The creator of the Alabama-Florida rivalry resides in South Carolina.
Before Steve Spurrier began guiding the Gamecocks in 2005, he went round after round with the Crimson Tide as the coach of the Gators from 1990 to 2001. Alabama and Florida met 14 times from the inception of the SEC in 1933 through 1989, but they've played 13 times since.
Seven of the recent encounters were in SEC championship games, including the first three years of the event (1992-94) as well as the past two.
"They happened to be the best team in the West in the early '90s, and we were the best in the East most of the time," Spurrier said Wednesday. "We played each other in the championship game a lot, that's for sure, and now they're doing it again."
Spurrier had a 5-2 record in SEC title games and a 4-2 record in December matchups against the Crimson Tide, losing to Gene Stallings in 1992 and Mike DuBose in '99. Nick Saban's Tide and Urban Meyer's Gators play Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, their third meeting in 23 months.
"I don't know if it's a rivalry, but they're two of the best teams in our conference, that's for sure, over the last four or five years," Spurrier said. "Well, I guess I should say the last two years, because I think three years ago LSU won the national championship. The last couple of years they've been the two best teams in our conference, but I don't know if the rivalry is as big as Florida-Georgia or Alabama-Auburn."
Pasquali's Pix:
Louisiana-Monroe at Auburn: Do the Warhawks really think they can beat Saban in year one and Gene Chizik in year two? Tigers 43, Warhawks 24.
Vanderbilt at Connecticut: It's a revenge game for the Commodores, who lost to the Huskies by 22 in the 2004 NCAA tournament's Sweet 16. Huskies 21, Commodores 17.
Kentucky at Ole Miss: If you switched the names of these head coaches, you would get Houston Phillips and Joker Nutt. Rebels 24, Wildcats 19.
Tennessee at LSU: The Tigers allowed 367 fewer yards to West Virginia last weekend than the Vols allowed to UAB. Tigers 23, Vols 10.
Georgia Tech at Wake Forest: Who would have thought Tech's defense would take so long to Groh up? Yellow Jackets 34, Demon Deacons 29.
Georgia at Colorado: Buffaloes fans are calling for a blackout at Folsom Field, which is so 2008 with the Bulldogs. Bulldogs 27, Buffaloes 24.
Florida at Alabama: According to the law of averages, Florida's Trey Burton will not score six touchdowns this week. Crimson Tide 24, Gators 13.
Stanford at Oregon: This may wind up having every bit the national significance of Alabama-Florida. Cardinal 26, Ducks 24.
Last week:
Winners.......................20
Missed UAB kicks...........5
Pasquali is 83-17 overall (83.0 percent) this season.
OTHER PICKS
Miss. State 33, Alcorn St. 10
Miami 24, Clemson 17
Florida State 23, Virginia 18
Va. Tech 20, N.C. State 17
N. Carolina 21, E. Carolina 13
Maryland 25, Duke 20
Notre Dame 16, Boston Coll. 9
Ohio State 34, Illinois 20
Boise St. 53, N. Mexico St. 10
TCU 34, Colorado State 13
Oklahoma 30, Texas 24
Wisconsin 27, Michigan St. 24
Iowa 22, Penn State 17
Southern Cal 28, Washington 21
Michigan 31, Indiana 23
Nevada 39, UNLV 16
UCLA 30, Washington State 7