The regular season has been one long prelude to the be-all, end-all, winner-take-all SEC Championship showdown between undefeated Florida and Alabama, anyway, and the Deep South's Game of the Millenium is etched in stone with only rivals Florida State and/or Auburn left to mar the Gators' and Tide's perfect records. All that's left now is the formalities, the hype and, of course, the degenerate gambling, which may begin in earnest with the game's first official line, via PinnacleSports.com.

Are you ready? Brace yourself:

Alabama
Florida (– 3.5)

There you have it: The experts say Gators by slightly more than a field goal -- and improvement over last year's title match, when Florida came from behind in the fourth quarter to beat 'Bama by 11 in Atlanta, covering the 9.5-point spread despite also representing the Gators' closest margin of victory on the season before squeaking by Oklahoma by just 10 in the mythical championship game. Both teams have endured much more harrowing escapes this season.

The most interesting bet leading up to this year's tilt may be the injury pool: Percy Harvin's absence due to an aggravated ankle injury against Florida State was a major factor in the Gators' lack of their usual explosiveness on offense in last year's game, especially in the running game, where the long was 14 yards by Tim Tebow. Of the stars this year, Gator linebacker Brandon Spikes and 'Bama receiver Julio Jones have both played through nagging ailments for most of the season. With a margin this narrow, first man down between now and Dec. 5 could take the line with him. No amount (or lack) of "style points" can change anything, coaches: Get those starters out of there.