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  March 7, 2018 5:50 PM PST

  Atlanta, Ga. Chase Utley Jersey . -- There is an ongoing debate over whether or not the 2016 Alabama football team is Nick Sabans best in 10 years in Tuscaloosa. Well save that discussion until the end of the season.But of this there can be little doubt. This is the most resourceful team that Saban, the future Hall of Famer, has ever coached.There was no other conclusion to draw Saturday night after watching No. 1 Alabama handle every challenge No. 15 Florida could muster and still post a 54-16 victory in the 25th SEC Championship game at the Georgia Dome.?Alabama (13-0), ranked No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings, won its third-straight SEC championship and the 26th in its storied football history. The Crimson Tide will now advance to the CFP semifinals, most certainly as the No. 1 seed. That means Alabama will return to Atlanta on Dec. 31. The Crimson Tides opponent will be announced at Noon ET Sunday on ESPN.?It was Sabans seventh SEC championship (two at LSU, five at Alabama), which moves him into second place alone on the all-time list behind Paul Bear Bryant, who won 13 SEC championships at Alabama and one at Kentucky.?And now Saban will be in pursuit of his sixth national championship, which would tie him with Bryant for the most by any coach in football history.?After the game Florida coach Jim McElwain, who once served as Sabans offensive coordinator, said there should be no debate. This, he said, is Sabans best team at Alabama.This is the best team that Coach (Saban) has put together, said McElwain. This is the best 85 they have traveled with to the SEC Championship Game. That is a real ball squad.It was certainly not Alabamas most artistic performance of the season. The Crimson Tide offense looked uneven and uncertain early in the game against the SECs No. 2 defense that was missing a lot of pieces due to injuries.Alabamas No. 1-ranked defense gave up a 64-yard touchdown drive to open the game and a 92-yard touchdown drive right before halftime against an offense ranked No. 104 nationally in scoring.The impressive thing about Alabama on this night - and really all season long - was that every time it appeared Florida might challenge, the Crimson Tide showed the myriad of ways it can find to beat people. During this game Alabama scored in the following waysefensive back Shaun Dion Hamilton intercepted an Austin Appleby pass and returned it 40 yards to the Florida 12-yard line. Adam Griffith kicked a 31-yard field goal with 6:58 left in the first quarter.On Floridas next possession Minkah Fitzpatrick returned an Appleby interception 44 yards for a touchdown.On Floridas next possession the Crimson Tide blocked a punt attempt and Josh Jacobs returned it 27 yards for a touchdown. It was Alabamas 14th non-offensive touchdown of the year. It was also the first time in SEC championship game history that a blocked punt had been returned for a touchdown.Then Alabama got points the conventional way, driving the ball 88 yards on seven plays and scoring on a six-yard touchdown pass that gave the Crimson Tide a 23-9 lead.At the end of the first quarter Alabama had 84 yards of interception returns and minus-7 yards of total offense. Still the Crimson Tide led 16-9.At halftime Alabama had run 28 plays with only eight first downs and 172 yards of total offense. Florida had run 43 plays for 191 yards and had 20:02 time of possession to Alabamas 9:58.But Alabama led 33-16.This group, weve scored more non-offensive touchdowns than any team Ive been associated with, said Saban. I think it speaks to the playmaker type guys that we have.The 33 points by Alabama in the first half was the most in SEC championship game history.As expected Florida could not run the ball against the nations No. 1 run defense and that put the pressure squarely on quarterback Austin Appleby, who completed 26 of 39 passes for 261 yards. But he also had three interceptions. Appleby did direct touchdown drives of 64 yards to open the game and 92 yards right before halftime.After Alabama went three and out after the second half kickoff, Florida drove the ball to the Alabama two-yard line for a first down. A touchdown would have cut the Alabama lead to 10 and put a some pressure on the Crimson Tide.Thats why McElwain said he elected to go for the touchdown at that point instead of kicking the field goal.But then again the resourceful Alabama defense rose up. On third and goal from the one, Jordan Scarlett was stoned for a one-yard loss by a host of Crimson Tide defenders. Then on fourth down Applebys pass into the end zone was incomplete.Then Alabama responded by driving 98-yards on eight plays, which included a 34-yard run by Bo Scarbrough, to go up 40-16.For us to get the goal line stand and to follow it up with a 98 yard drive was big, said Saban. It was the turning point of the game.It would, indeed prove to be the knockout punch. On Alabamas next possession the Crimson Tide drove 91 yards on 15 plays to take a 47-16 lead with 9:15 left in the game.It wasnt perfect, said linebacker Rueben Foster, who was named the games Most Valuable Player. We had to persevere, overcome some hard times. But it came through. We overcame.It was the last SEC Championship game that will be played at the Georgia Dome, which next year will be destroyed and replaced by the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium right next door. After playing the first two SEC Championship games at Legion Field in 1992 and 1993, the game was moved to Atlanta in 1994. Chris Taylor Jersey . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. Curtis Granderson Jersey . Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. Real Madrid needed a late goal by substitute Jese Rodriguez to earn a 3-2 victory at Valencia to stay in third place and three points behind its title rivals. http://www.baseballdodgersprostore.com/dodgers-yasiel-puig-jersey/ . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. ESPN MLB Insider Tim Kurkjian (11 a.m. ET), WWEs Jerry Lawler (11:30) and Indians 2B Jason Kipnis (12 p.m.) join the guys.Text us at 67974 (msg&data rates may apply) or tweet us at @LeBatardShow and @Stugotz790 -- well bbe with you from 10 a. Cody Bellinger Jersey. m. to 1 p.m. ET on ESPN Radio, ESPNRadio.com and ESPNU. ' ' '