Of all the highly-competitive games between the University of Florida and LSU — two schools tied together as permanent, cross-divisional opponents — the Oct. 11, 2014 contest proved to be more than just an LSU win for two select Tigers.
When the No. 8 Gators and No. 6 Tigers tangle at 6 p.m. Saturday at Tiger Stadium, the league matchup presents LSU (5-0, 3-0 SEC) with a chance to build on its strong performance against Florida (6-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) last year, including sophomore running back Leonard Fournette and junior safety Rickey Jefferson, heroes of the 2014 matchup.
Both teams are in different situations than last year as both enter the game undefeated and at the top of their respective divisions in the SEC. However, Jefferson said one thing remains constant: The Tigers’ drive for the sweet taste of victory once again.
“It was amazing,” Jefferson said. “The most thing I remember is just trying to get that feeling back soon — soon.”
At the time of last year’s matchup, the Tigers were in need of a win. LSU had just come off the widest margin of defeat of LSU coach Les Miles’ tenure, a 41-7 stomping at Auburn University the week before to move to 0-2 in the SEC.
A quarterback conundrum lingered as now-sophomore starting quarterback Brandon Harris struggled mightily on The Plains, forcing LSU coach Les Miles to hand the reins back to then-sophomore signal caller Anthony Jennings.
For Florida, it walked into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium without would-be freshman starting quarterback Treon Harris, the starter for Saturday’s game, due to an indefinite suspension for an alleged sexual assault.
The charges were dropped before the game, but former Florida coach Will Muschamp decided to stick with junior Jeff Driskel against the Tigers.
When it was all said and done, LSU left Gainesville, Florida, with 30-27 victory, but it hardly mattered in the grand scheme of things. The Tigers finished the season 3-3 and 8-4 overall, including a Music City Bowl loss to Notre Dame. The Gators won their bowl game, but Muschamp was fired before the regular season concluded as the team ended the year 7-5.
Both teams’ seasons were a far cry from their best laid plans, but the Oct. 11 meeting with Florida may have been the turning point for Fournette and Jefferson — for different reasons.
In Fournette’s case, it was his coming out party.
The former No. 1 prospect in the nation had just one 100-yard game at the time, and Florida had only given up one rushing touchdown, ranking as the No. 15 team in the country against the run up to that point — until they met Fournette for the first time.
“I think Leonard Fournette is a sleeping giant that’s ready to wake up,” said ESPN analyst Jesse Palmer after the freshman found a lane and ran for 16 yards late in the first quarter.
Fournette proved Palmer right on the very next play.
The tailback surged up the middle, plowing into then-sophomore safety Marcus Maye for a 12-yard touchdown. Fournette finished the game with 143 yards on 27 carries and two touchdowns, and he continued posting big numbers for the rest of the season, finishing with 1034 yards and 10 touchdowns.
He’s eclipsed his number of touchdowns and nearly the number of yards from 2014 through the five games this season, but that night in Gainesville may have been his moment of clarity.
“I don’t know, man, I guess I was just on that game,” Fournette said. “…It just came to me, pretty much.”
For Jefferson, who never started for LSU last season, that game brought the thrill of making an impact when his team needed it most.
In a tie game with under a minute remaining, Driskel and the Gator offense were on the move, sitting at the LSU 45-yard line as the clocked ticked down toward the 30 second mark.
Driskel stared down then-junior receiver Latroy Pittman, Jr., on a slant route, but Jefferson and former LSU linebacker Kwon Alexander read the first-and-10 pass all the way.
“Kwon really hit [Pittman, Jr.], and the ball like tipped someway — tipped off him, tipped off me,” Jefferson said. “I spinned around and caught it.”
It was Jefferson’s second-career interception, but a more important one to him, considering a dropped interception against Auburn the previous week. Not only did he intercept the pass, but he returned it 23 yards to the Florida 36-yard line.
Three plays later, then-sophomore kicker Colby Delahoussaye nailed the 50-yard, game-winning field goal. Jefferson, however, wants to score when he comes up with a turnover like that.
“When I get my hands on the ball, my goal is to score,” Jefferson, who is now an every-game starter, said. “Even now, my goal is to get a pick six. It’s not just to get an interception.”
As the 2015 squads head into Saturday’s game, looking to distance themselves from the rest of the conference, it may take a similar performance from Fournette or another critical play from Jefferson to secure victory.
In this heated rivalry, every game is bound to come down to the wire.
“[Last year] was a physical game,” Fournette said. “Their whole defense is fast. Their whole team is fast, pretty much. … They’re a great a team. They’re defense looks the same as last year. They have a lot talent all across the board. We’re going to have to come out and compete.”