Elephant Stomp: Tide Rolls Florida

Courtesy of an efficient offense and a “bend but don’t break” defense, the Alabama Crimson Tide crushed the Florida Gators by a score of 31-6.

Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson rushed for a combined 110 yards and two touchdowns (Ingram) and the Alabama defense forced four Florida turnovers.

Statistically, this would “appear” to have been a close game.

However, the Alabama defense would turn Florida away time and time again.

Critical turnovers, including a “pick-six” by Tide linebacker C.J. Mosley, simply killed the majority of Florida’s offensive opportunities.

While the Alabama offense was sound and effective, the “turnover-fest” for the Gators would begin on their first possession of the game.

After an impressive opening drive, the Gators faced fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line when all-purpose player Trey Burton decided to attempt a “jump pass” which was intercepted by Tide linebacker Nico Johnson in the end zone.

The interception by Johnson would mark the beginning of the Florida offensive collapse.

When all was said and done, Gator quarterback John Brantley would be intercepted twice (Dre Kirkpatrick and C.J. Mosley) during his first career encounter against the Alabama defense.

Outside of the interceptions, the Gator offense would turn the ball over a fourth time when Brantley would trip over his offensive lineman which resulted in a muffed handoff attempt.

Florida never seemed composed and the Gators never seemed to gain equanimity. Alabama on the other hand…simply set the tone.

The Alabama offense was balanced and kept the Florida defense guessing and mystified.

The Gators certainly “guessed wrong” when Crimson Tide wide receiver Marquis Maze threw a touchdown pass to tight end Michael Williams in the initial half of play.

The Tide held a 24-3 lead at the half and that was simply…all she wrote.

While the Alabama offense may have been well-organized…the Gators were a juggling act gone awry.

As the contest moved along, the game morphed into a “comedy of errors” by the Florida offense.

Florida seemingly would play “pitch and catch” down the entire field before the Alabama defense would provide a huge play to end most every Gator scoring effort.

In what could only be described as a “tidal wave,” Florida simply had no answer for the top-ranked Crimson Tide.

Alabama simply "handled" Florida, while the Gators spent the majority of the game trying to "handle"….basic football fundamentals.

With the victory over Florida, Alabama improves to 5-0 overall...2-0 in the SEC.