A pair of Gators celebrate their 2008 win over LSU as Tigers fans at the Swamp look on glumly during Florida's 51-21 victory. (Photo: Jason Parkhurst/UAA Communications
Gators Can Conjure up Past with LSU, 2008 Gators in Town
Friday, October 5, 2018 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Earlier this week when Florida's players spoke to the media about Saturday's matchup with No. 5-ranked LSU, reporters asked more than once if this was an opportunity to make a statement.
Gators sophomore defensive back Brad Stewart, the only UF player from Louisiana, is firmly in the camp of those who believe a victory over the Tigers can recast Florida's outlook heading into the second half of the season.
No. 22-ranked Florida (4-1, 2-1) is coming off its biggest win under first-year coach Dan Mullen – a road victory at Mississippi State, which followed a road win at Tennessee – and LSU (5-0, 2-0) already has wins over Miami and Auburn to bolster the status of head coach Ed Orgeron.
"This is a big game,'' Stewart said. "Really, we just want to come out and show that we can be one of the top programs and we are one of the top programs still. We want to show everybody that we for real."
Coincidentally, the same was true of the Gators a decade ago when these long-time Southeastern Conference rivals met. Much different circumstances, though.
When then-No. 4 LSU stepped onto Florida Field for a Saturday night clash with UF in 2008, it was the Gators' first home game since losing to Ole Miss two weeks earlier, a loss that spoiled Florida's bid to go undefeated for the first time. The Gators responded with a 31-point win at Arkansas and returned to the Swamp hungry to show their national title hopes were not dashed.
Did they ever.
Gators quarterback Tim Tebow threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Percy Harvin on the game's third play, Florida rushed for 265 yards against an LSU defense that entered allowing just 69 yards rushing per game, linebacker Brandon Spikes returned an interception for a touchdown, and Harvin caught six passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns as Florida rolled to a 51-21 win over the defending national champions.
The Gators led 17-0 in the first quarter and never looked back, winning 10 consecutive games after the Ole Miss loss to claim their second national title in three years.
Sun, Oct 12, 2008 – 34 · The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Florida, United States of America) · Newspapers.com
Fittingly, Tebow and the '08 Gators are back in town this weekend to be honored on the 10-year anniversary of their national championship and Tebow is set to join Steve Spurrier, Jack Youngblood, Emmitt Smith, Danny Wuerffel and Wilber Marshall in the program's Ring of Honor.
"That was a team that had a lot of talent on it,'' said Mullen, who was Florida's offensive coordinator that season. "But a lot of teams have talent that don't always know how to win. That was a team that started and really learned how to win."
The '08 Gators opened the season ranked fifth and after wins over Hawaii, Miami and Tennessee, moved up to fourth before losing to the Rebels. They dropped to No. 12 after that loss, but following back-to-back wins over Arkansas and LSU, the Gators climbed to fifth as other teams started to lose.
By the time the Gators faced No. 1-ranked Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, they were back at No. 2. Their 31-20 win over the Crimson Tide put them in the BCS National Championship Game against Oklahoma, where they beat the Sooners to finish 12-1 and as national champs.
Florida receiver Josh Hammond, whose older brother Frankie was a member of the '08 team, recalled his brother telling him the intensity of the first practice after the Ole Miss loss and Tebow's famous "Promise."
"All the fights and arguments they got into that day,'' Hammond said. "It really just jelled them together and prepared them to grow. They had a lot of ball ahead of them."
The 2018 Gators face a different kind of scenario with LSU coming to town. Florida has won three consecutive games since losing to Kentucky at home a month ago. The loss snapped UF's 31-game winning streak in the series and was their third consecutive home loss to an SEC opponent dating to last season. In fact, Florida's 17-16 loss to the Tigers a year ago at the Swamp started the streak.
Florida continues to show improvement in Mullen's first season, winning 13-6 at Mississippi State last week with a stifling defensive effort in the second half. Florida had five second-half sacks and limited the Bulldogs to 43 total yards after halftime.
LSU battered Ole Miss, 45-16, at home a week ago. The Tigers have won two in a row in Gainesville, last losing at the Swamp in 2012. The UF-LSU game is here for the second consecutive year due to the impact of Hurricane Matthew in 2016 when the Gators, scheduled to play LSU at home, ended up playing in Baton Rouge.
A year ago, Orgeron was under fire the week prior to the Florida game because of a 24-21 home loss to Troy that dropped the Tigers to 3-2. However, LSU won six of its final eight games and have won 11 of 13 overall, setting up what has become another intriguing matchup in the rivalry.
"That Florida game was the difference in our season,'' Orgeron said on the SEC teleconference Wednesday. "It gave us some confidence after the Troy game. There was a lot of things we weren't doing right. We came together as a team."
