ATLANTA – In between assessing Lane Kiffin’s performance in his former position, taking questions about Oregon rumors and talking about the state of the SEC, Florida coach Jim McElwain actually got a question about what his team needs to do Saturday if it is going to knock off No. 1 Alabama (12-0, 8-0 SEC).

If he could narrow it down to a few keys, what would they be?

“I think, first and foremost, don’t blink,” McElwain said. “Don’t blink. See what you see and go get it. Whatever you do in doing that, don’t ever back down. Don’t back down with anything.”

Having a motto, like this week’s “don’t blink,” gave the Gators a mental edge the last time they were double-digit underdogs. During LSU game week, McElwain made the point that it was an opportunity for the team to go into someone else’s neighborhood and take something from them. Players bought in, as they started using “going into someone’s neighborhood” in their answers during media opportunities. That mindset helped the Gators, 13.5-point underdogs, overachieve and come away with the upset victory that punched their ticket to the SEC Championship Game.

Florida obviously needs more than a motto. After the “don’t blink” bit, McElwain’s keys shifted to what can actually be found in the box score.

“I think the three things probably as what we look for is you can’t give them any cheap ones. So the turnover piece is obviously huge. Limiting explosive plays and not allowing the sudden strikes that show up quite a bit, and taking care of your opportunities when they’re there. Those are the biggest things we’ve got to do.”

The current Las Vegas lines have No. 15 Florida (8-3, 6-2 SEC) as a 24-point underdog. When broken down by on-field matchups like offensive line vs. defensive line, it’s easy to see why Vegas sees the Crimson Tide rolling to a big victory. McElwain’s keys could be equalizers, but UF would have to overachieve to come away with a win.

The Gators are in a balancing act. Florida is embracing that underdog role, coming in with a chip on its shoulder while also adamant that it deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as mighty Alabama. McElwain made that point when asked if getting to the SEC Championship Game is a milestone for 13 teams, but an expectation for the Crimson Tide.

“I think it’s an expectation for the Florida Gators,” McElwain responded. “First thing when we got here — I don’t know that we haven’t played as much as anybody in this game. I think for both programs, to be here on the 25th anniversary is huge, but you come to the University of Florida, the expectation is to go play in Atlanta. That’s something our guys have done. Likewise, you want to win a championship. This is the first step in winning that championship.”

For Alabama’s ultimate championship hopes – the College Football Playoff – this year’s title tilt in the Georgia Dome might be an unnecessary step. Even if Florida somehow stunned Nick Saban’s squad and won the conference crown, many national media members have vocally opined that the Crimson Tide would still be included in the College Football Playoff committee’s final four on Sunday.

One of Saban’s biggest challenges this week is to get his team to play with the necessary intensity despite the outside noise that comes with being a big favorite. He had two answers for why Crimson Tide players should want to win on Saturday.

The obvious answer was their own pride.

“So we have to rely on guys’ competitive character, their pride in performance, what they want to accomplish, what they want to do in terms of their legacy as a team,” Saban said. “And as I said before, that all gets defined by how we finish. You know, finishing everything is really, really important.”

But Saban also gave what could be seen as a bizarre item of bulletin board material for the Gators locker room. If Alabama somehow loses to Florida, the family name of Crimson Tide players will be shamed.

“Regardless of the success we’ve had this season, the legacy for this team lies in what they do ahead, in this next game and any opportunity they get to play beyond that,” Saban said. “That’s how this team will get remembered. If Florida wins a championship, then that’s what they’ll get remembered for, and our players will have to (remember) next year, two years from now, five years from now, when they tell their kids ‘we went undefeated, but we lost the SEC Championship Game.'”

That’s one way to put the pressure on your heavily favored team.