GAINESVILLE — It was a matchup of SEC heavyweights, with Alabama legend Nick Saban roaming one sideline, Florida’s cunning Dan Mullen across the field, 14 NFL scouts on hand and a national TV audience tuned in to watch.
Saban’s SEC bullies almost delivered an early knockout, but the No. 11 Gators got off the mat to turn the long-awaited run-in with the top-ranked Crimson Tide into the toe-to-toe battle everyone wanted to see.
As an exuberant crowd of 90,887 cheered them on Saturday at asold-out Swamp, the Gators rallied from a 21-3 first-quarter deficit to twice pull within a score before finally succumbing 31-29.