The Sunday before the SEC Championship Game, the opposing coaches perform a teleconference with the media.  Here are excerpts from Coach Urban Meyer and Coach Nick Saban's conference call.

On General Thoughts about Playing in the SECCG:

COACH SABAN
It's a great opportunity to represent our division in the SEC, which is a fantastic league in the SEC Championship game.  I'm very proud of what our team has been able to accomplish this year to create this opportunity and to play a team the caliber of Florida, which, you know, is a fantastic football team.  Very well coached.

They've got a lot of great players.  They're good in every phase of the game as a team, whether it's their defense being No. 1 in scoring defense and No. 1 in a lot of categories.

And great leader in Tim Tebow on offense.  They create tremendous balance, passing efficiency, run the ball effectively, and their special teams are probably in the top in every category in our league, while certainly maybe nationally.

So this is a great opportunity with two great teams having the opportunity to play in the SEC Championship game, and they certainly have a lot of fantastic players, whether it's Demps and Rainey at running back; Riley Cooper, Hernandez at tight end.  Spikes on defense.  Cunningham and Dunlap rushing, and Major Wright and Haden in the secondary, Brandon James returning.  They've really got a lot of really good players who have played extremely well.  And they're very well coached, and it will be a great football game.

COACH MEYER
Very pleased with our player's focus last week against our rival. They played very well.  We just had a team meeting and realized that with playing in the SEC Championship comes an enormous amount of obligation and responsibility.

And that means getting ready to play a great football team in a great environment and we're anxious to do it.  So I'll certainly answer any questions for you.

Saban basically went out of his way to give Florida accolades while Meyer threw out the standard "it's a rival, it's a game" statement before indicating he was ready to move on.  This shows the contrasting coaching styles.  Saban is more of a gamesmanship type of coach while Meyer simply did not want to discuss Alabama's team.

Coach Saban on Florida's Defense and How Difficult it is to Prepare for the Gators:
Well, you know, I don't like to make comparisons.  They were very good on defense last year.  They're fantastic this year.  I think the thing that makes any defense good is, first of all, they've got a great secondary in the back end.

Guys can cover.  They're good tacklers.  They have Rainey.  They've play with speed.  And they're instinctive.  Their front seven, they've got really good leadership in Brandon Spikes.  And they've got some good down guys that are hard to block.

They've a got a combination of guys that are good pass rushers.  And they're very athletic, and they've got great team speed on defense.  So I think all those things contribute to the success that they have.  They've got a good scheme in terms of the things that they do and the problems that they create, whether it's in their even or odd packages of what they do.

And I just think that this is -- I don't even remember them last year that much, if you want me to be honest with you.  But from what I've seen, this is a fantastic defensive football team.

Was the reference to the offensive player a Freudian slip or was Saban simply grabbing for straws?

Q:  Do you think that conference championship games in general help or hurt a league, place a team in the BCS Championship game, and have your feelings about it now changed or are have you always felt the same about that?

COACH SABAN:
Well, I really think that conference championship games, regardless of the BCS, are a really good thing for fans.  Creates a lot of opportunity for players.  This is one of the greatest competitive venues that I've ever had the opportunity to be a part of.

Other than the national championship game, these three games that we've had an opportunity to be in I think are as fine a competitive venue as we've ever had an opportunity to be in anywhere.

And I'm sure a lot of players feel the same way about it.  And I think that the history probably says that there's been more teams that have benefited from conference championship games in terms of getting in the national championship games than have faltered.  We never would have gotten into it in 2003 if we hadn't had a conference championship game.  We leapfrog some people and got into the game.  I know it happened several other times.  I know it happened for LSU a couple of years ago again.

COACH MEYER:
That's a great question.  I know the Big Ten -- I just remember when we played Ohio State in '06, they were finished I think the week before Thanksgiving.  And that was a five- to six-week lay off until they played.  So, I don't know.  We just do what we do.

And it's obviously a monumental task to play your rival to finish your league schedule.  And I saw Alabama played a heck of a game against Auburn.  And all your focus is on that and then, bang, you're in an SEC game up against a good team.  It's a tough task.  But I think it's probably good for college football.

I wish every league would do it.  I think that would be kind of a great format to have.

Nick Saban on the fourth quarter of last season's SEC Championship Game:
Well, you know, I think that I was really proud of the way our team competed in the game.  We just didn't finish the way we needed to.  And they made the plays in the game when they needed to make them.  And critical third down situation kind of changed the momentum of the game when we got a face mask penalty I think on 3rd or 5 and 6 or whatever and would have had a chance to stop them.  And they went in and scored.

And that sort of changed the momentum of the game.  Not the penalty itself, but the fact that it kept the drive alive and they finished the drive.

And you know that's something that our players can certainly learn from.  And being able to finish in the fourth quarter, I think, is an important part of being a great football team.  And that's why Florida had the success and won the championship, because they were able to do it, and it's going to be important for us to be able to do it if we're going to have a chance to do that.

Urban Meyer Weighing in on if he Thinks Alabama Will Have a 'Revenge' Factor Motivation:
No, I think it's the fact that they have great players and great coaches, that's the only thing that matters.  Last year is last year.  And we have a lot of new players.  I'm sure they do, too.

Both Coaches' Thoughts on the Role of Special Teams:
COACH SABAN: 
I think special teams is always a critical and vertical field position.  And I think that Florida has very good specialists and very good special teams, and it's going to be important for us to do a great job so that we have an opportunity to win that part of the game and win the vertical field position battle.  I think it will contribute significantly to the outcome of the game.

COACH MEYER:
It will be like it was last year, field position game.  My biggest concern right now on Sunday is their returner.  And both punt return and kick-off return.  It's going to be a huge part of the game.

Urban Meyer on Charlie Strong's Ability to Become a Head Coach:
Oh, I think one of the things is his ability to focus on the task at hand, and that's obviously to defeat Alabama, or play Alabama.

Probably the thing I always look for, and it's a man's character.  And he's a great husband and a great father, and that's the thing that stands out.  So a lot of times you might not be the best schematic coach, which I think he's very good, but I think the thing that makes Charlie such a special guy is the fact he has impeccable character and a great leader and great husband and a great father.

Nick Saban on Mark Ingram's Injury:
I think he'll be fine.  We don't think he has a significant problem.  I think those things are a little bit painful, especially when you first get them.  And it was late in the game when it happened.  And just never really had an opportunity to go back in.

But we'll see more tomorrow and how he moves around in practice.  But we feel like he'll be fine for the game.

Nick Saban on Reaching the SEC Championship Game:
The goal is to be a champion.  And I didn't say win a championship.  I said be a champion. That's our goal here.  That's what we want to do.  We want the kind of togetherness, respect and trust that we need on our team to be a team, where everybody plays together and understands that importance of positive energy and attitude in trying to be a good team, everybody being responsible for their own self-determination and doing their job.

Everybody working hard and committed to doing the things they need to do to be the best they can be and that's what we continue to try to strive for and that's what we strive for every week with our team.

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