Regular Season
Alabama entered Nick Saban's second year as head coach with an AP preseason ranking of 24. After finishing the 2007 season 7–6, including a win in the Independence Bowl, the Crimson Tide brought in one of the nation's top recruiting classes and was expected to improve in 2008. The team started off strong in the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff with a convincing 34-10 win over #9 Clemson. Four weeks later they shocked the nation by defeating #3 Georgia 41–30 in Athens after building a 31–0 halftime lead. The rest of the season included a 27–21 overtime victory over #16 LSU in Nick Saban's first game in Baton Rouge against his old team, as well as a 36–0 shutout of Auburn to end Alabama's 6-game losing streak to their in-state rival. The Crimson Tide finished the regular season with a 12–0 record and a #1 ranking in the BCS, AP, and Coaches' Polls.
Only two years removed from a national championship, Florida entered the season with high hopes and an AP preseason ranking of 5. The Gators went 9–4 in 2007, and they had many key players returning, including Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. After a 3-0 start, the team suffered a devastating home loss to Ole Miss. However, this loss was later seen as a turning point for Florida. In their last 8 games, the Gators scored no less than 38 points and had an average margin of victory of 39.6. Key victories included #4 LSU (51–21), #6 Georgia (49–10), #25 South Carolina (56–6), and #20 Florida State (45–15). Florida finished the regular season with an 11–1 record and a #2 ranking in the AP Poll.
Read more about this topic: 2008 SEC Championship Game
Famous quotes containing the words regular and/or season:
“A regular council was held with the Indians, who had come in on their ponies, and speeches were made on both sides through an interpreter, quite in the described mode,—the Indians, as usual, having the advantage in point of truth and earnestness, and therefore of eloquence. The most prominent chief was named Little Crow. They were quite dissatisfied with the white man’s treatment of them, and probably have reason to be so.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Utterly frozen is this youthful lady,
Even as the snow that lies within the shade;
For she is no more moved than is the stone
By the sweet season which makes warm the hills”
—Dante Alighieri (1265–1321)