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Ohio State's Meyer, Alabama's Saban to renew rivalry at Sugar Bowl

 
Published Dec. 28, 2014

Ohio State coach Urban Meyer can sometimes barely remember much of his own personal information. But ask the former Florida coach about the classic showdowns between the Gators and Alabama during his tenure between 2005 and 2011 and he can recall those games like they were yesterday. • "I have a hard time remembering our address or phone number, but I can tell you every play in those games," Meyer said. • Meyer and Alabama's Nick Saban have led the Gators and Tide in some classic SEC games. College football fans are hoping that Meyer-Saban Round IV will produce a similar result. No. 1 Alabama (12-1, 7-1 SEC) plays No. 4 Ohio State (12-1, 8-0 Big Ten) in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday in one of two inaugural college football playoff games. • The game features Saban, the defensive-minded master of detail, against Meyer, the offensive-minded psychological mastermind. Saban is the first coach to win back-to-back BCS national championships and has won four titles in his past eight years of college coaching. He's one of three coaches in the poll era (since 1936) to win three national titles in four years, joining Frank Leahy of Notre Dame (1946-47, 1949) and Tom Osborne of Nebraska (1994-95, 1997). Meyer won two titles in his first four years during his tenure with the Gators.

Part I: 2008

The 2008 game between Meyer and Saban featured No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 2 Florida in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. The game marked the first time teams ranked Nos. 1 and 2 had met in-conference. In front of a then-record crowd of 75,892, the Gators defeated the Tide 31-20 in a classic. Alabama led 20-17 at the end of the third quarter before the Gators scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth, capped by a 5-yard touchdown pass from Tim Tebow to Riley Cooper with 2:50 remaining in the game. UF went on to win its third national championship, and second under Meyer,

"It was classic," Meyer said, "2008 was a classic game."

Part II: 2009

In a complete reversal of the previous year, it was No. 2 Alabama that beat No. 1 Florida 32-13 in the SEC Championship Game. Both teams entered undefeated. Alabama amassed 490 yards of total offense and ended Florida's school-record and NCAA-leading winning streak at 22.

"That (2009) Alabama team, arguably the best team that I can remember going against or getting ready to prepare (for)," Meyer said.

Saban also remembers it clearly.

"I think maybe the two best teams might have been playing in the SEC Championship game in 2009," Saban said. "We played a phenomenal game. Our players did a fantastic job, our coaches did a fantastic job in that game. And (we) went on to win the national championship."

And while the game was another memorable one, for Gator fans it will forever be remembered as the beginning of the end for Meyer. In the early morning hours after the loss, Meyer was rushed to the hospital suffering from heart attack-like symptoms. He abruptly resigned prior to the Gators' appearance in the Sugar Bowl, then backed out of that decision. But in December 2010, he resigned again for good.

The supporting cast

While Saban and Meyer were clearly the lead in the coaching cast, the support system can't be overlooked. Meyer's staff at the time included Steve Addazio (current Boston College head coach), Dan Mullen (Mississippi State head coach), Charlie Strong (Texas head coach), Dan McCarney (North Texas head coach), and Chuck Heater (Marshall defensive coordinator). Saban's staff included Jim McElwain, who is now the Gators' head coach.

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Key players

The rosters on those teams were loaded with all-stars, including numerous eventual NFL draft picks and two Heisman winners (UF's Tim Tebow and Alabama's Mark Ingram). Among the future pros: Percy Harvin, Louis Murphy, Jeff Demps, Riley Cooper, Joe Haden, Brandon Spikes, Carlos Dunlap, Mike and Maurkice Pouncey, Major Wright, Aaron Hernandez, Javier Arenas, Rolando McClain, Marcell Dareus, Mike Johnson, James Carpenter and Julio Jones.

Part III: 2010

The only game in the Meyer-Saban trilogy to disappoint, the Gators traveled to Tuscaloosa on Oct. 2 and lost 31-6. Florida failed to score a touchdown in the first of three consecutive losses.

Mutual admiration

Over the years, through their competitive matchups and their time working in the SEC and with ESPN, Saban and Meyer have developed a friendship built on mutual respect and admiration. Both said that will be evident in the way they prepare and coach against one another.

"He's tough," Meyer said. "He's not a whole lot of nonsense. We have a lot of conversations, and people probably say that about me. We're not talking about the 1992 Chicago Bulls or something like that. He's a very player-oriented coach, which I like to think we are, and a very fundamental guy. It's been that way for years. We have mutual friends like Bill Belichick. And I just admire guys like that, and he wins."

Added Saban: "I have a tremendous amount of respect for Urban. And we've done some things, the ESPN games and stuff together, and I consider him a good friend and certainly have a tremendous amount of personal respect for the kind of professional he is and the kind of coach he is and the kind of programs he's had — the great teams that he's had at Florida. … We certainly have a tremendous amount of respect for what (Ohio State) has accomplished this year and know that they'll be a very, very well-coached team."

Part IV?

With the Big Ten's struggles the past few years, Meyer and the Buckeyes are well aware they are playing not only for themselves and a chance at history but for the reputation of a beleaguered conference.

"This is a real opportunity for us," Meyer said. "There's a great history between Alabama and the Sugar Bowl through the years and all the way back to Coach (Bear) Bryant. So we have to be on point, and I think it's going to be a great opportunity to go back down to the Sugar Bowl and do the best we can to represent the Big Ten Conference and Ohio State."

Alabama is carrying the heavy expectations that come with being a member of the championship-rich SEC — and a dynasty in the making.

"It's really, really exciting to be a part of anything that's a first," Saban said. "I just hope that because it's a first that we do the best job that we possibly can for all teams involved, all players involved."