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| - While Alabama and Florida were charter members of the SEC, they have never been annual opponents. Nevertheless, they have had many noteworthy meetings over the years, especially since the SEC Championship Game game was instituted in 1992. The Gators and Crimson Tide have met seven times for the SEC championship. These meetings have consistently held significant national title implications: on four occasions, the winner of a Florida-Alabama SEC title game has gone on to win a national championship. Stakes were never higher than in 2008 and 2009, when the teams were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 coming into the game in consecutive seasons. The second-ranked team won in both instances (Florida in 2008, Alabama in 2009), with both conference championship winners going on to win the BCS National Championship Game. The Gators hold a 4–3 edge in SEC Championship Games against the Crimson Tide. The teams have had several memorable regular season meetings as well, highlighted by notable upsets. In 1963, an unranked Gators squad handed Alabama head coach Bear Bryant the first of only two losses his teams would suffer in Tuscaloosa, winning 10–6 over the No. 3 Tide. In 1987, freshman running back Emmitt Smith led the unranked Gators to a 23–14 upset in Birmingham, rushing for a then school-record 224 yards in his first collegiate start. The Tide enjoyed their own upset in the series in 1999, breaking Florida's school record 30-game home winning streak in a 40–39 overtime thriller. Historically, the Gators have not fared well against Alabama in Gainesville. The Tide won the first seven meetings on the Gators' home field, including Florida's worst-ever home loss: a 40–0 blowout by the 1979 Alabama Crimson Tide which would go undefeated and win the national championship against a Gator squad which would not win a game all season. The Gators finally beat Alabama on Florida Field in 1991, 35–0, but their 2–9 all-time home record against the Crimson Tide is by far their worst against any opponent. They have fared better on the road in the series, posting an 8–10 record in regular season games played in Alabama. There is a disagreement about when the schools' first gridiron meeting took place. Alabama's athletic association counts a 1904 victory over a team from one of Florida's four predecessor institutions, while Florida's University Athletic Association does not, as the modern University of Florida was not created by the Florida Legislature until 1905. According to Florida, Alabama leads the all-time series 23–14.
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