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ATLANTA -- Many times in life we dont appreciate the fact that history is being made in real time and right in front of us.That is not the case with Coach Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide. All of us who follow the SEC have had a front row seat to history.For when No. 1 Alabama (12-0) takes on No. 15 Florida (8-3) in Saturdays SEC championship game at the Georgia Dome, that history will continue.A victory on Saturday by Alabama would give Saban, in his 10th season at Alabama, his seventh SEC championship (two at LSU, five at Alabama). That would move Saban into sole possession of second place on the all-time list behind Bear Bryant at 14.Heres the list:SEC ChampionshipsCoachChampionshipsBear Bryant (Kentucky, Alabama)14Nick Saban (LSU, Alabama)6Vince Dooley (Georgia)6Steve Spurrier (Florida)6John Vaught (Ole Miss)6Another note: A win would give Saban his seventh victory in a conference championship game. That would tie him with Oklahomas Bob Stoops.Alabama will very likely go to the playoff even if it loses to Florida on Saturday. But dont tell Saban that this game is not important. Winning the SEC championship game is a big deal. A really big deal.Winning the SEC championship is something thats really important to us and we think a very, very significant accomplishment (in) that we would have to beat a very, very good team (Florida) to do it, Saban said earlier this week. My experience in the game, whether it was at LSU or here at Alabama, is that the only better competitive venue Ive ever played in is the national championship game.seIf Alabama wins its third straight SEC championship the Crimson Tide will be the No. 1 seed when the pairings for the four-team College Football Playoff are released on Sunday (Noon, ESPN). It also means that Alabama would return to the Georgia Dome for the CFP semifinal on Dec. 31.If Alabama wins the national championship it would give Saban a total of six (1 at LSU, 5 at Alabama). Saban would then tie Alabama great Bear Bryant for the most national championships by a coach.Heres the list:National ChampionshipsCoachChampionshipsBear Bryant (Alabama)6Nick Saban (LSU, Alabama)5Bernie Bierman (Minnesota)5Frank Leahy (Notre Dame)5And heres the stat that really puts Nick Sabans time at Alabama into perspective: Saturday will be the 72nd game in Alabamas rich football history that the Crimson Tide have played as the nations No. 1 team.Saban has been the head coach for 48 of those games, posting a record of 42-5. Those 42 wins as No. 1 are the most by any coach in college football history.One final nugget on Saban: If Alabama wins Saturday it would give the Crimson Tide their 15th consecutive victory over a Top 25 opponent. That would put Alabama within one game of the all-time record of 16 straight wins against Top 25 opponents set by Southern California from 2002-2005.Here are a few other storylines worth noting as we approach Saturdays game:?It will be 25th anniversary of the SEC championship game which began in 1992 at Legion Field in Birmingham. Alabama won the first game against Florida 28-21 and then went on to beat Miami in the Sugar Bowl for the national championship.To honor the occasion former commissioner Roy Kramer, whose leadership created the game, will be joined by the two coaches in the 1992 game - Floridas Steve Spurrier and Alabamas Gene Stallings - for the pregame coin toss.?This will be the 23rd and last SEC championship game at the Georgia Dome, which is scheduled to be destroyed after the season. Next year the game will be played at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium which is right next door. The College Football Playoff national championship will be played there as well next season.?This will be the 12th appearance in the SEC championship game for Florida and the 11th for Alabama. This will be the ninth time that Alabama and Florida have met in the championship game. The record in those games is tied at 4-4.?This is the second straight appearance in the SEC championship game for Florida coach Jim McElwain. He is the first coach in history to go to the SEC championship game in each of his first two seasons.?And finally there is this: There has been talk that this could be Sabans best team in his 10 years at Alabama. Only time will tell is that this true. But this much I know: This is one of the best defenses - if not the best - that Saban has had in Tuscaloosa. The numbers do not lie. These are the defensive categories in which Alabama leads all of FBS: Scoring defense: 11.4 ppg Total defense: 246.8 ypg Rushing defense: 68.7 ypg Defensive TDs: 9 Offensive TDs allowed: 12 Rushing TDs allowed: 3 First downs allowed: 13.0 per game John Williamson Jersey . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Jarrett Allen Jersey . