Gainesville bar to give out free shots when Florida scores against Alabama

A Gainesville bar is having some fun with Florida’s matchup against Alabama in Saturday’s SEC Championship Game.

Florida Gators’ fans don’t have a lot of hope for Saturday’s matchup against the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game, at least judging by on Gainesville bar’s promotion.

The owners of 101 Cantina will give out free orange-and-blue shots to show their Florida pride anytime the Gators score on Saturday.

“To us, it’s not about the money,” co-owner Erik Zika said, per alligator.org. “It’s to have a good party and to have a good time. … It’s the last time we get to see our Gators play this year, other than the bowl game, of course. I’m cautiously optimistic.”

This would be a terrible idea for most games, but Florida’s offense against Alabama’s defense looks like an incredibly lopsided matchup on paper. The Crimson Tide are allowing just 252.9 yards and 11.4 points per contest, both top two marks in the nation, behind a front seven that looks more like an NFL squad than college team.

Florida managed to win the SEC East in spite of an offense that is averaging 22.1 points per game to rank 114th in the country while dealing with countless injuries. With starting quarterback Luke Del Rio out, the Gators will turn to Purdue transfer Austin Appleby, who completed 19 of 35 passes for 149 yards against a much worse defense in Florida State last week.

Alabama is a 24 point favorite with an over/under of 41, meaning oddsmakers don’t expect 101 Cantina to have to give out more than a shot or two.

Customers’ best chance at free alcohol will likely be a safety or garbage time touchdown from the Gators. The two teams met in the SEC Championship Game last year in a 29-15 Alabama win, with Florida scoring in the first quarter on a punt return and late in the fourth on a long touchdown pass.

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Of course, anything can happen in college football, so Gainesville natives may want to stop by the bar just in case. A seven-loss Ole Miss team managed to pin 43 points on Alabama earlier in the season in a near upset.