Gary W. Green / McClatchy Tribune

More than a few folks projected that Florida would get to this point. Not nearly as many felt the same way about Alabama, which went 7-6 last season and began this one ranked 24th.

Yet, here they both are. On Saturday, the top-ranked Crimson Tide (12-0), the only remaining unbeaten team from a BCS conference, will play No. 2 Florida (11-1) in the SEC championship game. The winner will then take on someone from the Big 12 in the national title game on Jan. 8, in Miami. The loser would still go to a BCS bowl. It won̢۪t be nearly the same.

“I think we kind of provided a road map, a plan, a direction that we wanted the program to go into,â€Â said second-year Alabama coach Nick Saban. “A lot . . . has gone into that. You just have to establish your philosophy, stick to your guns and be committed to it. If it’s worked for you before, it’s a little easier for everybody to buy into.â€Â

Florida coach Urban Meyer, of course, won the SEC and national titles two years ago, in his second season there.

It̢۪s Alabama̢۪s first trip to an SEC finale since 1999.

This is the 39th 1-2 game since the inception of the Associated Press media poll in 1939 and the first in a conference title game. It̢۪s the sixth time that this game has matched conference foes. Never before has the SEC been that conference, which seems impossible. The top-ranked team is 4-2. Overall, No. 1 is 23-14-1.

The last time Florida was involved was 1996, when it lost by three at No. 2 Florida State. The only other time the Gators played in one of these was 11 months earlier, when they lost big to No. 1 Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl.

Alabama has played in three, winning two, all as the No. 2. It beat Penn State by seven in the 1979 Sugar Bowl, and Miami by three touchdowns in the 1993 Sugar. The Tide lost by a bunch to Nebraska in the 1972 Orange Bowl.

The Gators, who will have Tim Tebow at quarterback, are favored by 10.

“The fan base, the expectation level, is unrealistic and out of control,â€Â said Meyer, when asked about the hype. “For Alabama, it’s the same thing. So let it be that way.

BIG XII: In Kansas City, Oklahoma (11-1) and Missouri (9-3) are meeting to decide the Big 12 title, in a rematch from last December. The Sooners won that one, 38-17, in a rematch from the regular season that they also had won (by 10 at home).

A lot of folks think Texas should be there instead of OU. The BCS standings said otherwise. There̢۪s nothing anybody can do about it now, least of all Texas. Except root like heck for Missouri, which Texas beat by 25 at home in October, right after it beat Oklahoma by 10 in Dallas.

The Tigers, who have lost 18 of the last 19 meetings, are 17-point underdogs.

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, the leading Heisman Trophy candidate, has torn ligaments in his left, nonthrowing hand that will require surgery. It didn̢۪t seem to slow him any in the second half at Oklahoma State.

The Big 12 finale has certainly produced its share of big-time upsets. In the first one, in 1996, Texas knocked Nebraska out of the national title game, 37-27. Two years later, Texas A & M did the same to Kansas State, in overtime. In 2001, it was Colorado over Texas. And in 2003, it was K-State 35, Oklahoma 7. Somehow, though, the Sooners still made it to the national title game, where they lost to Louisiana State in neutral New Orleans.

So maybe you never really do know.

“This is where we wanted to be, and finally we’re here,â€Â said Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel. “There are 10 other teams that would die to be in our spot. We deserve to be here. We won the (Big 12) North and we’re excited about the chance to play.â€Â

Duly noted.

By Mike Kern / McClatchy Tribune