Alabama, Florida to Settle SEC : College football: Winner goes to the Sugar Bowl, where Crimson Tide might have shot at No. 1.

One team is playing for a chance to win a national title. The other is playing to save face. Not a bad backdrop for the made-for-TV cash cow that is today’s Southeastern Conference championship football game.

If undefeated Alabama can beat once-beaten, once-tied Florida today at the Georgia Dome, the third-ranked Crimson Tide positions itself nicely for yet another run at the top spot in the polls. Alabama has won 12 national championships and enough trophies to use as doorstops, but Coach Gene Stallings is in a collecting mood.

Stallings has had his game face on since midweek. He groused about the Crimson Tide’s lack of concentration, its uninspired workouts, his disdain for artificial turf and whatever else came to mind. And whenever asked, Stallings gently reminded everyone that his team deserved the same consideration from poll voters as No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 Penn State.

Of course, Alabama (11-0) must first beat the Gators, who are still recovering from last Saturday’s incredible fourth-quarter collapse at Florida State’s Doak Campbell Stadium.

Florida took a 28-point lead into the last quarter but had to settle for a 31-31 tie and nearly lost the game. In fact, several Gators kept referring to the tie as a loss.

The feeling was mutual back home. One headline writer at the Gainesville Sun called the performance “The Choke at Doak,” and “A Tying Shame.”

Worse, several players popped off about defensive coordinator Bob Pruett’s zone coverages and even wondered why the Gator offense went conservative in the second half.

Sensing a mini-mutiny, Florida Coach Steve Spurrier, who runs the offense, stepped in and read the Gators the riot act. He announced there would be no more public criticism of Florida coaches. There would be no more second-guessing. Instead, the Gators were ordered to concentrate on Alabama and a chance at redemption: an automatic Sugar Bowl bid and a rematch against the hated Seminoles.

“People think I’m supposed to take that tie a lot worse than I’m . . . taking it,” Spurrier said. “(Florida State) had more yards, more first downs and they missed a short field goal. I know we blew a four-touchdown lead. It’s happened, but we could have lost the game. Hopefully, we’ll realize it’s never over till it’s over.”

Alabama is well versed on the subject of comebacks. The Crimson Tide has trailed or been tied in the second half seven times and managed to win each one. Alabama followers can thank quarterback Jay Barker, who is 34-1-1 as a starter; running back Sherman Williams, who is the second-leading rusher in the SEC with 1,242 yards, and a Crimson Tide defense that gives up fewer than two touchdowns a game.

Stallings quit trying to figure out Alabama’s winning ways weeks ago. But when pressed, he always returns to the Crimson Tide’s defense and Barker, the longshot Heisman Trophy candidate whose passing statistics--1,815 yards, 13 touchdowns, three interceptions--aren’t nearly as impressive as his record.

“He doesn’t go into the game to try to throw 400 yards,” Stallings said. “He goes into the game to win.”

Picking a winner between Alabama and the sixth-ranked Gators (9-1-1) isn’t easy. This is the third consecutive time the teams have met for the SEC championship. The Crimson Tide won the inaugural conference title game in 1992 and went on to earn the season’s No. 1 ranking. A year later, Florida won, then blasted West Virginia in the Sugar Bowl.

The Gators average 45.2 points. The Crimson Tide gives up 13.6. The Gators average 315.3 yards passing. The Crimson Tide averages 174.9, 75th best in the NCAA. In almost every category, Florida is better than Alabama, except the one that counts--the record.

Watching closely will be Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden, whose Seminoles play the winner Jan. 2 in New Orleans. He rated Alabama’s defense slightly better than Florida’s, called the kicking game even and liked the Crimson Tide’s chances if the score is close late.

“Alabama is the master of playing up to its potential,” he said.

Bowden didn’t come right out and say it, but he seemed to lean toward the Gators. However, stick an asterisk next to the half-hearted prediction.

“If Florida can play with that great enthusiasm, I would nearly pick them,” he said. “That (tie) is the hardest thing, to me, they’ll have to overcome.”

There will be no ties today. The SEC championship game uses a tiebreaker, which means that Alabama leaves here with its national title hopes intact, or Florida makes up for the Tallahassee gag. Either way, it should be worth the wait.