GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The way his afternoon unfolded,
Lamical Perine might want to send a thank-you letter to Auburn.
He had the kind of Saturday that wrestled with his emotions in the best way.
First, an opportunity to meet Florida legend and NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, a player linked to Perine at Florida primarily because of their position and the fact Perine, in his first three seasons, wore the No. 22 that Smith made famous with the Gators and later as the NFL's all-time leading rusher.
Following the game, Smith sought out Perine for a word of encouragement.
"That was big coming from a guy like him," Perine said.
And then there's the significance of Saturday's pulsating victory, a 24-13 defeat of Auburn that rocked "The Swamp" from start to finish. The undefeated Gators stayed that way while dealing the favored Tigers their first loss.
But perhaps more than any other moment Perine will recall fondly came with 9:04 left in the game as he crossed the goal line and Ben Hill Griffin Stadium shook the ground below. Actually, Perine said afterward that emotions bubbled as his legs pumped toward the end zone on his 88-yard touchdown run to seal the victory.
On first-and-10 from the Gators' 12-yard line, quarterback
Kyle Trask turned and handed the ball to Perine, who had managed just 33 yards on eight carries through the first three quarters. Perine bounced off Auburn linebacker K.J. Britt around the 13, broke to the outside toward Florida's sideline, and then outraced Tigers safety Daniel Thomas to the edge.
Perine was gone.
"Almost brought tears to my eyes," he said. "Just a big-time atmosphere and big-time crowd. I'm glad I was able to make that big-time play."
Nearly three months ago at the Southeastern Conference Media Day in Hoover, Ala., Perine stood surrounded by a group of reporters in a ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Wynfrey Hotel. An Alabama native, Perine was asked his thoughts about finally getting a chance to play Auburn his senior season. Someone asked if the Tigers had ever offered him a scholarship.
They did not. Perine revisited the story with a smirk on his face Saturday night.
"They weren't very interested in me at the time,'' he said. "They probably thought I was a little too slow. As everybody already know, that was one reason. But I showed them today."
Perine's touchdown run was the fifth-longest in school history and longest since Smith's 96-yard gallop against Mississippi State as a sophomore 31 years ago. It came at the most opportune time in the game and for Perine, whose college career is starting to wind down.
He finished with a career-high 130 yards, eclipsing his 129-yard performance in last season's victory at Florida State. Perine has had some of his biggest plays in big games, including a 53-yard touchdown run to put away Michigan in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in December.
Perine took the field Saturday with only 197 yards in five games and an average of 3.6 yards per carry. The Gators celebrated wildly as Perine broke free and raced down the field in front of their sideline.
"It was great,'' UF head coach
Dan Mullen said. "You wouldn't say we were run efficient, just kept pounding away at them. We were able to stick with it, stick with it and all of a sudden, he gets that one crease and does an unbelievable job, breaks a tackle, makes a guy miss and outruns everyone to the end zone. That's what you want. That's the type of things he can do.
"When you look at his leadership and what he's done, I mean, maybe [he] hasn't been putting up big numbers, but he's doing what he's supposed to do, taking care of business."
As a result of his breakout run, Perine walked off the field to much more fanfare than the previous week when he managed only 15 yards on seven carries against Towson to quietly surpass 2,000 career yards. He took a knee in the end zone for a moment of reflection.
Despite the lack of running room this season behind Florida's revamped and young offensive line, Perine leads the team in rushing at midseason (327 yards, 54.5 per game) and continues to play a pivotal role in the passing game with 19 catches, third on the team.
The numbers are down but not the respect in the locker room.
"He works really, really hard,'' Trask said.
That has been obvious for everyone to see. Everyone saw his speed Saturday. The Tigers couldn't catch him.
Once the dust cleared in his wake, Perine had a story to tell forever.
"Honestly, I came out Monday morning, 8 o'clock team meeting, my mindset was totally different,'' he said. "I knew I had to make some big-time plays for my team. A lot of people doubted me. I had that in my mind. I wanted them to know.
"I made two guys miss and it was just a great thing to see an open field like that."
