ATLANTA -- There weren’t many who expected the Gators to show up in Atlanta and roll the Crimson Tide.
But UF didn’t roll over either.
Despite a maligned offensive unit paired with multiple mental mistakes, No. 18 Florida held a brief lead before falling 29-15 to No. 2 Alabama on Saturday in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game.
Throughout the week, coach Jim McElwain looked resigned to the fate that awaited the Gators at the hands of his former mentor, coach Nick Saban.
McElwain, Saban’s offensive coordinator for four of the most dominant Alabama seasons in recent history, knew what to expect in their first match-up since departing in 2011: the unexpected.
Facing an Alabama unit that featured a dominant defensive unit coupled with a workhorse in running back Derrick Henry, McElwain anticipated Florida’s defense would come out fired up from the opening kick. He didn’t anticipate it would be on the field for more than 40 minutes.
UF chose to receive, the 12th time in 13 games this season that Florida has got the ball to start the game, but quarterback Treon Harris failed to get the offense moving.
The Gators (10-3, 7-2 SEC) immediately went 3-and-out, but were able to stop the Crimson Tide on the next drive – a positive sign for a team that all season has preached the importance of early momentum.
However, it all came unraveled during UF’s next offensive opportunity.
Pinned deep in its own territory, Florida failed to get a first down and Johnny Townsend stood in UF’s endzone ready to send the ball sailing.
Sensing the opportunities that added pressure could provide, the Crimson Tide (12-1, 8-1 SEC) busted through the line and got a hand on Townsend’s punt just as it left his foot.
The ball rolled out of the back of the endzone for a safety, and the Gators were left scratching their heads in disbelief that a special teams error would have them playing catch-up.
“Threw a no-hitter on the first overloaded punt block that we practiced like 10,000 times, it seems like, in practice,” McElwain said. “I think the shock and awe of the size and speed might have got them a little bit, but we settled down, and it didn’t kill us.”
After an Austin Hardin field goal was blocked, UF’s special teams found redemption in freshman wide receiver Antonio Callaway.
Callaway stood back deep in UF territory, hoping for Alabama punter JK Scott to give him space to work with.
He got a good block, cut through the middle and sprinted 85 yards to the endzone to give UF the 7-2 lead after Neil MacInnes drilled the extra point.
“We preached that all week that we get No. 7 blocked, Tony Brown, and we got a big play because he was always the one causing trouble,” Callaway said about what he saw on his punt return. “When I saw Brian Poole had him blocked I knew we had a play.”
The Gators went into the locker room at halftime trailing just 12-7 after the Crimson Tide added a field goal to take the lead back followed by Henry padding it with a dash into the endzone of his own.
Any notion UF’s defense, ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division I football in third quarter defense, would turn the tide of the game was immediately erased by the ineptitude of the Treon Harris-led offense.
The sophomore from Miami had two opportunities to lead drives that would get the Gators back in the game, yet with each chance seemed to come with regression from Harris.
With junior running back Kelvin Taylor unable to get anything going on a miniscule amount of touches, Florida totaled -3 yards in the third quarter – the lowest of any period of play this season.
“Yeah, they took it to us a little bit. We got behind the sticks,” McElwain said. “I’ve gone against that defense and those guys before and battled for four years. … It’s a good football team, and you know what, so are the Florida Gators.”
Meanwhile, Alabama was having no trouble moving the ball efficiently against UF’s vaunted defense.
Alabama quarterback Jake Coker found receiver after receiver, often having plenty of time in the pocket to go through his progressions and find the open Crimson Tide option.
He finished 18-of-26 passing for 204 yards and two touchdowns, good for a 160.5 rating.
And Henry was his typically dominant self, amassing 189 yards and a touchdown on 44 touches. The Yulee native became the third running back this season, joining LSU’s Leonard Fournette and FSU’s Dalvin Cook, to gash the Gators for more than 180 yards.
“They scored 29 points and that’s not acceptable for us on the defense,” junior cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III, who said he planned to declare for the NFL Draft after the season, said. “That’s not what we want to see on the scoreboard.”
Now, with no hope of receiving an invitation to the College Football Playoff after back-to-back losses, the Gators will find out Sunday where they will play their bowl game.
But, despite the reality of the situation being the Gators exceeded expectations this season by winning the SEC Eastern division and notching double-digit wins, it was hard for the team to remain optimistic after the game.
“Yeah, I’m disappointed,” McElwain said. “Probably could have taken more shots, tried to stretch the field a little bit more.
“But they worked their tails off. We’ll have a good football team here in a lot of them in the future.”
UF's David Sharpe (78), Jake McGee (83) and Bryan Cox (94) walk off the field at the Georgia Dome following Florida's 29-15 loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 5, 2015, in Atlanta.