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. https://www.cheapnetsonline.com/ . According the Toronto Star, a knee injury will keep Sundin out of the lineup, which includes former teammates Gary Roberts, Darcy Tucker, Tie Domi and Curtis Joseph. Keith Van Horn Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Walt Simon Jersey . The incident occurred at 19:56 of the second period of the Kings 4-2 road win over Edmonton on Sunday. Nolan punched Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu in the jaw in front of the Kings goal during a scrum. PULLMAN, Wash. -- Two weeks into this season Mike Leach was ripping his Washington State team for being soft, decrying participation-trophy culture and suggesting local law enforcement and media were unfairly treating his players after several arrests and run-ins with police.Eight straight victories later and the curmudgeonly, complaining Cougars coach has been replaced by the quirky, entertaining one who muses about picking a team captain based on ability to win the coin toss and weighs in on how soon is too soon to display Christmas decorations.The reality is that Leach is the same but the circumstances have changed. Getting fined and reprimanded by the Pac-12 for publicly accusing Arizona State of stealing signs -- as happened to Leach last month -- is a whole lot easier to laugh off as Leach being Leach when the 20th-ranked Cougars (8-2, 7-0, No. 22 CFP) are leading the Pac-12 North.And all the stuff that makes Leach a unique character in college football -- his public endorsement of old friend Donald Trump, his offseason trip to Cuba -- tends to obscure a more mundane but relevant fact: Leach has been one of the best program-builders in coaching over the past two decades.Washington State had gone eight seasons without a winning record and won a total of nine games in the four seasons before Leachs arrival in 2012. A program that traditionally had struggled to sustain success had tumbled to new depths.We had a deep hole to dig out of, Washington State athletic director Bill Moos said. We needed somebody who could provide the stability and build it the right way.The Cougars won 12 games in Leachs first three seasons, causing some Wazzu fans to fret that Leachs once innovative Air Raid offense was now behind the curve in college football.Turns out Leach just needed a little more time to do at Washington State what he once did at Texas Tech. The Cougars went 9-4 last season and came into this season as a Pac-12 North contender. They then lost their first two games, including their opener to FCS Eastern Washington.Leach went off on his team and got back to the basics.We literally simplified, he said Sunday in his office before settling in for about five hours of film study on Colorado. Just emphasized little techniques. Became obsessive about blocking and tackling. That gets your focus. `Youre not going to do it next time youre going to do it now. Get your foot there NOW.dddddddddddd Get your eyes there NOW. Then it became kind of contagious team-wise.The Cougars responded to the tough love.Instead of wilting like guys will do sometimes, they get kind of fired up and determined, Leach said.The Cougars play at No. 12 Colorado (8-2, 6-1, No. 10 CFP) on Saturday, trying for the first nine-game winning streak at Washington State since 1930.Leach is one of the godfathers of the spread offense. The brilliance of his system is simplicity and repetition to the point of mastery.I think the fact that its not super complex and teams know really what were going to do and theyve had film on us for the last 15, 20 years I think that makes it even more amazing when it still works, fifth-year senior receiver Gabe Marks said.Luke Falk is the latest Leach quarterback thriving. The junior is completing 74 percent of his passes for 361 yards per game.Marks said Leach runs his program the way he runs his offense. Give every player and coach a clear and relatively simple task, and create an environment conducive to reaching a goal. Leachs plan is really no different from Nick Sabans or Urban Meyers.Hes the best Ive been around in regards to his demands on academics and discipline, Moos said. You know when you come to play for him what is expected of you. It hasnt changed in all his years as a head coach.Leach spent 10 years at Texas Tech, becoming the winningest coach in the history of the program and famous for his inquisitiveness beyond football. Most notably, he went through a serious pirate phase.On the field, the Red Raiders won at least eight games in each of Leachs last eight seasons. The 20 years preceding his time in Lubbock, Texas Tech reached eight wins in a season twice.The end at Texas Tech was messy. He was fired after allegations from a player that Leach mistreated him while the player was being treated for a concussion. Lawsuits followed and Leach spent two years away from coaching.He returned at Washington State and found a perfect fit in Pullman, another off-the-beaten path college town, where -- for better or worse -- Leach can be Leach.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP---FBC:More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '