TUSCALOOSA, Ala.  If something else, something more emphatic, was expected of No. 1 Alabama, it was delivered here early Saturday evening. It arrived with the buzz that in the last few weeks has ridden along with Florida, Oklahoma and Texas, and it showed up just in time to reaffirm the Crimson Tide as a legitimate national championship contender.

Alabama (12-0) clobbered rival Auburn, 36-0, and will make the oddsmakers consider how to rate the Crimson Tide, whose identity has been forged with its offensive and defensive lines, against high-scoring Florida, Oklahoma and Texas. The Crimson Tide, which started the season No. 24, has kept winning, and Alabama players wonder why it matters so much how they win.

“We still haven’t lost yet,” the junior linebacker Cory Reamer said. “They are winning a certain way and we’re winning games, too. A win is a win, as pretty or ugly as it might be. We would like it to be as pretty as possible, but a win is a win.”

Alabama will meet No. 2 Florida (11-1) in the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta next Saturday in what is essentially a national semifinal. The winner is virtually assured a spot in the Bowl Championship Series title game Jan. 8 in Miami.