LSU and Florida hold one of the more underrated rivalries in all of college football. Despite multiple hurricanes nearly forcing the teams to cancel their matchups, they have played in every season since 1971, featuring endless battles sporting title implications, dominant performances and last-second heartbreakers.
While some of the most prominent college football rivalries feature a team with a clear historical edge, like USC over UCLA, Alabama over Auburn or Clemson over South Carolina, Florida and LSU have notably near-identical win totals in their matchup, with the Tigers just recently taking the lead in wins in 2021. They currently hold a 33-32-3 record over the Gators, who had previously led from 1993 to 2020.
Florida earned its first lead in the matchup in 1993, mostly thanks to the acquisition of then-Duke coach Steve Spurrier in 1990. In fact, the Gators dropped just one game to LSU from 1988 to 2001, with Spurrier leading Florida to eleven of those victories.
However, amidst that span, one game is considered the most memorable by many, with varying fondness depending on which team they rooted for. That moment in college football history came in 1997, the moment the Tigers finally broke through, and the lone time it was able to take down Spurrier.
But before you can understand the magnitude of that win, you must first understand just how bad LSU’s prior matchup with the Gators.
Between 1993 and 1995, Florida outscored LSU 118-29. However, LSU did progressively improve in the matchup through the years, suffering a 55-point blowout in 1993 before losing by just three scores in 1995. It also made its first bowl game in seven years that season.
The Tigers came into the 1996 matchup sporting their best team of the 1990s and their first 4-0 start since 1978, even pulling their highest ranking since 1989 at No. 12. So, when the Tigers went to the Swamp and lost by 43 points, it’s easy to understand why LSU fans were taken aback.
It’s worth noting that this Florida team was one of the best college football teams of the 90s, possessing an offense that put up 47 points per game, which was coupled with a solid, top-25 defense. It suffered a singular loss to No. 2 Florida State, but promptly responded with a 32-point victory over the same team in the Sugar Bowl, ultimately being crowned national champions.
That was a bit more characteristic for a team that was beating its opponents by nearly 30 points per game up to that point. For reference, just over half the country in 2022 is scoring that much per game offensively this season.
All those facts don’t dull the sting of suffering that lopsided of a loss. But the loss did add spite and pride to the list of motivators heading into the next matchup. Afterall, they don’t call this LSU’s Revenge for nothing.
Florida came into the game as intimidating as it was the prior season, sporting the No. 1 ranking and a 25-game winning streak in SEC play, including three straight victories to start 1997. It lost a lot of talent, including former Heisman-winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel, but returned tailback Fred Taylor and wide receiver Jacquez Green.
That allowed the Florida offense to remain as potent as ever, averaging 49.4 points a game up to that point and a scoring margin of 28.6. Those numbers came despite already matching up with No. 4 Tennessee a few weeks earlier.
Meanwhile, LSU entered this game ranked No. 14 with a loss to Auburn and disappointing 7-6 victory over Vanderbilt. Not many people thought that the 15-point underdog LSU was going to beat Florida due to those performances.
“We came off that Vanderbilt game where we barely won, so there wasn’t a lot of belief LSU was going to win (the Florida) game,” said former sports information director Herb Vincent in a Tiger Rag article in 2017.
However, LSU’s coaches and players believed that they could pull off the massive upset. Led by All-American running back Kevin Faulk and future NFL first round defensive tackle Booger McFarland, this team didn’t lack confidence, having finished the previous season 6-1 and with a Peach Bowl victory over Clemson after its loss to the Gators.
“It was a game we knew we could win,” LSU fullback Tommy Banks said in an article written by Tiger Rag in 2017. “That week of practice leading up to the game was business as usual. We were going in with confidence.”
And they proved they were ready for the occasion immediately.
Despite fumbling on the first possession, a 30-yard return by Faulk on the ensuing punt set the Tigers up to crack the scoreboard first. On the very next play, LSU quarterback Herb Tyler took an option keeper 40 yards into the endzone to give them a 7-0 lead.
“I’m supposed to pitch off the end, and the end didn’t take me,” Tyler told Tiger Rag Magazine in 2017. “I think it was Javon Kearse. He ended up taking the running back, and I just cut up right inside of them, made one little move, and myself, Alan (Faneca), and (Rondell) Mealey were running down the sideline for 40 yards.”
Florida responded by immediately giving LSU the ball back with pristine field position, as LSU cornerback Cedric Donaldson returned a Doug Johnson 68 yards before getting tackled at Florida’s seven-yard line.
Reminiscent of the last drive, Banks would run it in just one play later to give LSU a surprising 14-0 lead over the Gators just two minutes after Faulk’s big return that started it all.
But the Gators were the No.1 team in the country for a reason. They came storming right back, as Johnson led two 80-yard touchdown drives late in the first and early in the third, which were each capped off with a Fred Taylor touchdown.
It was more a matter of when than if in this situation, as the nation’s best offense wasn’t going to surrender that easily. After that, scoring temporarily stalled as each team struggled to finish off strong drives. However, it was only a matter of time before the magic of Tiger Stadium was able to help the Tigers make a critical play.
Once again, Johnson was picked off by Donaldson, returning it all the way for a score to put the Tigers up 21-14 early in the fourth. That’s around the time when Florida’s players and coaches really started to experience Death Valley for the first time.
“I remember looking up and I thought fans were going to fall out,” Vincent said. “The way they were screaming and the way it was waving, it seemed like it was moving back and forth.”
It only got crazier. On the ensuing kickoff, Florida coughed up the ball and Troy Twillie recovered it for LSU. The Tigers would do what they had done best that night, capitalizing on great field position, as they punched it in just four plays later.
However, that action hadn’t taken much time on the clock and Florida was still Florida. The Gators narrowed the lead with a 13-play drive capped by another Taylor touchdown, promptly getting the ball back with a chance to even the score with just over four minutes to go.
But the Tiger defense got them in a bad position, facing a 3rd-and-22 at their own six-yard line. With the Tiger defensive backs smothering the Florida receivers and panic setting in, Johnson’s throw would fall in the hands of LSU’s Raion Hill, giving Johnson four interceptions on the night.
“Steve Spurrier tossed his visor more that night than he ever tossed his visor in his entire life. We frustrated him to the fullest,” Tyler said. “Our fans knew it and they let him have it.”
LSU would seal the victory on a critical 3rd-and-6 when Tyler found wide receiver Abram Booty for a much-needed first down.
LSU had done it, pulling off one of the greatest wins in program history and finally getting the better of Spurrier, breaking his 25-game SEC win streak in the process. The Tigers had pulled off one of the greatest wins in LSU football history. It also marked LSU’s first win over a No. 1 team in the country.
Chaos broke out on the field, with fans running everywhere and players doing their best to get to their respective locker rooms. That eventually led to goalposts being torn down, which in turn led to fines against the school. LSU head coach Gerry DiNardo was happy to take care of those, admiring the passion from fans and understanding the magnitude of the victory.
“Other than getting a bill from Joe Dean for the goalposts, it was a great night,” DiNardo later said.