The Gators have come together as a team since the Kentucky loss. They would like to show how much to two teams Saturday: LSU on the field and the 2008 Gators in attendance.
Gators sophomore defensive back Brad Stewart, the only UF player from Louisiana, is firmly in the camp of those who believe a victory over the Tigers can recast Florida's outlook heading into the second half of the season.
No. 22-ranked Florida (4-1, 2-1) is coming off its biggest win under first-year coach Dan Mullen – a road victory at Mississippi State, which followed a road win at Tennessee – and LSU (5-0, 2-0) already has wins over Miami and Auburn to bolster the status of head coach Ed Orgeron.
"This is a big game,'' Stewart said. "Really, we just want to come out and show that we can be one of the top programs and we are one of the top programs still. We want to show everybody that we for real."
Coincidentally, the same was true of the Gators a decade ago when these long-time Southeastern Conference rivals met. Much different circumstances, though.
When then-No. 4 LSU stepped onto Florida Field for a Saturday night clash with UF in 2008, it was the Gators' first home game since losing to Ole Miss two weeks earlier, a loss that spoiled Florida's bid to go undefeated for the first time. The Gators responded with a 31-point win at Arkansas and returned to the Swamp hungry to show their national title hopes were not dashed.
Did they ever.
Gators quarterback Tim Tebow threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Percy Harvin on the game's third play, Florida rushed for 265 yards against an LSU defense that entered allowing just 69 yards rushing per game, linebacker Brandon Spikes returned an interception for a touchdown, and Harvin caught six passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns as Florida rolled to a 51-21 win over the defending national champions.
The Gators led 17-0 in the first quarter and never looked back, winning 10 consecutive games after the Ole Miss loss to claim their second national title in three years.
Sun, Oct 12, 2008 – 34 · The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Florida, United States of America) · Newspapers.comFittingly, Tebow and the '08 Gators are back in town this weekend to be honored on the 10-year anniversary of their national championship and Tebow is set to join Steve Spurrier, Jack Youngblood, Emmitt Smith, Danny Wuerffel and Wilber Marshall in the program's Ring of Honor.
"That was a team that had a lot of talent on it,'' said Mullen, who was Florida's offensive coordinator that season. "But a lot of teams have talent that don't always know how to win. That was a team that started and really learned how to win."
The '08 Gators opened the season ranked fifth and after wins over Hawaii, Miami and Tennessee, moved up to fourth before losing to the Rebels. They dropped to No. 12 after that loss, but following back-to-back wins over Arkansas and LSU, the Gators climbed to fifth as other teams started to lose.
By the time the Gators faced No. 1-ranked Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, they were back at No. 2. Their 31-20 win over the Crimson Tide put them in the BCS National Championship Game against Oklahoma, where they beat the Sooners to finish 12-1 and as national champs.
Florida receiver Josh Hammond, whose older brother Frankie was a member of the '08 team, recalled his brother telling him the intensity of the first practice after the Ole Miss loss and Tebow's famous "Promise."
"All the fights and arguments they got into that day,'' Hammond said. "It really just jelled them together and prepared them to grow. They had a lot of ball ahead of them."
The 2018 Gators face a different kind of scenario with LSU coming to town. Florida has won three consecutive games since losing to Kentucky at home a month ago. The loss snapped UF's 31-game winning streak in the series and was their third consecutive home loss to an SEC opponent dating to last season. In fact, Florida's 17-16 loss to the Tigers a year ago at the Swamp started the streak.
Florida continues to show improvement in Mullen's first season, winning 13-6 at Mississippi State last week with a stifling defensive effort in the second half. Florida had five second-half sacks and limited the Bulldogs to 43 total yards after halftime.
LSU battered Ole Miss, 45-16, at home a week ago. The Tigers have won two in a row in Gainesville, last losing at the Swamp in 2012. The UF-LSU game is here for the second consecutive year due to the impact of Hurricane Matthew in 2016 when the Gators, scheduled to play LSU at home, ended up playing in Baton Rouge.
A year ago, Orgeron was under fire the week prior to the Florida game because of a 24-21 home loss to Troy that dropped the Tigers to 3-2. However, LSU won six of its final eight games and have won 11 of 13 overall, setting up what has become another intriguing matchup in the rivalry.
"That Florida game was the difference in our season,'' Orgeron said on the SEC teleconference Wednesday. "It gave us some confidence after the Troy game. There was a lot of things we weren't doing right. We came together as a team."
The Gators have come together as a team since the Kentucky loss. They would like to show how much to two teams Saturday: LSU on the field and the 2008 Gators in attendance.
Players Mentioned
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Brandon Harris Press Conference
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Greg Gasparato Press Conference
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Chris Foster Press Conference
Monday, February 16
