Alabama vs Florida: A Rivalry Made by Champions

College football rivalries exist for a variety of reasons. The Iron Bowl is an in-state battle. Michigan-Ohio State pits the most popular teams in a region against one another. Notre Dame-USC is a confrontation of cultures. These rivalries all carry one thing in common: the participants absolutely despise each other.

This weekend, the Alabama Crimson Tide will face the Florida Gators in a rivalry that was created from unique circumstances. For most of the history between these two charter SEC members, it was little more than another conference game. Certainly this game never meant as much to Tide fans as Auburn, Tennessee or LSU (or Tennessee, Georgia and Florida State for Gator fans), but the arrival of Steve Spurrier as Florida's head coach and the start of the SEC Championship Game created a whole new meaning to this game.

Spurrier led Florida to the first ever SEC Championship Game in 1992, where they played against Gene Stallings' famous '92 Alabama squad. The Tide won that game and would go on to win the national title, but a new rivalry was born on that December night in Birmingham.

Between 1992 and 2009, Alabama and Florida played each other in the SEC Championship game a record seven times. All-time, Alabama has a series lead over the Gators 23-14. However, in the SEC Championship Game, Florida leads the Tide 4-3.  Here's a look at the seven games that define this rivalry:

1992: Alabama 28, Florida 21
The first ever SEC Championship game was a classic that changed the course of college football history. Alabama's title run was put in serious doubt when the Gators erased a 21-7 Tide lead with two second half touchdowns.  However, with just under four minutes remaining and Florida preparing to drive for the lead, Bama defensive back Antonio Langham returned an interception 21-yards for the game-winning score.

1993: Florida 28, Alabama 13
Alabama played in the 1993 SEC Championship Game by virtue of undefeated Auburn being on probation. This was not a close game, and insult was added to injury when Alabama later had to forfeit all of its regular season wins due to an NCAA violation involving Langham signing with an agent.

1994: Florida 24, Alabama 23
This was the first SEC title game played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, and the Tide and Gators delivered a classic inside the new home of champions. A back-and-forth game ended when Florida intercepted a pass from Bama QB Jay Barker as the Tide were driving for a chance at a game-winning field goal. The loss cost Alabama a shot a second national championship in 3 years.

1996: Florida 45, Alabama 30
Up to this point, 30 was the highest point total for the Tide in the SEC Championship Game. It was still far from enough to upset the Sugar Bowl-bound Gators, who won its first national title and brought home the program's second Heisman Trophy courtesy of quarterback Danny Wuerffel. This was also the final time Gene Stallings would coach the Tide to an SEC West title.

1999: Alabama 34, Florida 7
The Florida Gators opened the 1999 SEC Championship Game with a kick return for a touchdown. They never saw the endzone again. Alabama was unstoppable on offense behind Shaun Alexander, Andrew Zow and Freddie Milons. When the teams played earlier in the season, Alabama won an overtime classic decided by a missed extra point. The second meeting was a laugher, and sent the Tide to their first of six BCS bowl games where they lost to Michigan in the Orange Bowl.

2008: Florida 31, Alabama 20
Nick Saban and Urban Meyer renewed the old title game rivalry with another classic in 2008. With Alabama leading in the 4th quarter, and a national title chance for both teams on the line, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow cemented his legacy with two pivotal touchdown drives. The Gators would go on to win their third national title with a win over Oklahoma in the BCS Championship Game.

2009: Alabama 32, Florida 13
You never want to face Nick Saban in a revenge game. The Tide absolutely owned the Gators in the 2009 rematch, boosting running back Mark Ingram's Heisman campaign (he would win Bama's first and only trophy), and vaulting Alabama into the BCS Championship Game. The Tide would later win its 13th national championship.  This game can also be seen as the beginning of Florida's slide from relevance. While they did win big in the Sugar Bowl that year, the Gators haven't been back to Atlanta since.

On Saturday, the Tide and Gators will meet in a regular season game for the first time since 2011. While there will definitely be excitement, it will be nothing compared to the atmosphere surrounding those great SEC Championship Games. Both teams have a long way to go to get to Atlanta this season, but one can't help but think it is only a matter of time before this rivalry heats up again.

Remember, you can hear Crimson Tide Sports Network's coverage of Alabama vs Florida on Tide 99.1 FM Saturday starting at 11:30 am CT!