Jim McElwain has exceeded all expectations by taking No. 18 Florida (10-2) to the SEC Championship Game in his first season as head coach. By going head-to-head with No. 2 Alabama (11-1), the program that has become synonymous with dominance and the measuring stick for success in the conference, McElwain is in a high-risk, high-reward situation that could define his tenure at Florida.

A win over the Crimson Tide (or even a close loss) would confirm that the Gators are “back.”  That would be good.

But a blowout loss would reinforce the narrative that the rest of the conference, particularly the entire SEC East, competes at a level lower than Alabama. A bad loss might put the brakes on the perceived growth of the Gators program. And it puts that first black mark in the wrong column, that you can’t beat Alabama when you have to.

The current climate in the SEC has become one that demands coaches and teams compete with – and beat – Alabama or seek out other jobs. Look no further than Mark Richt and Les Miles.

Richt last took the Bulldogs to the conference title game in 2012 during a 12-2 season. In the three seasons that followed, Georgia went 27-11, a 71.1 winning percentage, but failed to win the SEC East. Richt’s overall record wasn’t sufficient to keep his job, and the UGA administration decided that a change was needed in Athens to contend for conference titles and national championships. Georgia hopes to become more like Saban’s Alabama by hiring Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kirby Smart as its next head coach.

LSU coach Les Miles almost lost his job for similar reasons, but will coach the Tigers in 2016.

Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley runs a tighter ship than LSU, but the Miles saga should also serve as a cautionary tale for McElwain. Miles’ squad won the SEC in 2011 and played for a national championship, but lost to Alabama 21-0 in the BCS Championship Game. Since failing to win a second title, Miles has won 72 percent of LSU’s games (36-14). LSU athletic director Joe Alleva and the board of trustees and let media know they were not satisfied, and nearly fired Miles, until public outcry wore on them. The Tigers’ top target for Miles’ replacement was rumored to be FSU coach Jimbo Fisher, a Saban disciple.

Ever since Nick Saban rebuilt Alabama into a football powerhouse, the rest of the conference has been desperately chasing that same level of success. Richt’s 2012 championship loss to Saban’s Crimson Tide coupled with a 38-10 loss at home to Alabama in Week 5 this season were certainly factors in his firing. LSU boosters were so tired of seeing Alabama dominate the SEC West, and Miles losing five consecutive games to the Tide, that they came close to pulling the trigger on a coaching change.

Foley has tried his best to Saban-ize Florida. When Urban Meyer left after the 2010 season, former Saban assistant Will Muschamp was hired as UF’s head coach. Muschamp’s run of 28-21 in four seasons didn’t cut it in Gainesville, so Foley is trying another former Saban coordinator in McElwain.

A Florida win in Atlanta would shock the college football world and have McElwain being mentioned in the same breath as Saban and Meyer, who produced quick turnarounds at Alabama and Florida. A lopsided defeat could have McElwain’s 10-win debut season dismissed as a product of being in the weak SEC East.