“You can't hurt yourself,” McElwain said. Hours before kickoff, Spurrier said Alabama would have to play poorly while UF would need to play “one of our best games ever” for a chance to win. Alabama’s 54 points are the third-most in the 25-year history of the SEC Championship game and its 38-point margin of victory is the second-highest in the conference title game. And despite being tied for the largest underdog in 25 years of the SEC Championship Game, McElwain’s players are confident as they prepare to step into the Georgia Dome for the second time in as many years.
Alabama defeats Florida, 54-16, to win their seventh Southeastern Conference championship game.