10 facts about Alabama-Florida SEC title game history

It’s only fitting that Florida-Alabama, for the ninth time, is the matchup in the SEC Championship Game for its 25th anniversary. The Gators and Crimson Tide account for more than half (13) of the conference titles awarded since 1992.

Here are 10 facts looking back at the previous eight meetings:

1. The Florida-Alabama matchup has been the final SEC Championship Game for both venues used in the game’s history. The Gators and Crimson Tide met in the second SEC title game ever, at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. UF topped UA 28-13 for the ’93 title. The two teams split the contests at Legion Field before the game was moved to the Georgia Dome in 1994. The Georgia Dome is scheduled to be demolished after this season, with the game moving to its replacement, Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
2. In the eight meetings, offensive players have won the game’s MVP award, leaving only two for defenders. Alabama CB Antonio Langham was the first SEC Championship Game MVP in 1992, and Florida DT Ellis Johnson took the honor in 1994.
3. Florida QB Danny Wuerffel was named the MVP for the second year in a row in 1996 when the Gators topped Alabama 45-30. Wuerffel is the only two-time MVP in the game’s history.
4. The 75 points scored in the 1996 game are the most in the Gators’ and Crimson Tide’s eight meetings – by a mile. In the seven other meetings, the point total fell in the range of 41-51.
5. The Gators’ win in ’96 over the Tide extended their title-game winning streak to four years, a streak that has not been touched since. Tennessee notched back-to-back wins in 1997-98. Alabama has an active streak of two.
6. Alabama’s 34-7 blowout win over Florida in 1999 was actually an upset as the Gators entered the game favored by 7 points. For one possession, it looked like Vegas had gotten it right. The Gators took a 7-0 lead on their first drive, but the UF offense was not heard from the rest of the night.
7. The ’99 meeting was the last time Steve Spurrier would coach against Alabama in the conference championship game. The Head Ball Coach finished 5-2 in seven SEC Championship Game appearances at Florida, including 3-2 vs. Alabama. He returned for an eighth conference championship game with South Carolina in 2010, losing 56-17 to Auburn.
8. The winner of Florida-Alabama showdowns in the SEC title game has gone on to win five national championships: 1992 (Alabama), 1996 (Florida), 2008 (Florida), 2009 (Alabama) and 2015 (Alabama).
9. In nine games against former assistants, Nick Saban has always won, and won big. The closest any ex-Saban assistant has come to beating his former boss was McElwain in last year’s conference title game, when the Gators lost by 14 points (29-15). McElwain was the Alabama offensive coordinator from 2008-11, a period that included two conference championship clashes with the Gators (’08-’09).
10. Only Wuerffel (1996) and Derrick Henry (2015) have claimed both the SEC Championship Game MVP honors and the Heisman Trophy in the same year. While Tim Tebow has actually won both awards, he did so in separate years, winning the Heisman in 2007 and the championship game MVP in 2008. Alabama’s first Heisman winner in school history, Mark Ingram, did not win the 2009 conference game MVP, which went to QB Greg McElroy.

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.