Forget the Gators have won four of the last five and 13-of-15 against LSU, or that Florida is 26-20-3 all-time against the Tigers. There is only one record that matters when it comes to Saturday’s contest – the actual date.
LSU is 1-0 all-time on Oct. 11 against Florida. The one win came when LSU defeated No. 1 Florida 28-21 on Oct. 11, 1997. To this day, it remains the Tigers’ only victory against a team ranked No. 1 in the nation.
This will be the 50th meeting between the two schools. Although Florida has owned LSU in past years, this may be a case of two teams going in opposite directions.
LSU ended a four-game slide against the Gators last season, mauling Florida 36-7 in The Swamp.
The Tigers never trailed in last season’s contest, jumping out to a 10-0 lead to start the game. John Corbello commenced the scoring for LSU, hitting a 37-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. Corey Webster intercepted Florida quarterback Rex Grossman two times in the first quarter, one of which he returned 45 yards for a score and finished with three picks on the night.
After another Corbello field goal, LSU ended the first quarter with a 13-0 lead. But the Gators cut the lead to 13-7 in the second quarter when Grossman found Taylor Jacobs for a 16-yard touchdown.
But it was all Tigers for the remainder of the game. LSU outscored Florida 23-0 in the second half of the contest.
Matt Mauck struck twice in the third quarter with a pair of touchdown passes to Devery Henderson, extending the lead to 26-7.
In the fourth quarter, LSU scored on a successful fake field goal run by holder Blaine Bech. Bech scampered 35 yards to paydirt, furthering Florida’s humiliating showing. Corbello nailed his third field goal of the game to conclude the scoring.
Prior to that triumph, LSU coach Nick Saban was 0-2 against the Gators.
Florida defeated LSU in 2001, 44-15, in Death Valley and in 2000, 41-9, at the Swamp, in the “brook trout” game. Those Florida teams were coached by now Washington Redskins coach Steve Spurrier.
But when Spurrier bolted for the Skins in 2001, Saban found success against incumbent Gators coach Ron Zook and the Gators. Saban now owns a 1-0 record against Zook.
Zook, in his first year at the helm of the Gators, led the team to an 8-5 finish. To most Gators fans, it was a subpar ending to a promising season. However, Zook’s first season was more than just subpar to some fans and criticism of Zook helped spawn the infamous Web site, www.FireRonZook.com.
Most Gators fans feel Zook’s feet need to grow if he is ever going to fill Spurrier’s shoes. To make matters worse, the Gators limp into Baton Rouge with a 3-3 record after three fourth quarter interceptions did the Gators in against Ole Miss last weekend, 20-17.
Florida is 14-11 all-time in Death Valley. But if Oct. 11, 2003 is as magical a day as it was in 1997 for the Tigers, Florida may want to consider cancelling future trips to the place “where only Tigers survive.”